South Viet Nam: The Political Climate

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It was antigovernment protest at its most verbose. In Danang, the English-language placards read: "Down With the American Conspiracy of Hindering the Summoning of a Constitutional Parliament. To Hinder the Summoning of Parliament Is to Intervent in the Viet Nam's Own Affairs." In Hue, the ancient Buddhist center 50 miles north west of Danang, 400 students took over the radio station for two days, broadcasting speeches and communiques denouncing the government of Premier Nguyen Cao Ky and punctuating the polemics with, of all things, John Philip Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever.

When ten irate students showed up at Danang's spanking-new 1,000-watt transmitter, an official readily turned over the microphones. "Why not?" he asked quietly. "It's a community station."

That seemed to be the Ky government's solution last week for the demonstrations triggered by the firing of I Corps General Nguyen Chanh Thi last month. A harsh crackdown on the demonstrators—mostly students—would only play into the hands of the waiting Buddhists, who first rose to power when the Saigon government invaded their pagodas three years ago. Moreover, the anti-Ky groups had only the vaguest of aims—and the mildest of manners.

The Viet Cong, of course, were quick to exploit the unrest in I Corps. Last week Red agents infiltrated some of the demonstrations in Hue and took solace from the two-day general strike that cut down traffic and slowed unloading at Danang's busy port. That sent Premier Ky to the nationwide radio at week's end with a warning that the government would "move strongly" to quell agitation. But Ky moderated the threat with a promise that South Viet Nam would be given a new constitution by November at the latest, and other officials hinted that national elections of a civilian government might be held late this year—nearly a year ahead of Ky's earlier schedule.