N.Z. Says Vietnam Strife Was Not Civil At Start

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31195, 20 October 1966, Page 6

N.Z. Says Vietnam Strife Was Not Civil At Start

(N.Z.P-A. Keuttr—Copyright! NEW YORK, October 19. New Zealand challenged today the concept that the Viet* nam conflict began as civil war and asked whether proponents of that notion would stand aside if West Germany attacked the German Democratic Republic.

Mr Frank Corner, the New Zealand delegate, said: "Would they then have argued that an attempt to achieve the unity and independence of the German people by force could not be regarded as aggression, because the German people could not possibly commit aggression against th e rnselves ?”

Mr Comer told the General Assembly that others had said the war was in origin a civil war within South Vietnam. There was no doubt, he said, that political and social weaknesses had contributed to the success of Communist military tactics.

"But we believe the evidence of the direction and support of the Viet Cong forces from North Vietnam to be undeniable,” he said. There was also clear aggression from the North. “Countries such as New Zealand do not seek to become involved in a civil war,” he said. “But we cannot disregard an act of aggression.”

He continued: “We are not committed to an ideological war. But we are committed to defence against aggression. Certainly, it would be quite wrong for us to let any ideological concern excuse anyone from seeking to bring the war to an end. But wars of this kind will not be stopped by making them profitable. The world community must make known its desire for a settlement: it cannot

ask for a unilateral capitulation. “What can such a settlement be? It is not, perhaps, here that its terms can be formulated. This can be done by negotiation among those most directly concerned, as soon as the will to seek a solution is evident on both sides. But such a settlement will surely be one that seeks its modalities and its justification in the wishes of the people most directly concerned.

“The people of South Vietnam should be able to choose their own Government and their own political and social system, including the question of relations with the North, free of pressure from any quarter, free from the threat of terror and reprisals.

"Self-determination for the people of Vietnam as a whole can hardly be advanced by allowing South Vietnam to have imposed upon it the same lack of choice that marks elections in North Vietnam and other Communist States.” New Zealand lay more than 5000 miles from Vietnam, but where the seeds of conflict appeared, they had seen that their fate could be involved in the outcome in places more distant than Vietnam. “That is why the charter is founded on the notion that a threat to the peace anywhere is a matter of general concern,” Mr Corner said. “That is why this organisation exists. “That is why none of us here in this assembly can stand aloof from what is happening in Vietnam today, whether or not the matter appears formally on our agenda. That is is why New Zealand has responded to the request for military assistance from the Republic of Vietnam.” “It Is Horrifying” Mr Corner said none could fail to be moved by the material and human tragedy of the war. “It is horrifying,” he said. “It must be stopped. The only question that can divide us can be: how to stop it.“ “If the people of South Vietnam were to choose communism, we should be surprised, even concerned, for

nowhere—not even in North Vietnam—has a people freely shown by an election or referendum offering a genuine choice, that it wants communism. But if the people of Vietnam, North or South, were freely to choose communism, this is their right If they freely choose to reject communism, this is equally their right. “The question now is how to bring the war to an end in a manner which will safeguard this right We have heard constructive proposals made from this forum. We have heard readiness expressed to consider other proposals also. What is now needed is a constructive response from the other side, a response which members of the Assembly have a right to expect. Whole of Asia “Is it too much to hope that an additional benefit of a successful negotiation bringing peace to Vietnam might be an easing of tension in the whole of Asia—a process which might, in turn, open up possibilities for gradual accommodations between Communist China and the non-Communist states of Asia and the West? “Such a trend, a softening of hostile attitudes, might then aid the important task of bringing the Government of Peking iuto a wider and more constructive relationship with the international community at large and with this organisation.” Mr Comer also warned the United Nations against undertaking "punitive crusades” when faced by intractable problems, such as some of those in southern Africa, and against debasing the currency of its resolutions with questionable judgments.

He told the General Assembly that it was tempting to commit the international community to the use of force in a widening circle of world problems, but it would be a "distortion of the charter.” It would transform the United Nations not only far beyond what New Zealand believed was ever intended or conceived at San Francisco in 1945, but far beyond what would be acceptable if a new charter were being negotiated now.