Incitement To Riot Fails

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30641, 6 January 1965, Page 9

Incitement To Riot Fails

(N.Z. Press Assn. —Copyright) SAIGON, Jan. 5. A crowd of high school boys attempted to cause a general riot in Saigon schools today but met with little success. The boys, from Van Lang school, armed themselves with sticks and ran to nearby Tan Thanh school, where they attempted to bring the school cut on the streets with them. Earlier, the Buddhist Bo De school went on an antiGovernment strike. The Tan Thanh students refused to move out with the armed schoolboys. Riot police arrived and dispersed them, but the schoolboys promised more trouble later in the day. Now Calm Saigon was calm today in the wake of yesterday’s rioting, although the main Buddhist secondary school of 5000 students was on strike. A co-ordinated campaign

opposing the civilian Government of the Prime Minister, Tran Van Huong, is building up. In Hue, 400 miles north of Saigon, 100 students passed the first night of a 48-hour anti-Government fast, but widespread public support for the protest did not materialise. Last night about 2000

curious spectators gathered around the fasting students as they lay on straw mats in the yard in front of one of the university schools. There were no incidents and the 10 policemen on duty did not interfere. Student leaders in Hue have promised that, if the Government has not granted their demands by Wednesday when their fast is scheduled to end, they will adopt “stronger measures.” Meanwhile. Russia’s Foreign Minister, Mr Andrei Gromyko, has warned the United States that Russia is prepared to provide North Vietnam with “necessary assistance” against any American military action. Military Action Officials in Saigon yesterday released details of a military action in which the Viet Cong almost wiped out a ranger company on Sunday night. The Government forces — spear-headed by tanks—were conducting sweeps through the rubber plantations fringing Binh Gia, 40 miles east of Saigon, when the rebels hit them. One American military adviser and at least 11 Vietnamese soldiers were killed. Twenty-seven were wounded and 40 were missing. Viet Cong casualties were not known. The guerrillas—using recoilless rifles and heavy machine-guns—knocked out two armoured carriers and damaged two tanks.