Citsis TNs
: r Tho military junte that ovorthrey South? hota nose dictator Neo Dinh Diem is faslng 2. critical situntion. This is the viow of observers on the spot, roflocted in recent despat~ ches to lending Amoricon nowspapers., “Phere is in South Vietnan today vory little optiniom sand much real coneurn," writes David Talberstaa in the Now York Times of Decuaber °3. There is little in tho now regime to dis roviarked | young “South Victnamose to Now York Tis spondont Hedrick Smith, "but it wis gust a eoup d'gtat,. c.wny of the su.c old
4a poople are in power,"
Striking confirmation of this may be seen in tho contimiing unrest amongst tho Buddhists. “fhe now govornmont,...is facod with civil oppe :sition, " says cid Tieagher in the Dec oer or 10 Washineton Post. “It is lod.e.eby the twe groups nost instrumental in Trovid. Lig momentun for ths coup - the Buddhist jendership ond the students. Raddhists of oll groups, roports Hodriok Sith in the December e7 New York E TAMOSs are particularly incensed by the "the govoerrmnent'!s ro-inetatement of Ordinence Ten, one of the reguletions of the Dien regime to which Buddhists objocted most vehemently," Orcinansco Ten gavo the overnnicnt control over the finaneccs, property and public functioning of roligics
Va organisations and was used ospoecislly to harass Balahist eroups whorceas the Catholic Church was exompt. The repesl of Crdinance Ton was one
mye
of the "Pive Demands of the Tuddhist protust movoncnt, which brought down tho Diem rogimee
“Many youns Buddhists are becoming incroasingly coneerned rbout the desperate sonditions of the Vietnamese peasantry. {mith's article quotes from a Specch by Tron Quang Than, a oe young Puddnaist militant, arrested sevorsl times during the anti~Dien protests: ths rural porulation considon ro tho change in reginie just a coup dtotateecso A revelution must bring about chenves at the lowest levels of society not just in the superstructure." In the countryside itself the attitude of the peasants is capresso odo by the intensification of the armed struggle. Casualties during tho first month of tho now rogime were higher than in any month since the setart of the war, In many areas the National Liberation Front, the political arm of the gucrilla movenent, now forms the effective government, Llovying taxos cnd redistpilbuting land. cixcepting tho district capitals, this is true of almost all of the Mekong Kiver Delta region, the country's rico bowl, in which live 60 to 70% of the populetion and which contains an even greater proportion of the country's sgericultural rosourcede
Saigon beltoeve that lack of populor support
and thoie Anorican advisors
Woestermobservers in makes the tisk of the Gow almost impossible, The coming dry season, which starts in January ond lasts for about four months, may peovide thom with thoir last opportue nity of turning back the suoriila advance, But if the suerillas can maintain the military ond psychological initiative which they hold in most rural areas then, says Talberstosa, “thore appear to be enly two likely alternatives, One is a natralist settlement. The cther is use aN of U.S. combat troops to prop up the Severnnent. (our wuphasis)
tinpuish it from the cla. “Thoy sey this wis a revolution,
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AP per iey
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