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Laotians seize a rare opportunity to celebrate an ancient monarch

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Several thousand Vientiane residents were still enjoying themselves on the streets last night after the first celebration under the communist government of a royal birthday.

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The centrepiece of the unprecedented official celebrations of the 650th birthday of king Fa Ngum was the unveiling of a statue of the man who became king in 1353.

Before that, ordinary Laotians made Buddhist offerings at the base of the statue, located on the main road near the Novotel hotel.

Formalities began with a lengthy procession through the capital led by four elephants, two of which were albino.

The elephants were escorting the Prabang, a golden statue of Buddha, with which king Fa Ngum first established the Kingdom of a Million Elephants, or Lane Xang, and a White Parasol at Luang Prabang. Surrounding them were about 1,000 monks and a full range of leaders, past and present, from the Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic.

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With prayers and the crashing of a gong, the statue of king Fa Ngum was unveiled.

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