Remarks of President Obama to the People of
Laos
Lao National
Cultural Hall
Vientiane, Laos / 2:04 P.M. ICT / September 06, 2016
THE
PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. (Applause.) Thank you.
Sabaidii! Sabaidee bor?
AUDIENCE:
Sabaidii.
To the government
and the people of Laos, thank you so much for the kind welcome that you’ve
extended to me and my delegation. I am very honored to be the first
American president to visit Laos. (Applause.) Thank you.
I am told that
this hall is where you come together for the national singing contest.
And I know that you celebrate your musical traditions, including kap lam.
But I’m not going to sing today, so you should not worry. As you host
leaders from across Southeast Asia and beyond, I do want to thank Laos for your
leadership as this year’s chair of ASEAN.
Today, the eyes of the world are on Laos.
And I know that that may be a little unusual, because Laos is a small nation
next to larger neighbors and, as a result, too often, the richness of your
culture has not been fully appreciated. And that’s why, as part of my
visit, I’m grateful for the opportunity to know Laos better, and to help share
your story with the world…
Remarks by President Obama at YSEALI Town Hall
Souphanouvong
University
Luang Prabang, Laos / 1:49 P.M. ICT / September
07, 2016
Lao National
Cultural Hall
Vientiane, Laos / 2:04 P.M. ICT / September
06, 2016
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
Thank you! (Applause.) Thank you so much! Sabaidii!
AUDIENCE:
Sabaidii!
PRESIDENT
OBAMA: Well, it is such a pleasure to be here. Can everybody please
give Om a big round of applause for that great introduction?
(Applause.)
So it is
wonderful to be in Luang Prabang. I’ve always wanted to visit. It
is said that this is where the Buddha smiled when he rested during his
travels. And I can see why -- because it is beautiful and relaxed.
I’ve just come from seeing Wat Xieng Thong. Did I say that right?
Sort of. And it was beautiful. And the entire area is
spectacular. I want to thank everyone at Souphanouvong for hosting me
here today. And I want to thank the people of Laos. I’ve been
deeply touched by the hospitality you’ve shown me.
This is my 11th
visit to Asia as President of the United States, but it's my first visit to
Laos. And in fact, I’m the first United States President ever to come
here. And with the kindness that you’ve shown me, I’m sure I will not be
the last. Other Presidents will want to come as well. And I promise
you I will come back when I'm no longer President. (Applause.) And
the good thing about when I come back and I'm not President I won't have so
much security. (Laughter.) And I can sit and relax and have some
food, and I won't be so busy...
U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised young Southeast Asian leaders participating in an American government education program during a town-hall meeting in Laos and introduced three new initiatives to benefit youth in the region.
Obama met with about 400 young people, including more than 100 from Laos, who are involved in the U.S. government’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) program.
Founded in December 2013, the program aims to build the leadership abilities of youth in Southeast Asia, strengthen ties between the U.S. and the region, and promote cross-border cooperation to solve regional and global issues through educational and cultural exchanges, hands-on training, regional exchanges, and seed funding...
Speaking to a group of young people in Laos, US President Barack Obama explains why America is such great country and admits that not everyone back home would agree with him.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August
1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration)
by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand. Brunei
Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and
Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today
the ten Member States of ASEAN...
ASEAN Has A Role In Global Peace and Security
At the recently concluded Asean Summits in Lao PDR, the deliberations and decisions - particularly of the East Asia Summit (EAS) attended by 18 countries namely the...
VIENTIANE: Asean leaders started their Summit here Tuesday, eager to ... The
event was opened by Laos President Bounnhang Vorachith.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The
28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits begin in Vientiane, Laos, ...
President Rodrigo Duterte is on his
first foreign trip as head of state to attend the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in ...
President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a
speech during the Asean summit in Laos on Sept. 6. Video from RTVM.
VIENTIANE: Asean leaders started their
Summit here Tuesday, eager to show to the world that despite challenges that
could derail their unity, they remained united.
The event was opened by Laos
President Bounnhang Vorachith.
Asean unity came into question over
the issue of the South China Sea, claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines
and Vietnam - and with members like Laos and Cambodia being seen as pro
China.
The world media is also closely
watching Duterte's conduct throughout the summit as he had made controversial
remarks on US President Barack Obama and made threats against the Abu Sayyaf
terrorist group.
This is the first year the leaders
met after the establishment of the Asean Community, launched in Kuala Lumpur
last year.
The 10 Asean leaders will also hold
separate summits with Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese
Prime Minister Li Keqiang where the 25th Asean-China relations will be commemorated.
Tree farming is another important part of Lao agricultural life. About 23
percent of such farms have mango trees, 17 percent coconut trees, 17 percent banana...
Most of the provinces that are deficit in rice are
surplus maize producers. Other important economic
crops include coffee, sugarcane, cassava, sweet potato and industrial tree crops (such as
rubber, eucalyptus and acacia). Lao PDR is a country rich in biodiversity….
