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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-05296 to 363-05306.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-05296 to 363-05306
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Title
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Third article on the significance of the Communist-held elections in South Vietnam
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Description
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Original title: "Disagree", Keever's title: "Viet Cong Hold 'People's Liberation' Council Elections in Their Villages", Article draft about the People's Liberation Council elections at the village level, for the Christian Science Monitor, page 1-11
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AI Usage Disclosure
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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.
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Transcript
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- Page 1
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Beverly A. Deepe
Vo Tanh
389
Saigon, Vietnam
September 19, 1968
Disaggee-page 1
(This is the last of a three-part series on the significance of the
Communist-held elections at the rice roots level of South Vietnam).
SAIGON,
SEPTEMBER 19-There is intense disagreement about just how
successful the Communists have been in electing their "people's liberation"
village governments in the countryside and in wooing urbanites in South
Vietnam's cities and towns.
The "people's liberation" councils elected in the villages are in
effect a miniature Communist state in which Communist mo military forces
have sez seized power from the Saigon government, in which the elected
Communist village government supplants the Saigon regime as an overt,
official government and the people's militia forces substitute for Communist
THESE Elections DOVER with
guerrillas and regulars in maintaining power. In the oition and towns, the
wbon
CK
ged Communist-inspired alliances and other groups are primarily designed
to such political strength from the Saigon government effectively enough for
the Communists to seize political-military power at the central government
level and establish their own "revolutionary state government."
==more IM
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- Page 2
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Deone
Disagree-page 2
On the rural elections, American sources indicate the Communists are
doing poorly-if not failing-but the Communist radio broadcasts since
early September have been churning out glowing reports of prgo progress
of their "people's liberation" councils, not only at the village level,, but
also in some districts and in t at some district levels and a few provincial
levels. Neither the Communiste nor the Americans have loa released any
solid, countrywide figures on the number of villages die in which the Communists
have actually held elections--but there is agreement on all sides that some
have been held.
One might presume that the Communists havolo
nim inflated
their successes in their radio broadcasts, but also that American intelligin
intelligence information is not so accurate or up-to-date in receiving
reports from Communist-held areas on such fussy, quasi-military anim
developments.
#amore
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- Page 3
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Doope
Disagree page 3
the
Vietnamese government intelligence sources, however, estimate that
two-thirds of the villages under Communist control have held their
"people's liberation" council election and that in some casos,
village population has been issued arms for fighting. By Vietnamese
government figuros, this would mean more than 360 scam Communist-
controlled villagos meid have held their elections.
Of these
Vietnamese government official statistics probably optimistic ones-
indicate there are a total of 2541 villages in South Vietnam.
1249 are 100 per cont under Vietnamese government control: 549 are
100 per cont under Communist otr control and 743 villages are contested
neither the government nor the Communist control each homlet in the
village. In some of these "contest hemlet "contested" villages, however,
either the Communists or the government have may have the preponderance
of control.
Vietnamese government sources who study the sit situation are not
over overly-concerned about the Communist elections in the countryside-
but are anxious about a tho urban-oriented Communist satellite organizations
which so wh would directly sep political strength from Shigon's
constitutional government.
More
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- Page 4
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Deepe
Disagree page 4
Outside of Saigon, American officials, including a visitor from the
twelve provinces in the area.
White House,
inspected each of hnnne
Their overall assessment was, in the words of ones
"Thoro are only two provinces of the 12 in which we really know of
an offort by the Communists to do this. These elections are being oversold.
The Communists think if they establish these overt village organizations,
then if there is a ceasefire, they could claim a de facto government."
He said Binh Long was a priñoiapl place where the Communists were activo.
The province situatu situated along the jumbled junglb jungled Cambodian
border northwest of Saigon is thinly populated, mostly with primitive
Montagnard # tribesmen.
anore
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- Page 5
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Deope
Disagreepage 5
two 02
"In Binh Long in Tobruary, the Communists tried in five hamlets of
200 or 300 population cach to set up their councils," he continued.
"But, they appointed, rather than elected their councils and thon they
iscued weapons to the people. D. By late July, however, a doson of the
members of the Cou Communist councils came over and turned themselves in
as Hol Chanh Hi Chanh (the (a defector from the Communist sido). The
commit council members wanted to shed their alignment with the Communiste
and the all the woepone once issued by the Communists were either taken
back by them or else brought over to the government side.
"The Montemards villagers were forced to take the weapons and they
hed not
wanted them because they were afraid they'd be shot by tin Allied
troops. tomb We believe that none of these five councils actually
functioned and that they have passed out of existence."
more
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Deepe
Disagree-pago 6
The second of the 12 provinces surveyed in which the Communists showed
political activity was Binh Tuy, a province northoast of Saigon altuated
on the South China Sea.
"In Binh Tuy provinces, also, we found the Communist village
organizations died out of its own accord; in none of the other 12
provinces is there evidence to attempt the Communists attempted to
organize the rural areas," the official said.
Other reliable sources, however, report that in another of the
12 provinces-in Phuoc Tuy-revolutionary administrative committees were
roported to have been set up in three villages.
