Vang Pao's Would-Be Coup
Hmong General Aimed to Kill Thousands and Topple Government
How did ex-general Vang Pao aim to overthrow the government of Laos an how was he thwarted - and why.
During the American War in Vietnam, American air forces found it necessary to deliver from the air more bombs on the poor, sparsely populated mountainous country of Laos than they had done on Germany and Japan combined during the whole of the Second World War. Thousands of unexploded bombs litter the landscape of Laos today, occasionally exploding or being stepped on by farmers or children who then lose their legs or even their lives. The Americans found allies among the Hmong ethnic group, who fought against the Communist Pathet Lao movement in the CIA’s secret war. Thousands of Hmong wait still in refugee camps in Laos or across the border in Thailand while they wait for a new home in America, Canada, Australia or anywhere – they are not, after all, very popular in their homeland even today.
Yet some of those Hmongs still believe that the war is not finally lost. The renowned general Vang Pao appears to be one of these, based on the efforts he and his colleagues put into planning an armed coup and toppling the Laotian government are to be considered. Not only did the plotters seek to acquire AK-47s and C4 high explosives but also Stinger missiles. There is no doubt that they planned to kill a great many people in their continuing efforts to overthrow the government and that they anticipated many people would rise up to join them.
Vang Pao made little secret of his political ambitions and had supporters not just in America but also in his home country. So why were his plans suddenly interrupted by arrest and imprisonment when, it is apparent, he had been encouraged by at least some members of the American secret service? Perhaps it is a result of changed public and political opinion in the post-9/11 world. After all, America can scarcely hold itself up as a beacon for exporting freedom and democracy when it is also harbouring criminals bent on violent overthrow of a foreign government. Other people, who have supported violent coups in other parts of the world from Venezuela to Cuba to Cambodia, are also finding their operations being curtailed. At a time when America’s reputation around the world is at a very low ebb because of Iraq and related issues, rebuilding some bridges with a view to normalizing relations would be a sensible option. Memories are very long when people suffer injustice, not to mention the loss of loved ones.
