Evening star., 1953-04-28
| Red Tape BIocksU.N.
From Hearing Plea
By Laotian Capital
By George Weller
Foreign Correspondent Of The Stor and
the Chieuao Dolly NaMa


UNITED NATIONS, N. Y,
April 28.-Like a double crash
of cymbals. the name Of Luang
Prabang, Asia'S least known cap
ital, reverberates today through
the halls of the United Nations.
But the name of the capital of
Laos, the infant state newly in
vaded by Communist armies, has
no right to be heard here.
France has refused to allow
Laos-supposedly an independ-
ent nation-to ask help from the
u. N. Only Frances frown keeps
Laos from asking some other
power to bring its plight before
the 60-nation tribunal.
Thanks to this red tape-delay,
the Wet Mini Communists are
likely to enter the city of GYM
bals-to the chatter Of gunfire-
before the U. N. is able to place
observers on the scene. The Wet
Mini, like the Chinese Reds en-
tering North Korea, are repre-
Sented as "volunteers"-though
identified as regular army.
King to Vacate Villa.
Word has reached the u. N.
that the crewcut 68-year-old
King Sisavong Wong will be flown
by the French from his modest
wooden villa temple by the
steeply banked Namchan River.
The King is too precious a SYM
boil and too pliable a character
to be captured by the "pathet-
lao" or rebel government.
King Sisavong is to-be hustled
south, probably to Vietiane on
the Mekong River. The Staunch-
ly Communist That's have
even promised to give the Lao
tian king-who comes also Of a
Thai-speaking race-the right to
cross Thailand as a refugee with
out being interned.
The French have been caught
unawares by the Communist
drive for a big-on-the-map.
cheap victory in Laos.
Millions of dollars have been
asked in Washington to train
10000 jungle commandos. But
the Wet Mimi Communists seem
to have been able to throw more
than three divisions - about
5000 men-into the Laos west
ward push, without weakening
their eastward threat against
the big rice-growing delta of
the Red River in Tonkin.
Communists Hid Forces.
The Communists hid these di-
visions in the Black River coun-
try-halfway between Tonkin
and Laos-after their failure to
capture the THAI Region" a tri-
bunal enclave in northwest
Tonkin.
The U. N. has it down in black
and white that Laos has a right
to ask its help. In the new
report on opium in Laos are
found these words: "The state
of Laos has acquired full sover-
eighty"
France, with the United States
helping, tried yesterday to get
Laos membership in board Of
ASiatic economists but failed.
An appeal by Laos to the U. N.
would be a handy counter
stick against the complaint Of
Burma that it is being invaded
by Nationalist Chinese.
Plea Blocked by France.
But the plea already uttered
publicly, cannot get past France,
partly because the French want
to keep the U. N. out of Indo-
China, but mostly for these keep
your-Shirt-on reasons:
l. The main aim of the preten-
tious Wet Mimi army is prob
ably only to take the capital and
then sit out the coming rainy
season. Then a Wet Mimi peace
offensive may follow the Soviet
and Chinese bids. The French,
able to chop up their supply lines
as they emerge around the cap
ital, may be able to halt the in
vaders as was done in Thai
Tonkin.
2. The tough Tonkinese head
ing the Wet Mimi Reds will be
up against it-as are the French
in developing leadership among
the soft and sportive Laotians.
3. The Laotians, a Thai peo-
pie, hate the Tonkinese, anyway.