National pride: People walking under Laos flags and Lao People’s Revolutionary Party flags next to Patuxai, also known as the Victory Monument, in Vientiane, ahead of the Lao National Day celebrations today. — AFP
The usually sleepy Laotian capital Vientiane has an uncharacteristic buzz, bedecked with flags and T-shirt vendors ahead of commemorations of 50 years of communist rule, but for many young people, history carries little weight.
The communist Pathet Lao established the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) on Dec 2, 1975, following a decades-long civil war, months after another US-backed regime was defeated in South Vietnam – a conflict which saw Laos devastated by American bombing.