Hit hard
by hot and dry weather, farmers near Laos’s capital are looking for new ways to
adapt to climate change and protect their cash crops as the temperature in
recent months rose above 40 degrees Celsius.
Khamphou Phanthaboun, the chief of an organic
vegetable growers’ group in Nontae, a village in Xaythany District near
Vientiane, said his vegetables are dying in the unseasonable heat.
“The bore well is dry so there is not enough water
[for] the vegetables,” he said.
Weather experts say that irregular weather patterns
since 2007 have caused the monsoon season in Laos, typically first seen in
mid-May, to come as early as March or as late as June. This year, it came in
early May after drought-like conditions left central and southern parts of the
country parched.
A recent US Agency for International Development
funded study on climate change in the lower Mekong Basin (including
parts of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) identified climate change
“hotspots” where conditions will become unsuitable for crops currently grown
there. Two Lao provinces (Khammouan in the country’s centre and Champasak in
the south) are both projected to lose crop yields…
Capital: Vientiane.
Official language: Lao.
Area: 236,800 km'. Greatest distances— northwest-southeast,
1,046 km; northeast-southwest, 510 km.
Population: Estimated 1996population— 5,015,000; density, 21 people per km!;
distribution, 78 per cent rural, 22 per cent urban. 1985census— 3,584,803. Estimated2001 population— 5,732,000.
Chief products: Benzoin, cardamom, cattle, cinchona, citrus fruit,
coffee, cotton, leather goods, maize, opium, pottery, rice, silk, silverwork,
tea, teak, tin, tobacco.
Flag: The flag has a red horizontal stripe at the top and
the bottom, and a blue horizontal stripe in the centre. A white circle appears
in the centre of the flag. The red symbolizes the blood and soul of the Laotian
people. The blue stands for prosperity. The white circle represents the promise
of a bright future. Adopted in 1975. See Flag (picture: Flags of
Asia and the Pacific).
National anthem: Pheng Sat" ( National Music").
Money: Currency unit— kip. One kip = 100 at.
Laotian women often wear colourful homespun skirts. Most Laotians live
in rural villages and make their living by farming.
Farmers in Laos live mainly in fertile river valleys. Rice is the
chief crop. Coffee, maize, and cotton are also grown In addition, most farm families
have vegetable gardens.
Laos is a country in Southeast Asia. It is a tropical land
of mountains and thick forests drenched by heavy rains. Laos has rich soil and
valuable mineral deposits, but its economy has never been developed. The
country's official name is the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Vientiane is
its capital and largest city.
France ruled Laos as part of French
Indochina for more than 50 years. In 1954, an international agreement
recognized Laos as an independent, neutral nation. But civil war broke out in
1960 between Laotian government troops and the Communist-led Pathet Lao
(Lao Country) forces. Another international agreement in 1962 failed to settle
the differences, and fighting continued throughout the 1960's and early
1970's. In 1975, the Pathet Lao won the war and took control of Laos.
Government. Laos was a constitutional monarchy before the Pathet
Lao victory in 1975. A king was officially the head of state, but he actually
had little power.
A coalition government made up of
Communists and non-Communists ruled the country.
The Pathet Lao abolished the coalition
government and the monarchy after they gained control of Laos.
They set up a Communist government. In
August 1991, Laos adopted its first constitution since the Communist takeover.
Under the constitution, the government is headed by a president. The president
appoints a prime minister and a cabinet to help carry out the functions of the
government. A lawmaking body called the National Assembly elects the President
to a five-year term. The National Assembly has 85 members, elected by the people.
Members serve five-year terms.
People. The people of Laos belong to two language groups, the
Sino-Tibetan from China, and the Mon- Khmer from southern Asia. The
Sino-Tibetan language group includes the Lao, Hmong (also called Med], and Tai peoples. The Mon-Khmer group includes the
Kha
peoples. Laos' official language, Lao, is
similar to the language of Thailand.
The Lao, who make up about half of the
population, are the political and social leaders. The Kha, the original inhabitants
of Laos, have traditionally been treated as little more than slaves by the
Lao. The Pathet Lao have worked to improve the status of the Kha since they
took over Laos. Most of the Tai live in northern valleys. The Hmong live on the
mountain slopes. They produce most of Laos' opium, an illegal but profitable
export.
Almost all the people of Laos are farmers.
Most of them grow rice along the Mekong River and its tributaries. Laotians
who live in the highlands grow maize, cotton, rice, and tobacco. The people
live in houses perched on wooden posts 2 to 2.5 metres above ground. The houses
have covered porches, bamboo floors and walls, and thatched roofs.
Most Laotian village dwellers are poor.
Their lives are a continual round of planting and harvesting crops. Almost
half of the people 15 years of age or older can read and write. Many villages
do not have schools. Most Laotians are Buddhists, and much of the country's
social life centres on Buddhist festivals and holidays.