"Little seems to be known," one Allied sourco explained, "but
these developments in Phuoc Tuy province, but the Communist r
propaganda
BouT
lines taken in this connection are interesting. In Phuoc
Hol village, the Communists told the people they should unite to
oppose the bad people in the Vietnamese government. In Phuoc Loi and
Phuoc Hoa Long village, they told them that the people should unite for
peace."
From the rice-rich Mekong Delta area south of Saigon, Allied reports
of Communist success are "sketchy."
one
"There is little doubat that this is is a Communist objective,"
Allied source explained, "and that they are trying to achieve it in almost
all provinces. However, concrete examples of functioning committees are
scar00.
semore
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- Page 7
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Peope
Disagreepage 7
He continueda
"The evidence from An Xuyen province seems to indicate that in this
basion bestion of Communist influence, some committees have boon
established, but elsewhere the situation is unclear. One indication
that the Communists may be having more difficulty than anticipated with this
prorem is that intelligence reports show that the date for the
inauguration of the new organization keops being moved back."
But, the Communist vorsion of the mattor is quite different. They
claim on their radio broadcasts that the "P "people's liberation" council
elections are rolling along smoothly, not only at the village level,
but highter highor up the politico-administrative ladder to
the district and provincial level. The next step would probably be
the central government level-where, instead of forming a "provisional
government" by themselves, they would form a "coalition government"
with either pro-Communist or anti-government political groupings who agree
that the current constitutional government in Saigon should be overthrown
and the American troops withdrawn from South Vietnam.
#more
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Deepe
Disagree-page 8
On September 7 6th, for example, the Liberation Front clandestine
Liberation Front radio reported that from the beginning of August, 107
out of 159 villages in Quang Ngai province finished their elections. In
addition, four district liberation councils have been elected and during the
more than 300 300 male and female
(n (One confusing aspect in trying to
fist first three wooks of August,
youths had joined the Viot Conc
metoh up vorsions of the elections is that a Communist provinco or village
does not consistently match the political ontity of the sanie nane
& equival comparable political entity on the Saigon government's side.
Also, the Communiato peak of villages, but the statisties on the Allied
MORE PRE
side ere monsured in by hamlets. A homlet is Several hamlets make up a
ere
villago).
#DOIC
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Deepe
Disagreopage 9
The Communists also stressed much more than Allied
progress in the heavily-populated Mekong Delta region.
sources their
Their radio
district
braodcasts said "hundreds of liberation committees at the level at
have been set up and thousands of liberation councils at the village level
were established from the jungles to the lowlands to the Makong Delta.
In the western part of the Delta, 9 district committees and more than
85 villege government have been established. My Tho hos 107 liberation
village councils. Vinh Long has 35 and some councils have been
elected very close to several cition. We ...We have committoes now not
only in the countryside, but also in the cities, including Saigon."
The radio broadcast stressed their view of the importance of the
elections.
"The people are struggling to take over the government and thon
to establish hierovo our revolutionary kind of government. This is a deadly
blow against the co-colonialists neo-colonialism al a la American in
South Vietnam. This is the forewarning sign of their inevitabl
inevitable, total collapse of the puppet government and their
henoemen."
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- Page 10
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Deepe
Disagree page 10
In discussing the formation of provincial councils in southernmost
An Xuyon and in the Pli Pleiku area, the radio broadcast said, "This is
of strategic and significant victory. This is a turning of the corner
of the development of the revolution for the people in these areas.
08
One of the chief weaknesses of the elections is that the A
Village
Communist government now becomes overt, instead of clandestine, and hence
becomes more difficult to hold in the event of an Allied military offensive
in the area.
"Since the French days, the Communists have used these village
apparatuses-and on these the pa Party on this Party apparatus, their
military activity has always rested, " one informed source explained.
now with the clef elections,
"Until now,
this has been clandestino;
they become overt. It means the Communists have fup a sign up over a village
the village and in the nature of things the Communists can not do this,
because they can not stand and hold ground against superior Allied
military forces. Tab, once they put a sign up in a village, they
are committed to it but, they will have trouble holdin koeping it up
The Communists can set up
if the Allied forces want it to tear it down.
committees, but they can not keep them going.
these
during the French times in the remote, jungled areas,
They could do this
but the helicopters
have revolutionised this war. No mountain or jungled area is secure from
for them from Allied tro00 troop movements"
of
more reuter
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Deepe
Victory page 11
The Communists have apparently thought of thin. On one radio bra
broadcast they warned the villages that while the building of their
revolutionary governments was difficult, it would be even more difficult
to maintain thom. Honce They urged the people not to "opaze your
hard work to build their revolutionary government at any cont and their
blood and bones to protect their revolutionary govermont at any cost."
==end
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Date
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1968, Sep. 19
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Subject
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Dảng Nhân Dân Cách-Mạng; Communism--Vietnam (Republic); Mặt trận dân tộc giải phóng miền nam Việt Nam; Đảng lao động Việt Nam; Elections
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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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B10, F39
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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
