Communist Polls In Vietnam

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31840, 19 November 1968, Page 20

Communist Polls In Vietnam

<N.Z. Press Assn. —Copi/rif/hO SAIGON, Nov. 17. This summer, while the peace talks droned on in Paris, Communist political cadres in South Vietnam were quietly holding elections in dozens of villages, according to Joseph Treaster, of the New York Times News Service. As the Communists dis-i [tributed voting cards, theyj [told the villagers that after ( (more than 20 years of ■struggle, “authority is being (returned to the people." [ By the end of October, the (Communists had conducted ■the election of revolutionary committees in 1241 [villages and hamlets, and established at least the vestiges of higher-level govlernmental organisations in ■l7 provinces, five cities and 38 districts.

These figures were presented to reporters by sources from the United States mission in Saigon. They described the efforts by the Communists as an attempt to create the appearance of a quasi-governmental and administrative body that could participate in a coalition government The sources said that a Viet Cong, captured last November, had said that the purpose for the establishment of these liberation committees at all levels was to form a Viet Cong governmental structure which administratively paralleled the governmental structure of the Government of South Vietnam. “These liberation committees will act as the governing body at all levels in the event that a coalition government is formed.” the

prisoner continued. “If a < coalition government is not j forthcoming, the liberation committees will strive to ‘ incite the people to join in ‘ a general uprising against the 1 Government of South Viet- 1 nam.” he said. ( American military and poll- 1 tical officers who have been s

closely studying intelligence reports, captured documents and statements by prisoners and defectors, in reference to the development of the revolutionary committees, describe the process by which they were created as “a sham.”

; They insist that while a few local notables were injcluded on almost every slate, those who were elected to 1 positions of power on the committees were almost without exception, members of the People’s Revolutionary Party who had been in dominance as long as anyone can remember.

The sources say that there was usually token opposition to the party members, but that it was made abundantly (clear to the voters that there (were certain favourites. I The Viet Cong have (asserted that they control 10 Imillion of the 17 million: South Vietnamese and fourfifths of the nation's land, and have established revolutionary administration in almost all of the territory. But the United States sources estimate that the amount of area in which elections have been held is 10 per cent of that held by the, Viet Cong. The most recent survey by the United States mission shows that 15.3 per cent of the population of South Vietnam is living under Viet! Cong control, 14.9 per cent is said to be contested, and the remaining 69.8 per cent of the people are considered to be under the control of the South Vietnamese Government.

The sources said they were convinced the Communists had given the revolutionary committee programme top priority because they saw prospects of the war coming to an end.