Land. Laos lies in the Mekong Basin,
between the Mekong River and the Annamite Range, a chain of mountains. Rugged
plateaus and mountains in the north and along the eastern border range from 150
to 1,200 metres high. Mount Bia (2,817 metres) in central Laos is the highest
point in the country.
The most productive farmland is the
fertile lowland beside the Mekong and its tributaries. Laos has rich gold,
gypsum, lead, silver, tin, and zinc deposits. Its forests have teak and other
valuable woods.
From May to September, monsoons from the
southwest bring up to 25 centimetres of rain a month. Temperatures average
about 28 °C during that period. From November to March, rainfall averages less
than 2.5 centimetres a month, and temperatures average 21 °G Economy. Laos has
an underdeveloped economy. Its mineral resources have not been developed, and
the country has few manufacturing industries. Agriculture is the chief economic
activity. But old-fashioned farming equipment and methods hold down the
country's agricultural output. Rice is the chief product of Laos. Other farm
products include coffee, maize, cotton, tobacco, and livestock. Some Laotians
grow and export opium.
The Mekong River and its tributaries are
the chief means of transportation in Laos. Most roads are passable only in the
dry season. In many areas aeroplanes are the only means of moving supplies.
Laos has no railways, but a railway line links Nong Khai—across the Mekong
River from Vientiane—with Bangkok, Thailand.
Flistory. Ancestors of the Lao and Tai
probably moved into Laos in the A.D. 800's. They set up small states ruled by
princes. In 1353, the ruler of Muong Swa (now Louangphrabang) united most of
what is now Laos in the kingdom of Lan Xang (land of a million elephants). About 1700, three
separate kingdoms—Louangphrabang, Vientiane, and Champasak—were formed. In the
late 1800's, France made Laos a protectorate and ruled it as part of Indochina.
See Indochina.
A Free Laos committee, headed by brother
princes Phetsarat, Souvanna Phouma, and Souphanouvong, negotiated Laos's first
constitution in 1947 with France. Independence within the French Union came in
1949. The princes then split into rival factions, and Souphanouvong moved to northeastern
Laos. There he made contact with Flo Chi Minh, the North Vietnamese Communist
leader, and set up the Communist-inspired Pathet Lao movement.
Flo Chi Minh's forces defeated the French
at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam in 1954. A peace conference at Geneva,
Switzerland, then established Laos as a neutral country, a "buffer"
between Communist North Vietnam and non-Communist Thailand (see Geneva
Accords). Laos became a member of the United Nations in 1955. A series of
governments ruled Laos from 1954 to 1960.
In 1960, Captain Kong Le, a Laotian army
officer, overthrew the pro-Western government and demanded a neutralist
government. Civil war soon broke out. Kong Le and the Pathet Lao seized control
of most of northern Laos before a cease-fire was declared in 1961.
But fighting continued, and in 1962, a
14-nation conference at Geneva set up a coalition government in Laos. Prince
Souvanna Phouma, a neutralist, became prime minister. Prince Boun Oum, an
anti-Communist, and Prince Souphanouvong, a Communist, were made cabinet
ministers. The agreement ordered foreign troops out of Laos and guaranteed
Laos's neutrality under the supervision of an International Control Commission.
In 1963, Souphanouvong withdrew from the
government. Fighting broke out again between the Pathet Lao and government
forces. The Pathet Lao received support from Chinese and Soviet military
advisers and thousands of North Vietnamese troops. The Laotian government was
backed by troops from Thailand and South Vietnam, and military advisers from
the United States. By 1970, Souvanna Phouma's government troops controlled only
western Laos. Pathet Lao forces, led by Souphanouvong, held eastern Laos.
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnam used
the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia to move troops and supplies into
South Vietnam. United States planes bombed the trail and other areas in Laos.
In 1971, South Vietnamese troops, supported by United States bombers and
helicopters, entered Laos to attack Communist supply routes. However, Communist
forces drove them out.
In 1973, the Laotian government and the
Pathet Lao agreed to a cease-fire and to the formation of a coalition government.
A new government was set up in 1974, with Souvanna Phouma as prime minister and
Souphanouvong as head of an advisory body. In 1975, pro- Communist
demonstrations occurred, and many non- Communist government officials resigned
and were replaced by Communists. The government came under Communist rule. At
the same time, the Pathet Lao took over large amounts of land.
The
Vietnam War ended in April 1975, when South Vietnam fell to the Communists.
Communists also won control of Cambodia that month. Later in the year, the king
gave up his throne and the Pathet Lao took over Laos. The country became a
Communist state. Since the Communist take-over, thousands of Laotians have fled
the country. Since shortly after the take-over, about 50,000 Vietnamese troops
have been stationed in Laos. The Vietnamese have much influence over the
Laotian government. Souphanouvong held the largely honorary post of president in the Communist
government from 1975 until he retired in 1986. See also Louangphrabang; Vientiane;
Southeast Asia; Colombo Plan; Mekong River; Vietnam War, and ASEAN.
