'Diem And Nhu Were Killed In Presence Of Generals’

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30286, 12 November 1963, Page 13

'Diem And Nhu Were Killed In Presence Of Generals’

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) NEW YORK, November 11. South Vietnam’s former President, Ngo Dinh Diem, and his brother and chief adviser, Ngo Dinh Nhu, were shot dead in the presence of leading members of the junta which overthrew them, according to a New York “Herald Tribune” correspondent. The correspondent, in a Saigon dispatch, said information now available in Saigon “dismisses absolutely” the official story that the brothers’ deaths were “accidental suicides” resulting from a struggle when they resisted arrest.

“This information also reveals that the two men fled the Presidential palace well in advance of the insurgents’ final attack, that President Diem had a chance to flee Saigon before his arrest but rejected it, and that United States officials here (in Saigon) were aware of the coup attempt and of Mr Diem’s plight,” he said. The correspondent said that according to witnesses “and other persons in a position to know the truth,” the brothers did not resist when they were arrested at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Choton, Saigon's twin city, shortly before 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 2. They agreed when the officers arresting them explained that they would have to be taken to general staff headquarters in an enclosed armoured troop carrier. At headquarters, the two brothers were taken to a

I room where most ci the insurgent generals, all armed, and several junior officers were present. Mr Diem was given a microphone and told to make a statement of resignation* turning over the Government to the junta. Instead, he contemptuously threw tbe microphone to the floor. At this point Nhu made what a qualified source described as “highly insulting” remarks, whereupon a scuffle broke out between the officers and the two men. Finally, one of the officers killed Nhu with a burst of sub-macliine-gun fire. Diem was killed with a single bullet in the back of the head. The correspondent also said that the junta plotters had previously warned American officials of their intentions of staging a coup and were told the United States Government would not interfere.

The 8000-man Vietnamese “special forces,” the elite unit that functioned as a private military arm of the deposed regime of Diem, was reported last niglit to have rallied to the side of the new revolutionary Government, United Press International said. The official Vietnam press agency reported the move as thousands of the Buddhist faithful flocked to the Xa Loa Pagoda to attend memorial services for soldiers killed in the coup. It was the special forces that led the raids on

Buddhist pagodas throughout South Vietnam on August 21. They also were key defenders of the palace in the coup. The Vietnam Press Agency also said that Saigon University, which has been closed since student demonstrations against the old regime last August, will be reopened The United States State Department has authorised the United States Ambassador in Saigon (Mr Lodge) to begin discussions with the new Government of South Vietnam with a view to restoring full United States economic aid. Such consultations were contemplated when the United States granted recognition to the new South Vietnamese Government this week. The spokesman pointed out that military aid, which makes up the bulk of United States aid to South Vietnam, never had been suspended. But economic aid, allotted quarterly, had tapered off in the last weeks of the Diem Government. Under the commodity import programme, the United States supplies South Vietnam with funds to purchase necessary imports, such as iron and steel, fertiliser, chemicals and fibres. These are imported through regular commercial channels.