I Jonuary 23, 1975 / 3Aé J{ I * þ POETRY AND REPORTS ON VIETNAM FOR THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY THE PARIS PEACE TREATY' THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT"9ÍOP ONE HUNpRED i OF-.' (. ''''" *' 1EACE AND FREEDOM rHEU NONVIOLENT eCnON rt. e ''+ :1. I ! .+ l\ , ( t I üt I ,rqq '.. i ct¡uation gocs somcthing likc this: The thought of human misery produccs dis comfort in mc, it tlisturbs my conscience. By stceping mysclf in that misery, I reduce thc discomfbrt issuing from my conscience and, conscqucntly, thoughts of human miscry. But tlrat misery goes on and rvhat you have elTectually done is to short-cir- cuit thc conscieúcc. I tcnd to think that the human animal ca¡ries around very little excess psychic/ spiritual baggage. Or, God had in mind *om. putpot" when He equipped us with a conscience-a sfanda¡d on most models since about Genesis. If by placating that conscience without affecting change in the situation that gives rise to its ptoddings' we have, I believq neatly circumvented God's purpose. Daniel, I think'it could be fairly said that you do not "fiddle while Rome burns." You dq hçwever, write PoetrY. _MEL HOLLANDER Syracuæ, NY I hopc lìranklin Zahn is kidding when h'e biggest loser in double digit inflation is a rich person with lots of cash on hantl which is wasting in value like a cake of ice on a hot day." IIVIN, 121261741, The rich have access to the biggest in- statcs that I tçh ". . .the terest-paying investments largely barred to the small investor-GMNA pass-throughs, tax-free âuthority bonds, specially negoti: ated high interest accounts of $ 100'000 with lending institutions, etc. The ridh are neither the biggest losers nor the biggest sufferers from iiflation. They get the best investment advice available, and they literally write the tax laws' (Remember the special tax loophole sewn for Louis B. túayer by the late Senators Taft and George. It enabled him to pay one-half capital gains rate on income that by any rational standard wæ ordinary income.) It's the poôr and middleclass Americans who should be most interested in cutting arms expenditures' The rich look afte¡ them' selves æ favored inÇividuals, not as par- ticipants in democracy. When I had cancer and was scheduled to die, vou were my greatest inspiration to go on I erõw to love you. I continue to íiuíne "n¿ despite the fact that what follows iou"-you, witt nece.sariiy sound bitter and scolding' Dan, your style of theôlogical resistance is nãtftinÉ less than poisòn to tþe ef[cary-of itt" p"u"J *ou"meni, You h4ve successfully i-næinalized the pain of the peoples of Indochina. vou have come to respond to that ú; ritualizing it, reveling iri it, or (as . ;;. you mignt put it) "witnessing" it' With thls iensitivity I have no quarrel,. for there are sui"tv tnôugtt of us who go ãbout the ú"sin"st of ltrategizing nonviolent action *iift onfv negligible feeling for the peo-ple- . wirã working ("strugsling," agh-)' i.;;h"ñt ^-ftfu t.tuo with you dlrives from the end product of your internalized suffering' In a wotd, itanesthetizes lhe consclence' or whaterrer faculty provokes us to direct ac' tion. A process ieèn by some as expiatory and cathartic' The faulty i-t"" "t irutg"tlve a New Yo¡k, NY The issue of Dec. 19 on MONEY was quite original and very interesting. One important aspect of the "r,ced" for money was not mçntioned at all. That is the question of security in old age. I question whether pæents should count on their children to srpport them after retirement. Many senior citizens have no offspring or no survivots. -C'W' GRlff'IN Social Security is, and for the foreseeable Denvillg NJ future will be, inadequate For 18 of the 44 yearc I have sPent on the labor market I worked for less than I could have carned elsewhere; 2 years o¡- AN OPEN LETTER TO DAN BERRIGAN: 2 WIN line on how art is de-politicalized for in i1.," et.ti"un public. In the episode Àmarcord abolt Fascism, the opposition is vaguely called "socialist" in the sub tìüeíwtrãre the Italian sound-track is sayine'¡anarchisf " This is not the fust time itrãt ¿uuu.tt have plaved a political and malignant role, so it might be well if the tarsJts of the alfronts started writing in their protests to producers and,ËiËRïiË" Just Union, 3 years in Cooperativçs, and I I years in the Peace Movement. I took a 40% cut in salary when I went to work at CCCO and did not take some of the r¿ises voted by the Board' I had the other option of taking the raise and giving it back as a donation. This would have ir¡ creased the base on which mY Social Security benefit is paid but thc gôvernment would have gotten a larger bite in income ganizing tax. for und ,un" a vacation: tìrst to Puerto Rico, then Phoenix, then Canad4 and ñnally Florida in'?3. Each was a marvelous ex' perience marred-only by guilt over the amount of .money \Ãre were spending on ourselves urhile there was so much hunger and misery in the world and so manY worthy:causes to support I'never made more than $8000. in any year and that much only once. Yet, today, we own. the house we live in and a '71 VW. We paid $9400 for our home 3lz years ago; could sell it for more than twice as much. We get $4600. a year f.rom Social Security and I eæn $ 1500. working about one day â weeþ We have Blue C¡oss and Blue Shield and Medicæe. But what happens in case of long and exPensive illness? I would like nothing bettór than to be. oart of a iommune where I could contribute às long as I am able and could thçn look forward to receiving