Govt attacked over Paris agreement

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33445, 29 January 1974, Page 21

Govt attacked over Paris agreement

The New Zealand Government has been criticised by the Christchurch branch of the organisation, Release of all Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience, for neglecting to enforce the Paris peace agreement.

The committee is working for the release of prisoners on both sides in Vietnam. Its statement was prompted by the first anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreement which said that the return of captured persons was not to be

delayed or denied for any reason.

It also included a section saying that all Vietnamese personnel captured and detained in South Vietnam were to be treated humanely at all times.

“Although today is the anniversary of the agreement, which included an article for the release of all political prisoners, President Thieu still holds an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 political opponents under brutal conditions in his prison system,” Mr P. Muir, spokesman for the Canterbury committee said on Sunday. Mr Muir said that the New Zealand Government had played down the problem as a violation of the Paris agreement, and, unlike the United States, was aiding the police force “which is arresting and imprisoning political detainees.”

“In December, the United States cut off all aid to South Vietnamese police and prisons. This is one instance in which we would like our Government to follow suit,” he said.

The group claims support for its cause from the National Council of Churches, and Amnesty International.

Watch hoard.— Fifty wrist watches were discovered concealed in the mast of the coastal trader Holmburn by Customs officers. Their minimum retail value was estimated at $3OOO.