‘Basinful Of Bombs' Objection From Saigon Writer

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31234, 5 December 1966, Page 17

‘Basinful Of Bombs' Objection From Saigon Writer

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) / SAIGON, December 4. New Zealand received some of its worst publicity yet in South Vietnam yesterday when a columnist in the “Saigon Daily News” took the former Defence Minister, Mr Dean Eyre, to task for his reported statement that “Orientals are different from ourselves.”

The columnist, Cong Trinh, took no notice of Mr Eyre’s subsequent explanation. The columnist wrote:

"New Zealand’s Defence Minister, Mr Dean Eyre, last week said that if he had his way he would drop a basinful of bombs on Hanoi because these people are different, being Orientals. “The implication was that one should have no qualms of conscience about killing the Orientals, whose existence means little.

“Mr Eyre must have forgotten that we, whom he considers to be his friends, are also Orientals. Is he different from us? Nature Of The War “For Mr Eyre’s benefit. I would like to define the nature of the present conflict. We Vietnamese are not on a crusade to exterminate the Orientals, nor will we let ourselves be used for that purpose. “We are fighting against aggressors from North Vietnam who seek to impose on us the Communist way of life. In this fight, we are having the assistance of other Orientals. “Even in North Vietnam, except for the minority, the majority are but the victims and instruments of a dictatorial rule. They wish us no harm, we wish them no harm. “Besides, the North Vietnamese used to -be our fellow countrymen; and one of our dearest aspirations is that they will become so again some day in a reunified Vietnam.”