Pcge 6
The Daily Nebraskan
MONDAY, MARCH 20, 1967
South Vietnam
EDITOR'S NOTE: The
following is one installment
of a series of articles on
I the war in Vietnam written
by Howard Moffett, Colle
giate Press correspondent
in Saigon. The Daily Ne
" braskan has run two series
- by Moffett, who was for
mer editor of the Yale
Daily News.)
. ,
SAIGON, South Vietnam
(CPS) American officials,
the press and Vietnamese
politicians are setting the
stage here for a dramatic
transfer of power from mil
itary junta to elected ci
vilian government.
South Vietnam's new Con
, stitution will be ready by
the end of March. In April
local elections will be held
In an estimated 39 per cent
of the country's hamlets.
By September the nation
may have a duly elected
president.
Step Toward Democracy
The Constituent Assem
bly in downtown Saigon
buzzes with energetic
speeches. Hopeful pol
iticians say the new Con
, stitution could be the first
step toward true democra
cyif the military will
guarantee honest elections.
American officials talk of
a "new political atmo
sphere," and point to the
temporary blocs jn the As
sembly as the seeds of fu
ture political parties. The
American press is already
focusing on possible candi
dates for the presidency.
But make no mistake, the
military still runs South
Vietnam. Beneath the sur
face of civilian politicking
there are clear signs that
the generals intend to play
a dominant role for some
time to come. ,
Military's Spokesman
No one is better qualified
to speak for South Viet
nam's military establish
ment than Lt. Gen. Nguyen
Van Thieu. At 42 the
French-trained Thieu is
Chief of State, Commander
in Chief of the Armed
Forces and Chairman of the
10-man National Leader
ship Committee (or junta)
by whose grace Air Vice
Marshal Ky governs.
Thieu is a small man,
with a bright young face
devoid of wrinkles. Yet his
voice is heavy and authori
tative. His finest hour in
combat came when, as a
colonel, he commanded the
troops that assaulted
Diem's palace in the 1963
Revolution.
General Thieu spent al
most an hour this afternoon
talking off-the-cuff in his
well-appointed office at
General Staff Headquar
ters. What emerged was a
pretty clear picture of how
the generals size up the
current excitement about
civilian rule. In brief, they
aren't nearly as excited
about it as the civilians.
Military's Point of View
Underlying everything he
said was one idea: South
Vietnam is in a crisis situa
tion, of which the war is
only one part. Of all the
major problems facing the
country, there is not one
that civilians are equipped
to handle as well as the
military.
Listen to his reasoning as
it came out in the course
of the interview.' You may
not like everything he said,
but you'll have a much bet
ter idea of what is likely
to happen in South Vietnam
in the near future.
He began by saying that
the Constitution should be
promulgated and an elected
government established as
soon as possible. He thought
RING WEEK
March 20th thru March 24th
i -)
u
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the first would take a
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hoped for the second within
four to five months after
that.
Questions And Answers
Questions and answers
follow, with commentary in
parentheses.
Q. General Thieu, are
you satisfied with the pres
ent draft of the Constitu
tion, or do you feel the leg
islative and judicial
branches have been given
too much power? Will South
Vietnam need a stronger
executive?
A. Well, you know, some
members of the Constitu
ent Assembly want to run
too fast toward democracy.
I think in general the Con
stitution is taking shape
well, but some parts of the
draft are not realistic to
ward the real situation of
the country. But we are
continually talking with the
Assembly members and I
think there will be time to
explain to them and have
these parts changed.
Military Supervises
(Score one for the mili
tary: supervising the draft
ing of a civil Constitution.
Talks between the junta
and the Assembly have in
fact been going on for some
time. They began when it
looked like the two groups
might clash over contro
versial Article 20 of De
cree Law 21, which gives
the generals the preroga
tive of amending the As
sembly's Constitution un
less overridden by a two
General Thieu's comment
underscores another ques
tion which has puzzled ob
servers here for some
time: Is the junta bring
ing p r e s s u r e on the As
sembly members to get ob
jectionable sections
changed, or is the compro
mising mutually amicable?
