Tension High In S. Vietnam Cities

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30215, 21 August 1963, Page 15

Tension High In S. Vietnam Cities

(N.Z.P. A.-Reuter—Copyright) SAIGON, August 19. Thirteen Buddhist students have volunteered to commit suicide in the religious dispute with South Vietnam’s Catholic-led Government.

The warning of more suicides and protest demonstrations was given by Buddhist leaders to the Provincial Government of Hue Coupled with the warning was a demand for the return of the body of a novice monk who burned himself to death last week. Government troops forcibly seized the 17-year-old monk's body last Wednesday after he killed himself at a pagoda outside Hue. Today Hue was reported quiet apart from an orderly gathering of students in front of the home of the new rector of the city’s university. Mr Than Huu The. Mr The arrived today to replace Father Cao Van Luan, who is believed to have been dismissed by the Government last week for having failed to prevent students joining the demonstrations President Ngo Dinh Diem was today reported to have rejected resignations by 47 members of the university faculty m protest against Father Luan’s dismissal But rt is believed the members plan to disregard the Presi-

dent’s decision. Father Luan. a Roman Catholic, is said to favour moderation toward the Buddhists. The Buddhists are planning a mass funeral procession next Thursday for Thich Tieu Dieu, the 71-year-old monk who burned himself to death on Friday At Da Nang yesterday, an Army officer was reportedly bgaten Buddhist accounts said Captain Vo Thanh Xuan drove his utility vehicle into about 10,000 demonstrators and opened fire on them when he found himself surrounded. The Buddhists said that after his shots had wounded several Buddhists, he was pulled from the jeep, beaten, and his vehicle burned. The Buddhist account was substantially confirmed by American observers on the scene They said, however, that the crowd was only about 4000, and that a soldiei in the vehicle with the officer had done the shooting. Nha Trang, a coastal city south of Da Nang and Hue. was described by the Associated Press as very tense Soldiers and civil servants were ordered to stay at their posts, even throughout the night The city’s main Buddhist pagoda was under partial blockade and monks and nuns were not permitted to enter or leave. At Nha Trang, a 29-year-old nun committed suicide last Thursday.

Touchy After 150 Years

(N .Z.P A -Rtuttr—Copyright) THE HAGUE. August 20 A plan to reconstruct the Battle of Waterloo had been vetoed by the Dutch Defence Minister for fear the French would be offended by a reminder of their defeat, the libera! newspaper, ”Het Vaderland," said last night It said the battle was to have been “fought" again at Nijmegen to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Netherlands Kingdom at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 an Anglo-Dutch force commanded by the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army commanded by General Blucher defeated Napoleon’s Grand Army.