Saigon Reshuffle In the Works

Item

derivative filename/jpeg
363-04761.pdf
Digital Object Identifier
363-04761
Title
Saigon Reshuffle In the Works
Description
Article published in the New York Herald Tribune about changes to the cabinet and field command of South Vietnam, page unknown
Transcript
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- Page 1
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Saigon Reshuffle
In the Works
By Beverly Deepe
Of The Herald Tribune Staff
SAIGON
The South Vietnameset re-
gime plans a moderate shake-
up of the national cabinet
and of the field command
of the armed forces. A major
rearrangement of the struc-
ture of government also is
in the works.
The changes-expected to
be announced officially with-
in thet next week-will not
affect the status of Chief of
State Nguyen Van Thieu or
Premier Nguyen Cao Ky.
Both the cabinet and the
which is the actual basis of
the government-held meet-
ings late last week to work
out details. Reliable sources
say these changes are under
consideration:
Ousting two or three of
the cabinet's 15 ministers
and naming new ones.
Creating at least three
new ministries-possibly in-
dustry, trade and supply.
Naming an 80-man na-
tional consultative council,
which may eventually re-
call or supplant the junta as
the legal base of government.
Premier Ky has announced
publicly that a consultatative
council will be formed and,
after thorough local discus-
sions, a new constitution
drafted.
The changes come at a
time when American officials
are expressing pleasure at the
stability of the regime, and as
President Johnson and a large
group of his advisors are dem-
onstrating America's keen in-
terest in Vietnamese govern-
ment affairs by holding three
days of discussions with Pre-
mier Ky, Gen, Thieu and oth-
ers in Hawaii.
Some American officials are
known to approve or at least.
not disapprove the plans but
many low-ranking American
officials in the provinces
sistently have argued that at
least six months' time is lost
with the transfer of a province
chief or division commander.
In the last two years, the
Vietnamese government and
the military command have
been beset with personnel
changes. They are believed to
have impeded the war and
rural pacification efforts.
But political necessity, or at
least political pressures, are
considered great by govern-
ment leaders.
"The government hopes to
buy time by making these
changes," one Vietnamese
source said. "It is attempting
to keep one step ahead of the
people's dissatisfaction with
the local situation-especially
inflation."
The consumer retail price
index, which usually drops in
the period after the Lunar
New Year, has continued to
rise sharply in the last two
weeks.
Major political and religious
groups outside the government
are waiting for announcement
of the consultative body's
membership. They hope either
to exploit or to attack it, Viet-
namese sources say.
Considerable anti-war, anti-
American political forces
possibly pushed by Communist
subversives-are known to be
lurking beneath the appar-
ently calm of South Viet
Nam's political waters.
Date
1966, Feb. 6
Subject
Vietnam (Republic)--Politics and government; Vietnam (Republic). Quân lực; Cabinet officers; Military leadership
Location
Saigon, South Vietnam
Coordinates
10.8231; 106.6311
Container
B4, F6
Format
newspaper clippings
Collection Number
MS 363
Collection Title
Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
Creator
Keever, Beverly Deepe
Copyright Information
These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
Publisher
Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
Language
English