Laos
Pathet Lao Issue of 1961 with Soldiers on the Plain of Jars
The Pathet Lao administration issued eight stamps in 1961 depicting
soldiers on the Plain of Jars and women in traditional costumes.
After Captain Kong Le's bloodless coup on August 8, 1960, the King was pressured to name Prince Souvanna Phouma as Prime Minister. When Kong Le was deposed by General Nosavan in December 1960, Prince Boum Oum was appointed as the head of government in Vientiane. Souvanna Phouma's cabinet fled with Kong Le and his forces fled to the Pathet Lao controlled area around the Plain of Jars. The following year their government issued a set of eight stamp with two designs pictured above.
Although these stamps were widely accepted, particularly in the north, and some international mail was routed through China, this issue was not recognized by Thailand, which required that letters bearing these stamps also be franked with stamps from the Royal Laotian Government.
On 22 June 1962, in recognition of the growing power of the Pathet Lao and in accordance with the Geneva Conference on Laos, the King was persuaded to endorse a new coalition government in Vientiane under Souvanna Phouma. Within two years the coalition collapsed, the Pathet Lao officials withdrew from Vientiane and civil war erupted.
Bibliography
Johnson, Mike. "Why I Collect Laos." Indo-China Philatelist Issue 143. May / Jul. n.p. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
http://www.sicp-online.org/archive/laos_001.htm.
Mackay, James. "Cambodia and Laos." Gibbons Stamp Monthly. Dec. 2001: 77-79.
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