Attempted Coup In Saigon Reported

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29744, 10 February 1962, Page 11

Attempted Coup In Saigon Reported

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) SAIGON, February 9. The South Vietnamese Government is remaining silent on a report by authoritative sources that Government security men had arrested more than 100 military personnel and civilians and curbed what security sources described as a plot to overthrow President Ngo Dinh Diem.

However, senior Government officials who would normally know the truth of such reports confirmed them privately but would make no statements for attribution.

Senior security sources told Reuter earlier that a prominent individual, known to be in opposition to the Government, had tipped off the Government on February 1 that a large number of Opposition politicians and

Army officers were planning a coup d’etat against the pro-West regime of President Diem.

President Diem has already survived two coups—one in 1955 le<j by Nguyen Dan Hinh, then Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and another in 1960 by a group of paratroopers. Troops on Alert

The sources said that when •he information was received from informants, President Diem ordered all troops on barracks alert in Saigon and security men began to comb city suburbs, arresting more than 100 persons who were still being held. The sources said an intensive interrogation of, the detainees was now taking place. There was no immediate identification of those arrested. Government circles hummed with rumours today The sources said the majority of civilians arrested were Opposition intellectuals and the Army men arrested were principally low ranking. Security sources said the first investigations indicated the fully formalised plan for the coup had not been completed by the detainees but was still in the formative stage.

They stressed that many of the detainees were only sus-

pects and were unable to say if charges had been made against those arrested or when they would appear in court.

The sources could not give any specific political link among the detainees but said they were principally proWest Nationalists and no Communists were among them. In terms of political belief some of the detainees were Right-wing and others inclined towards moderate socialism.

Liberal Candidates—The British Liberal Party headquarters announced that already 212 prospective Liberal candidates have been adopted for the next General Election and 30 more were engaged in discussions with local Liberal associations.—London, February 9.