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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-05648 to 363-05652.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-05648 to 363-05652
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Title
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Article about Southern shopkeepers refusing to sell food and housing to Northern refugees
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Description
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Original title: "The Myth of Mass Support", Keever's title: "Communists's 'Invisible Hands' sow anti-Allies Discord", article about Southern shopkeepers refusing to sell food and housing to Northern refugees
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Transcript
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- Page 1
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deepe
article 8 of 15 article series
page 1
THE MYTH OF MASS SUPPORT
SAIGON- The Chi Hoa open az
air market on the outskirts of Saigon,
sell foodstuffs and household goods
Southern shopkeepers refuse to
to the Northern refugees.
Nine signs Vietnamese militiamen in an isolated delta outpost
are rufused to the buying of food from a nearby village, so they have to stop
boat traffic for supplies.
CAMAU
In the previdna provincial capital of Gent in the Communist-stronghold
area at the southern tip of the country, cooks and houseboys of American
military installation a re refused fresh fut fruits and vege vegetables from
the local market. - AT Any PRICE,
In some Saigon homes, both Catholic families and Buddhist families have
stockpiled an arsenal of sharpened sticks, clubs and knivesxmmend for
self-defense after a flurry of false rumors were deliberately circulated
earlier this month that more religious rioting was in the offing.
These actions are considered the work of what the Vietnamese call "invisible
hands"--the secret agents of the Communists, who operate in "people-divider"
teams.
disorder,
Their assignments: to divide the people, create confusion and iso
Results
which raits in government instability--and, in time, leads to their
a Communist seizure of power.
(More)
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deepe
article 8
page 2
"The Communists take a local grievance and exploit it," one old-time
resident in Viet Nam explained. "Their covert 'people-divider' teams-some
sometimes called agitprop (agitation and propaganda) teams-give general
lecturers to large groups. Then they break the large group down into small
groups of common interest--stus, students, women, farmers, occupational
Soups and in detail point up the gripes. They know the people are not
sympathetic to the government,
and they create imaginary ills or government
faults. In English we call this 'brainwashing;' in Vietnamese it is known
literally as 'brain-squeezing'."
one
One reliable source estimated ad
FR
am pro-Communist member of
five in a 140-man Vietnamese army
the "people-divider" teams in outpost;
company. They generally operate in 7-8 man teams to work with civilian population.
Information from the secret agent passes through a liaison man to the
overt Communist agent--maybe the guerrillas--who act on the information either
Contrating PotentiAL
politically or militarily, such as setting up defectors inside the armed fab forces.
Secret communist cells are known to exist in almost every high school
in Saigong one Communist-front organization was uncovered in a high school
Some
in the old imperial capital of Hue, 400 miles north of Saigon University students
in and unviers university professors in Saigon and even more
nown to have pro-Communist sympathizers.
now who they a no, but seldom report them
sto get proof of their activities.
in Hue--are
Anti-Communist professors and students
But Sel Dom Report Them
the Communists are,) for difficulty
Communist cells are known to exist in fix the Saigon labor unions; newspaper
-ffices--and have individual agents within the government itself.
REPORTEDLY
WORK
Communist agents
And Pod the Buddhist movement;
are considered to play a part in the manam actions of
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- Page 3
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deepe...
article 8
page 3
Some of the strongest leaders of the Buddhist movement were formerly
members of the Communist Party-they admit this-but the question is whether
As They Roterd
they have been converted to anti-Communism,
Roman Catholic laymen and
priests say that Communists have even infiltrated the tightly-knit
organization of the Catholic Chrt. Church.
The granarou own biggest question is how many agents have already
infiltrated the regular army, police and secret police-pro-Communist agents
and sympathizers have been picked up in the regional forces.
Reliable sources indicate that social discontent and anti-government
should not necessarily be equated with support for the Communist political
cause or their military guerillas. In many sections of the country, the
peasants are pa ssive politically; in other places they blame both the
government and the Communists for their economic plights and hardship
in the family.
manner,
However, the "people-divider" teams can
in a sophisticated
exploit grievances which already exist and attempt to play groups of
persons against other groups, or the government. So, the workers are set in
motion against their labor leaders; one Teder labor leader hurls charges
at another leader; one union Zg antagonizes another.
"The Ita Commies are re succesful Ixatomimis muutammemm and we are not,"
explained one American official, speaking privately. "They serv observe the
"three togethers." They eat, work and live with the people-they are part of
the poeple.
And
"But we (Americans) give the government printing presses, millions of
pounds of paper-but no guidance about what to say in their leaflets. It's
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deepe
a rticle 8
page 4
like giving them a car, but no driving instructions. While the Communists
have face-to-face contact with the people, the government has to use
leaflets and electronic microphones dangling from airplanes. In some
government hamlets, the hamlet chief does not even live in the hamlet;
he sends over hamlet papers by couriers. The government does not even
have one person in the hamlet speaking for it."
With these kind of tactics, the Communists have little difficulty
getting participants for mass demonstrations--which they equate with
popular uprisings against the government.
The Communists
are careful to insist that their policies are consistent with the desires
movee
of the people. This is a direct flipflop from 2000 from than 2000 years of
Vietnamese tradition, where the emperor à ruledunder a "heavenly mandate",
not unlike the "divine right of kings" concept prevalent in England fivehundred
years ago.
While the Communists rest the li legitimacy of their regime on
Heini Vit
which express the will of the people
popular elections
election may differ.
so do the American system, though the fundamentals of the
South VIETNAM;
In an undervd underdeveloped such as the southern republie,
✓ however,
totally
mass support is largely a myth, if it is considered voluntar
voluntary and spontaneous.
Of the 15,000 Students" who d whose demonstration
forced resignation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Gen.. Nguyen ahnah Khanh on
August 27, only about 100 were active participants; only four did any talking;
Brades
fimm many of them--including bundles of old women-later admitted they had been
paid by political pa rties to organizone demonstrations.
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deepe
article 8
page 5
OVERturning
With the passing of the "heavenly mandate" of the emperor and the
"will of the people" expressed through presidential et elections of
fespresident god Ngo Dinh Dien, the problem of the legitimacy of power
aga in becomes a problem in Viet Nam.
/////
The forces holding actual power--the armed forces-
a Teast momentarily
have already relinquished their claim to hold it legally once it was
contested by civilian masses.
The question is how an assembly of civilians--some who are certain
to be pro-Communist--ill justify the legal existence of themselves and the
"permanent" constitution they seek, to forge within the next year.
MASS UPRISING" IN QUI NHON
TOMORROW: THE "STUDENTS OF QUI NEON
-30-
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Date
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1964
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Civilians in war; Public opinion; Refugees; Discrimination; Discrimination in housing
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Location
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Saigon, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6311
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Size
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20 x 26 cm
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Container
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B187, F2
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Format
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dispatches
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
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Language
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English