The importance of th e
question lies in the fact that
the Assembly's slowly ris
ing public stature derives
largely from its indepen
dent, almost defiant pos
ture toward the military
government. If it comes out
that collusion or pressure is
involved, the new Constitu
tion may be politically dead
before the ink is dry.)
Control Of Province
Q. What parts of the draft
are you referring to, spe
cifically? A. Primarily the election
of province chiefs. This is
democratic and idealistic,
but it is not practical for
the present time of war, or
for many years after the
war. The province chiefs
will have to be appointed by
the executive and coordin
ated through the central
government
We are a small country,
you know, and we cannot
afford independent states
with elected governors like
you have. For some time
more we will need to main
tain army officers as prov
ince chiefs. This is a dif
ficult job and it requires a
man of action, a military
man.
(Score two for the mill
tary: province administra
tion.)
Viet Cong Losing
I asked a series of ques
tions about the progress of
the war. General Thieu
replied, "It is very clear
that for a year the Viet
Cong have had no momen
tum. They have no more
hope of winning large bat
ties such as in 1964 and
1965. They won't seize any
provinces. They are still
infiltrating, of course, but
we can handle this prob
lem." day.
O
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14th I R Street
Nebraska Union
To Have New Constitution; Military Stays Strong
(Score three for the gen
erals: defeating the viru
lent wily Cong.)
Q. General Thieu, there
has been much talk of
peace in recent weeks. Do
you see any chance for a
negotiated settlement at the
present time? Are there
any circumstances under
which the government of
South Vietnam might en
ter into peace talks with
Hanoi or the NLF?
No Move.
A. We have to be frank
and just. We have been at
war for 20 years. The rea
son we are fighting and the
reason America is fighting
with us, is that we do not
want a Communist inva
sion. But we want peace,
we want South Vietnam to
be quiet. We would accept
a just and honorable peace,
if Hanoi would stop its in
vasion. But there are no signs
yet that Hanoi wants peace.
They are still con
vinced that they can win
not so much militarily now,
but politically. So I see no
move toward peace yet
Remeber too, they may be
under pressure from China
to continue the war, even
if Hanoi might want peace.
NLF In CoaUtion?
Q. But General Thieu,
there seem to be signs now
that Ho Chi Minh might
settle for less than a vic
tory. It is well known that Rus
sian supplies for North Viet
nam have been stopped at
the Chinese border, and the
recent chaos in China may
mean that China will no
longer be able to pressure
Hanoi into continuing the
war.
A newspaper report yes
terday cited North Viet
namese sources in H o n g
Kong as saying that Ho Chi
Minh no longer feels he can
win the war and is looking
for a possible negotiated
peace, in which the Nation
al Liberation Front might
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P
have the minor share of a
coalition government.
Would terms like these be
acceptable to South Viet
nam? A. Up to now we do not
recognize the possibility of
the NLF as a political en
tity in a coalition govern
ment. When Hanoi is feel
ing weak, then it will with
draw its forces, and then
I believe the NLF will
collapse. They are not
strong enough to continue
fighting by themselves.
Coalition Self-Dfeeating
Suppose a future civilian
government would be ac
ceptable to the Vietnamese
people. All people in South
Vietnam students, pol
iticians, all of them are
afraid of a coaliton govern
ment because our political
structure is not yet strong
enough to counter the politi
cal forces of the Viet Cong
organization. We are not
well enough organized.
(It is true that South
Vietnam's non-Communist
political structure is
f r a i 1 fragmented, d i s
organized, faction-ridden
and propped up by a host
of vested interests.
It is also true that many
Vietnamese national
ists would sincerely like to
wutt
I
Hathaway: It's rather unusual,
isn't it, to
Heatherton: Of course. And that's why
one wears them.
Hathaway: Is there any particular
Heatherton: Well, there's the sensational
curved hemline. And that slit at the
sides. Very Oriental.
