Vietnam peace move made

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32663, 20 July 1971, Page 1

Vietnam peace move made

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

SAIGON, July 19. The South Vietnamese Government today proposed a total cease-fire and reunification of North Vietnam and South Vietnam by means of general elections, the Associated Press reported.

At the same time, North Vietnam indicated it would not accept any peace agreement for the Vietnam war that President Nixon might work out with the Chinese during his visit to Peking, the Associated Press reported.

The 1600-word editorial in the North Vietnamese Communist Party newspaper “Nhan Dan” made no specific reference to President Nixon’s projected trip to China. But its meaning I was clear.

I The South Vietnamese proposal was made in a communique issued by the South Vietnamese Foreign Ministry marking the seventeenth anniversary of the 1954 Geneva Agreements that terminated the French Indo-China War and resulted in division of Vietnam into two zones separately by the 17th parallel. The communique urged “reunification of the two zones by means of general elections in both North Vietnam and South Vietnam under international supervision.

“While waiting for reuni'fication, the two sides can meet to explore the development of relationships between I the two zones,” said the comi munique.

~ The Saigon regime said it . “solemnly requests the North _ Vietnamese authorities to end ' their negative attitude and l start immediately serious ne- ! gotiations without any prei conditions so that an agree- ' ment on a total cease-fire can 1 be reached.

Better atmosphere

“In a more serene atmosphere, when the guns stop firing, tire two sides will discuss the modalities of general elections under international supervision in both zones in order to realise the reunification of the country. “Pending the reunification of the country, which would take some time to materialise, at least the two zones should be able to coexist peacefully to promote welfare and happiness for all the people.” Previous proposal President Nguyen Van Thieu made a similar proposal more than two years ago in a six-point peace programme, but its revival at this time was considered most significant since it coincides with other peace initiatives.

These include the sevenpoint package proposed by the Viet Cong at the Paris talks on July 1 and President Nixon’s projected visit to China. President Thieu’s earlier proposal was made on April 7, 1969, when there were 543,000 United States troops in Vietnam and the level of war action was still intense. Since then, President Nixon has reduced American strength in Vietnam to 236,000 men and the total will drop to 184,000 by next December. There was no immediate comment from the State Departmentin—Washington.

However, sources familiar with the peace negotiations said they expect North Vietnamese and Viet Cong envoys to rebuff the Saigon bid. Editorial attack The editorial in “Nhan Ban” said: “Nixon’s policy also consists of trying to achieve a compromise between the big powers in an attempt to make smaller countries bow to their arrangements. “But'the fime when the imperialists could dictate their will to the world has definitely gone. The time when a big Power could bully a smaller country has also ended for good. “The ‘Nixon doctrine’, is the counter-revolutionary global strategy of United States imperialism, which consists of relying on the military force and war means of the United States, forming an alliance of the counterrevolutionary forces in each region, dividing the socialist countries, winning over one section and pitting it against another in order to oppose the national liberation movement.”

“Very tragic” The paper said that the war had put the United States Government in a “very tragic” situation, and Nixon had been running about wildly in search of a way out. But he had gone to the wrong place. The exit door had been opened, yet he had tumbled into an impasse. “It is the traditional practice of the imperialists to impose their will on others by force and to rely on their strength as big powers to bully smaller countries. Now they want again to resort to this ridiculous practice. But today the world has changed. "Only those indulging in daydreams do not see that the small countries have stood up to take their destiny into . their own hands.” The editorial accused the United States of not making a positive response to the Viet Cong’s new peace proposal and of continuing to widen the war instead.