No signing of peace pact today likely

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33061, 31 October 1972, Page 17

No signing of peace pact today likely

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, October 30.

Vice-President Spiro Agnew says it is unlikely the Vietnam cease-fire agreement will be signed tomorrow as the North Vietnamese have demanded, but he does not fear the pact will become “unstuck” as a consequence.

Speaking for President Nixon’s Administration yesterday, Mr Agnew said that a “polishing session” was needed to resolve “these few points that are left,” but he said the agreement will be signed in “due course.” “I don’t think the chance of it coming unstuck is very great,” Mr Agnew said. “1 believe that, substantially, the agreement has been hammered out and there are just a few matters to be made crystal clear between the parties before it can be made final.” . Mr Agnew added: “I don’t think that anything will be signed on Tuesday.” Mr Agnew was interviewed on the American Broadcasting Corporation’s “Issues and Answers” programme. The South Vietnamese Foreign Minister (Mr Tran Van Lam) said today that South Vietnam was ready to sign an Indo-China peace settlement if North Vietnam withdrew its troops and the two sides could agree on the exact role of an interim body to maintain a cease-fire and supervise new elections. Mr Lam indicated that the main obstacle to agreement now was the language of a draft proposal concerning the

interim council, which South Vietnam contends would be a coalition government in disguise and would render the National Assembly ineffective. Speaking to journalists, Mr Lam also left open the possibility that the United States Presidential adviser, Dr Henry Kissinger, would return to Saigon for further negotiations. When asked if the Saigon Government would see Dr Kissinger again, he replied, “It’s up to Dr Kissinger.” Mr Lam said that Hanoi’s draft in Vietnamese creating the so-called National Council of Reconciliation and Concord is “a disguised form

of a coalition Government.” He said that Dr Kissinger, who worked out the draft agreement with the North Vietnamese during secret talks in Paris, wanted clarification on this issue. “In the Vietnamese way, they (the North Vietnamese) said it is a Government structure, while on the American side you understand it is an administrative structure,” said Mr Lam. “So it has to be made clear.” Mr Lam said that the South Vietnamese in effect view the proposed council as a super-government which would nullify the South Vietnamese Senate and Lower House. The battle between Government troops and Communist forces for control of strategic hamlets round Saigon raged on today as the peace accord deadline demanded by Hanoi drew near. The command reported six hamlets to the east and west of the capital still in Communist hands after the coordinated attacks launched on 21 settlements on Friday night and Saturday. At one stage, early yesterday, the Communists held 10 population centres and blocked three of Saigon’s main road links. But the command said that its troops had reopened two of the routes. National highway 1, west to Cambodia, is still cut.