President Ho Chi Minh and Prince Souphanouvong in Viet Bac 1951

Though decades have passed, whenever talking with the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Vientiane, Lao leaders highly appreciate President Ho Chi Minh's contributions, especially his experiences and lessons that he shared in the process of helping the Lao revolution, confirming that these lessons are still valuable nowadays.

As a secretary to the late President Kaysone Phomvihane since 1964, despite his old age of over 70 years old, former Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Somsavat Lengsavath still remembers clearly the stories that the late President Kaysone Phomvihane told about President Ho Chi Minh, in particular the way that Uncle Ho supported the Lao revolution’s development.

According to Mr. Somsavat, since the late 1940s, President Ho Chi Minh advised President Kaysone that, in order to make the revolution a success, it must first build a revolutionary base by meeting people and living with people. Uncle Ho also shared with Mr. Kaysone about Vietnam's experience in building a war zone, which was considered a very valuable experience, encouraging the late President Kaysone to choose Hua Phan province, bordering Vietnam, to be the base of the Lao revolution.

Mr. Somsavat said that after the base was established, Uncle Ho assigned General Vo Nguyen Giap to directly coordinate with President Kaysone to support Laos in building the army. Thanks to the base, the devoted support and the wise advice of President Ho Chi Minh, the Lao Itsala Army was established on January 20th, 1949. In order to unite the Lao people to follow the revolution, President Ho Chi Minh also advised Mr. Kaysone to attach great importance to the front work, And in 1950, Neo Lao Itsala (Free Lao Front) chaired by Prince Suphanouvong was set up. According to Mr. Somsavat, the advice of President Ho Chi Minh is "very accurate and suitable to the typical situation of Laos", helping the Lao revolution grow and gain from victory to victory during national liberation, construction and development.

Talking about President Ho Chi Minh's contributions to the Lao revolution, Saysomphone Phomvihane, Politburo member and Chairman of the Lao Front for National Construction, said that President Ho Chi Minh always cared about building a great united front by the people and for the people. He always advised Lao leaders that in order to defeat the imperialists, they had to rely on the people, take the people as the root, and the power to win is the power of the people. From the advice of President Ho Chi Minh, Neo Lao Itsala was established in 1950. After the establishment, President Ho Chi Minh always advised Lao leaders to focus on building unity, considering it a source of success.

According to Mr. Saysomphone Phomvihane, President Ho Chi Minh's advice to the Central Committee of the Lao Front in the 1950s is an invaluable heritage and remains valuable for Laos' national front organization until today. Following the advice of President Ho Chi Minh, Laos' revolutionary movement has continuously developed, under the leadership of the Indochinese Communist Party as well as the Lao Revolutionary People's Party, the Free Lao Front mobilized the people of Laos across the country to unite to struggle. As a result, the Laos-Vietnam Struggle Alliance and Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia Combined Front defeated the French colonialists.

Later, when it was changed to Neo Lao Hak Sat (Patriotic Lao Front) in 1956, the Central Committee of the Lao Front continued to perform the central role of uniting the Lao people together with Vietnam and Cambodia, and take advantage of the support of the system of socialist countries and the peace-loving forces in the world, to defeat the American imperialists and henchmen. As a result, Vietnam unified the country on April 30th, 1975, while Laos established the Lao People's Democratic Republic on December 2nd, 1975.

For Mr. Kikeo Khaykhamphithoun, Secretary of the Lao Party Central Committee, former Head of the Lao Party Central Committee Commission on Popularization and Education, and Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism of Laos, President Ho Chi Minh has always been a close friend to the Lao people and the one who has a great role and has made great contributions to the Lao revolution.

According to Mr. Kikeo, President Ho Chi Minh always took care and guided the way for the Lao revolution. Particularly, he paid great attention to the work of building the forces of the Lao revolution, considering this a decisive factor of the Lao revolution. He was always worried and often asked about the issue of building the Lao Party, cadres and army.

Mr. Kikeo said President Ho Chi Minh also regularly reminded President Kaysone Phomvihane that the revolutionary career of the Lao people is to be close to the people, to understand the people, to attach importance to the education, encouragement and organization of people.

He stressed that President Ho Chi Minh played a very important role in the Lao revolution, and President Ho Chi Minh's noble ideology and revolutionary spirit is the torch to light the way and mobilize people’s strength to help the Lao revolution to report victories. “The next generations and the whole Lao people are always grateful to President Ho Chi Minh, pledging to realize and apply his advice in the process of building and developing the country at present, especially in preserving and promoting the special solidarity between Laos and Vietnam, making it everlasting,” he went on to say./.

Compiled by BTA