Administration Denies It Sabotaged Peace Talks

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31365, 10 May 1967, Page 19

Administration Denies It Sabotaged Peace Talks

(N.Z. Free* Asm.—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, May 9. Administration officials claimed yesterday that the United States suspended bombing of the Hanoi metropolitan area for four months to give North Vietnam every chance to agree to peace talks. They asserted that last month’s renewed attacks on targets in the metropolitan area, the first since December 14, were authorised by President Johnson only after he had given up hope that Hanoi would agree to his proposal for a cease-fire and negotiations. Officials, including the Secretary of State, Mr Dean Rusk, began to talk privately about details of peace-making efforts in an apparent attempt to

counter charges that the United States seeks a military rather than diplomatic solution to the war. Communists and some other foreign diplomats have said that proposed peace talks between North Vietnam and United States representatives in Warsaw were sabotaged last December by United States attacks on military-support installations in Hanoi’s suburbs. The Italian Communist Party organ, “L’unita” gave details of a 10-point plan for Vietnam which East European diplomats believe could have ended the war if the United States had not bombed Hanoi.

The newspaper said that in June, 1966, the Italian Am-

bassador in Saigon, Mr Giovanni d’Orlandi, approached the Polish Embassy saying he wanted to establish basic points on which both sides could negotiate. They set out to formulate a settlement plan for Vietnam after obtaining a number of basic assurances from Mr Henry Cabot Lodge, who was then the United States Ambassador in Saigon. “L’Unlta” said Mr Cabot Lodge assured them that the conflict was limited to Vietnam, that the United States had no furher designs in South-east Asia, and that the Americans would be willing to dismantle their bases after the Vietnam war.

The 10-point plan finally

drawn up was in effect a return to the Geneva Agreement on Vietnam, the newspaper said.

The North Vietnamese Government and the Viet Cong, as well as Mr Lodge, approved of the plan, and he sent it to Washington, “L’Unlta” added. But while the envoys were polishing up some points in the hope of speedy talks, the Americans bombed Hanoi. If the bombing had not taken place, the Americans and Vietnamese would probably have been sitting at a negotiating table for some time, the newspaper said. However, officials say this is not true, though they acknowledge they have no specific information to refute the claim. The strongest points supporting the Administration’s position is that North Vietnam failed to show up at a December 6 meeting with the United States Ambassador, Mr John Gronouski in Poland, which had been arranged by Polish authorities.

The United States bad only the Poles' word that a Hanoi representative would be there. President Johnson and Mr Rusk authorised Mr Gronouskl to meet the North Vietnamese representative after the Polish member of the International Control Commission in Vietnam had persuaded the United States Ambassador in South Vietnam, then Henry Cabot Lodge, that Hanoi was ready to talk on the basis of certain United States declarations.