Hathaway: I don't think our designers really
intended
Heatherton: That soft roll to the button
down collar, too. Unique in a mini-dress.
Hathaway: Miss Heatherton, I hate to dis
illusion you, but we make our Club
shirts principally for men.
Heatherton: You mean men are wearing
mini-dresses, too?
Joey Heatherton, star of motion pictures and television, will
ihortly be appearing in several variety shows. Here Joey weari
Hathaway's new Club Oxford denim. About $9.00
strengthen it before a
peace is signed, in order
to prevent a Viet Cong po
litical tour de force.
Coalition Wanted
It is blatently untrue,
on the other hand, that no
South Vietnamese would
accept a negotiated peace
and a coalition govern
ment. Even among those
who have no sympathy for
the Viet Cong, there is
growing feeling that the
war must be stopped.
Some students, religious
leaders and politician-intellectuals
have said privately
in recent weeks that they
are willing to take their
chances with peace and
politics, knowing full w e 1 1
that the Viet Cong have the
single strongest political
machine in the country.
Military Controls Peace
But the army is intransi
gent, and the generals still
hold the cards. If the U.S.
ever decides it wants to ne
gotiate in Vietnam, it will
have to persuade the junta
as well as Ho Chi Minh and
the NLF. So score four for
the military: arbitrating a
"just and honorable"
peace.)
Q. General Thieu, how
long do you think it will
take to organize political
rt
parties that may stand up
to the Viet Cong?
Building Political Parties
A. That will be a very
long process perhaps ten
years. You must remember
that we have never had an
opportunity to organize
democratic parties in Viet
nam (he cited conditions
under the French, Diem,
etc.) But we cannot have a
true democracy without
strong political parties.
One of the jobs of the fu
ture government should be
to help parties to organize
and strengthen themselves.
The only parties we have
now are very old and frag
mented. Public Funds For Parties
Q. Does this mean you
think the n?xt government
should subsidize political
parties with public funds?
A. Possibly funds. Other
kinds of support, too. Even
tually we should have just
three of four maybe just
two strong parties. This is
the only way to counter the
Communists. The only two
organized groups now are
the Communists and the
army.
Military Party
Q. Do you mean to imply
that the army might serve
as a possible base for o n e
14 il5! I
sri n lt
J5 MwTk
of the strong political par
ties you envision?
A. I am against political
parties in the army. On the
other hand, if any retired
military men wanted to or
ganize a party with other
retired army men, that
might be good. Army dis
cipline would give them a
strong organization.
Korean Soldiers
(Score five for the mil
itary: providing a skeleton
on which to .ang a flesh-and-blood
political party.
Though the idea may be re
pugnant to Americans, the
NU Duo Taken
In Pro Draft
Two stars of the 1966 Big
Eight football champion
Cornhuskers were picked
off in the third round of
the combined NFL-AFL.
Three year standout
"Light-horse" Harry Wil
son and Carel Stith, a de
fensive tackle who won All
Big Eight honors, as did
Wilson, were the chosen
Huskers.
Stith will go to the Hous
ton Oilers in the AFL and
Wilson to the NFL Philadel
phia Eagles if they decide
to play pro ball.
alternatives for non-Communist
Vietnamese are just
not that hopeful at the pres
ent juncture.
Both American officials
and Vietnamese generals
are paying close attention
to Korea's experiment with
soldiers turned poli
ticians. What an army par
ty might do is force the
fragmented groups of civil
ian nationalists into form
ing one large party of
their own. Nothing else has
brought them together.)
Pledges Hosting
Drive For Toys
A drive for toys, story
books, and other recrea
tional equipment is b e i n g
conducted by the Theta Xi
Pledge class. Articles re
ceived from the drive will
be given to Lincoln's TRY
school for training pre
school retarded youngsters.
Anyone interested in con-
tributing to the drive should
call 432-683. Theta Xi
Pledges will pick up all do
nations. TRY School is j u s t be
ginning operation and is in
desperate need of the equip
ment. The drive will end
Friday Night.
i
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