-
derivative filename/jpeg
-
363-04360 to 363-04364.pdf
-
Digital Object Identifier
-
363-04360 to 363-04364
-
Title
-
Article about the appointement of Prime Minister Trần Văn Hương
-
Description
-
Original title: "Huong", Keever's title: "From School Teacher to Prime Minister Unify the Non-Communists." Article about President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu's decision to appoint Trần Văn Hương as his Prime Minister. The article speculates why the decision was made, especially how the decision appeared to be a way to unify the Non-Communist parties in South Vietnam. Written for the Christian Science Monitor
-
AI Usage Disclosure
-
Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.
-
Transcript
-
--------------------
- Page 1
--------------------
zczc sag
ᎩᎩ ljp
huong 1 (normass/deepe)
SAIGON, MAY 20-President Nguyen Van Thieu's appointment of
schoolteacher Tran Van Huong as a new and prestigious Prime Minister here
is regarded here as having the primary purpose of unifying Vietnam's
atomized non-Communist political groupings--a necessary step whether
the country's future brings peace, we more wa
or a curious mixture of both.
Informed sources believe a collateral purpose of 1 greater
unity among Vietnam's non-Communists may be to dampen any potential defections
either to the Viet Cong or its newly-formed satellite grouping called the
The Communists have
Alliance for National, Democratic and Peace Forces.
been making a bid for more support from urban intellectuals, educators and
professional pore personalities, while urging urban uprisings against the
constitutional government of President Thiou.
ore router
--------------------
- Page 2
--------------------
2020 sag
yy 1jp
huong 2 (norm=s/deepe)
Whether Huong--his name means "perfume"-succeeds or fails
in the future remains a pivotal question. Already he is facing
difficulties in forming and officially naming his new Cabinet, reliable
Fmong
sources report. There is still wide disagreements been some po
politicians he has contacted,
these sources report, and some powerful
Vietnamese generals, including
Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky,
are
known to be unhappy about Huong's
appointment. Some of the e
these discontented generals met at the Presidential Palace on Monday-
thus fueling more rumors of possible military action a
or pressure on Huong.
have been
witnessed,
But,
no unauthorized movements of Vietnamese troops
informed sources report, and the capital population
seemed more concerned with the Communists' frequent rocket attacks into the
homes and pt police stations, rather than the difficulties within the
government.
Outgoing Prime Minister Nguyen Van Loc and his 18-member Cabinet,
who resigned en masse Saturday to pave the way for Huong's cabinet, is currently
acting as a caretaker government official sources report.
more reuter
--------------------
- Page 3
--------------------
zcze sag
ᎩᎩ ljp
huong
3
(normass/deepe)
The appointment of Huong himself is not regarded here, as a major
forward step towards internal negotiations with the Viet Cong;
that the most it be described as opening up the option of subtle sidesteps
or conversations towards some beginning of an arragement with the Viet Cong,
if either side so decides. The internal "peace" picture may be clarified
M
later this week, when the foreign minister is named. The current foreign
DR. RAN VAN Do
minister who might remain in office has publicly said that the reshuffle of the
government would not affect its foreign policy.
While some of Huong's no entourage is considered here to be neutralist-
of the executive branch
inclined, the
policy-making decisions
reside here in the hands of the President; the prime miniser is considered
as "the chief minister responsible for execution of policy," as one Vietnamese
political source observed. The Vietnamese constitution has formula ted
42
a government that a half-Presidential and half-parliamentary system, much like
Gee President Charles De Gaulle's government in France or the
government of South Korea.
current
==more router
--------------------
- Page 4
--------------------
zC2c sag
Jy 1jp
huong 4 (normass/deepe)
non-
A
Vietnamese
Huong's primary mission of achieving some unity among the
non-Communist political factions here is, in fact, regarded as an
essential pre-condition before an internal political settlement agreeable
to all sides can seriously be entered into by the Saigon regime.
the mosT
politiciens no argue that the Viet Cong are unified, disciplined
and dynamic political force in the South-and if they are allowed into a
coalition government, they would "swallow" up their non-Communist
opposition at will. But, these politicians argue, if somehow the
non-Communist groupings can be unified into a ello cohesive force,
coalition government need not be a political defeat for the
Communists--and perhaps some persons might be induced to desert the
Viet Cong ranks
then a
==more reuter
--------------------
- Page 5
--------------------
zcze sag
ᎩᎩ ljp
huong 5 (normass/deepe)
Officially,
the American Mission here regarded the change of
government as "an internal Vietnamese matter,"
FIND
e refused to comment
on the move. An official spokesman said the American government backed no
particular candidate for the new prime minister-ship.
However, privately,
informed sources indicate Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker had supported a change
SHIP
in the Cabinet and the Prime Minister after the Communist Tet offensive
in late January and he supported the nomination of Huong. But, the
post-Tet change of government, widely rumored at the time, became bogged
down in Vietnamese bickering and was stiffled.
Early MAY,
The
Communists' second
ground offensive into the capital, largely unsuccessful in a military sense,
created more economic and political problems for the Loc
nevertheless
government, while at the same time lowering its prestige. Hence, the
current urgency of the government change--and before President Thieu visits
June
the United States at a time when Vietnam is facing increased war pressure
by the Communists around the cities, more political subversion within the cities,
and po
he the uncertainty of peace talks in Paris.
==more reuter
-
Date
-
1968, May 20
-
Subject
-
Nguyễn, Văn Thiệu, 1923-2001; Trần, Văn Hương; Vietnam (Republic)--Politics and government; Presidents; Prime ministers
-
Location
-
Saigon, South Vietnam
-
Coordinates
-
10.8231; 106.6356
-
Container
-
B10, F35
-
Format
-
dispatches
-
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
