Protest At Vietnam Visit

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31030, 9 April 1966, Page 1

Protest At Vietnam Visit

(N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, April 8. A strong protest was made tonight by Dr. A. M. Finlay (Opp., Waitakere) against Mr D. S. Thomson (Gov., Stratford) continuing with his arrangements to travel to South Vietnam when other members of Parliament had had their visit cancelled because of the riots and disturbances there. Dr. Finlay said he was astonished to hear that Mr Thomson was going ahead with his visit.

Mr Thomson was a member of the Parliamentary party of five that was to have made the tour this month. As he was already in the United States on an American travel grant, he was to have joined the party in Saigon. Last week, two days before the party was to have left New Zealand, the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) received a cable from Sir Stephen Weir, Ambassador in Singapore, advising against the visit.

“Mr Holyoake met the rjst of the party in Parliament Buildings and said he could not lightly disregard Sir Stephen's warning,” said Dr. Finlay. “The members, Messrs D. Maclntyre (Govt., Hastings), L. F. Sloane, Govt., Hobson), the deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Watt) and I all said wa were prepared to

go, notwithstanding the reports of riots and unrest. “We fell in with the Prime Minister’s view however that as the unrest would be likely to restrict our movements and contacts, it would be better to seek a postponement for a few weeks,” said Dr. Finlay. Dr. Finlay said that he had asked about the movements of the Minister of Defence (Mr Eyre) in the area. He was told that as a Minister, Mr Eyre would be travelling under different auspices, separate from the Parliamental party and with different objectives.

“Now we find that Mr Thomson is to accompany Mr Eyre,” said Dr. Finlay. “This fact would certainly have been the subject of strong comment at the meeting with Mr Holyoake if we had had any hint of it. It would have led Mr Watt

and I to oppose any postponement. ’To permit tw o Government members to visit this critical area when others, including Opposition members, are put off, is quite wrong.” An External Affairs Department official said in Wellington tonight that Mr Thomson, was not a member of the Parliamentary party chosen to visit Vietnam. He said Mr Thomson had been on a visit to the United Kingdom and the United States and was due to visit Vietnam on his way back to New Zealand. The plan for him to join the Parliamentary delegation in Saigon had been only incidental, but he had no other connexion with the Parliamentary party.

He said that Mr Thomson had been visiting Vietnam with Sir Stephen We*r.