South Viet Nam: Smoke, Fire & Welfare

• Share

There was an unsettling scent of political smoke, the roar of gunfire, and a search for social progress in the news from Viet Nam last week. The nation's political Buddhists provided the smoke, trying to gain political advantage following the dismissal of General Nguyen Chanh Thi. A rising crackle of Red rifles signaled the growing aggressive ness of Communist troops. And U.S.

Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare John W. Gardner led a 23-expert team on a five-day tour of South Viet Nam probing the war-torn na tion's social needs.

Buddhist Demonstrations. In the Sai gon government's ouster of popular, powerful I Corps Commander Thi fort night ago, the politically ambitious Bud dhist bonzes thought they had a torch to hold to the feet of the government.

Last week they organized peaceful demonstrations all over the I Corps area, shut down Danang, where Thi's head quarters were located, with an all-day general strike. In Saigon, 10,000 gath ered at the Buddhist Center to hear bonzes demand elections and a return to civilian rule.

Though South Viet Nam's most powerful Buddhist, Thich Tri Quang, accused Premier Ky of "indulging in a cult of personality," most of the Buddhist plaints and placards were aimed at Chief of State Thieu. Thieu is a Catholic, and it is political paramountcy over the Catholics that the bonzes want, rather than an outright overthrow of the government just now.

Ky took charge of the Saigon protests himself, meeting with Buddhist leaders and assuring them that he supported their program for elections and social reform-but also warning that street demonstrations would be ruthlessly crushed. Ky is a man of his word: last week, in fulfillment of his pledge to shoot war profiteers, Chinese Merchant Ta Vinh was executed at dawn by a firing squad. U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge also met with Thich Tri Quang to caution moderation. To quell the demonstrations in the north, Ky sent the ousted General Thi back to I Corps to calm and reassure his own disappointed supporters, who included many of the soldiers in the two divisions he commanded there. It was a risky move: in his speeches Thi was obviously torn between a desire to rally support for a comeback and his soldier's distaste for adding to dissension, which helps only the Viet Cong. At week's end both Thi and the Buddhists, happily for the nation, had not yet set any fires. In fact, one leading Buddhist at week's end disavowed any intention of bringing down the Ky government. "We are very grateful to the generals," he said. "Ky brought about some stability in the last eight months."

Red Challenge & U.S. Response. The Communists' willingness of late to stand and fight whatever the cost, plus evidences of a mounting buildup of forces now coming directly across the demilitarized zone separating North and South Viet Nam, suggests that Hanoi is desperately in search of a victory. One reflection of this need was the attack on A Shau fortnight ago.-Large Red forces have been moving eastward from the mountainous regions around A Shau along the Laotian border, building base camps and supply depots as they go. In effect, the Communists are shortening their supply lines.