the loving care of the srouo for as long as I live. But outside of : ãuthðritarian religious communities, which I reiect. where do you fìnd the stability and oermaíence? So, regretably and with feel' ings of guilt, we only give awav $20G$300 a i"at. i am more generous with my timeesoeciallv since I retired. ' I fikito think that if I had children who were now fully grown and independent, I would tell them that I was leaving everything to such as WRL. The whole question of inheritance needs to be studied and dis cussed; from the standpoint of giving æ well as receiving. Five men anã four women writers started this off. Fred Rosen did not say whether he was speakins for Nancy. Leah Fritz didn't say if she spot . toi her husband. Jim Peck didn't indicate if Paula shared his view on money. Have I always been fair to Taddy, mindeð. In addition, it prompts me to noint out two facts that should have been àbuiou, to your editors from the bcginning: l) Most back-to-theJand, natural-foods pàoþle are quite advanced in their social thinking, and accept homosexuality as a viable alterpative life style. Those who do ngt are intelligent enough to learn Many 'óî'your readers are homosexuals. leaflet to be inoffensive and, therefore, failed to bring charges against Pat' It was the "failure" of the DPP to prosecute Pat the first time which led the judges to orderPat's release on December 4, L9'13. The court, accordi-ng to an Arn' ., nesty Intemational observer present at the hearing, went out of its way to recor.d that Pdt's àct 0eafléting¡ wâs still "malicious," "wicked'Ì in its intent-'rabout as bad a case of its kind as it is possible to imagine." One must conclude that thè court wutted to make clear to one and all that its deci. úon was not to be tgkon as a "precedent," the upioming having in mind, no doubt trials of 14 other B¡itish pacifists sn charges of"posse'ssion" and "conspüacy" to div tribute information to troops on actions they might take if opposed to going into :l . Northem lreland with the British:Atmy of If convicted, the penalties ttrlv face a¡e even more serious than the 18 months given Pat A¡rowsmith. Life imprisonment could be one. WlN.readers who were moved fo protest the imprisonment of Pat Ar¡owsmith should not be chagrined because hér release took' place before their lette¡s reached the authoritiec Suchletters¿re read and noted. In fac! they may iet substantially help the 14 pacifists to be tried on March 3, 197 5, by creating a climate of international outrage at the British governrnent's violation of the human rights of f¡ee speech and as sociation Such an expressed concem makes for justice; not just ihe "appearance ofjus tice" and should continue. ' _GERTRUDEROSENBLUM , _ Stamford, Ct 2) Silence is an instiument of social crimination. ,ÌI hope that you will.change your attitude toward gays to one more in keeping w.!th your generally enlightened outlook, and will admit all of your readers to full ; TAYLOR Bæticipatio{. ' -VALERIEChicago, Ill. Occupation. fanuary 23,1975 / Vol. Xl, Number 2 Recently Leo Tolstoy h4s 'þen receivin¡i some bad publicity in yoùi'pagês. " A basta¡d to be sure' eliteminded, but one helluva guy anyway. Maybe ' if (and security) for ourselves. -BENT ANDERSEN Lambertville, NJ There is a follow-up to your publication of England Possession of This Leaflet Could Get You Two Yea¡s" which must not go unreported, Simultaneously with its ap pearance in WIN (December 12, 1974)Pat "In a ' Arrowsmith, Britain's first paciÍst to be convicted for distributing the leaflet to British soldiers, was released f¡om the ndtorious Holloway Prison for Women in London. The decision to order the release was made by a three-man court on an appeal ûled by Pat against he¡ conviction. She lost the latter, but won her freedom from prison (which at the time meant solitæy confnq, men! shockingly unsanitúy cell conditions, dungeon lighting and ventilation, and inadeguate food), "not in the interest of I bought $2000. life insurance when I first began to work in 1925' During the Big Depression I fust borrowed against it and then cæhed it in. The statistics of unjustice but in the appearance ofjustice." employment and average annual income and .The reasoning of the cou¡t was that Pat had numbers on welfa¡e cannot adèquately con' æasonable ground for thinking her action jure up the image of what it was like. I never in distributing the leaflet, "Some Informa was it sometimes welfare but had to apply for tion for British Soldiers," at Warminster in nip and tuck Having always been.a string September 19?3 was no more itlegal than savof ánd pack tat, the effect on me was wæ in August 1973 wher¡ she was handing it pincher; penny a I became devastating. it out in Colchester, At that time the De. didn't enjoy buying, giving or eating out partment of Public Prosecutions judged the Only in the last 5 years could I "brealcdown" 4. The Vietnam.Criqis Gets Hot " he anÇ Sophie had had Women's Libe¡ation in their dav they might not have destroyed each other the way they did. Merely they reflected the social consciousness indigenous to their clæs and epoch. To judge them by modern standards does an injustice to both pefsons. Get â copy of Tolstoy's The Law of I'ove and the Law oÍ Violence and read it for Christmas. I think Leo and Sophie are ' among us today, Andrea and Leah. We are them. Hopefully we can work our problems out better than theY did. -'TÉPHEN'i"liJiÎ,i+i lack Colhoun 10. A Short lñterviewwi.[h DeviPrasad Craig Simpson 1 i 1. Tq Meet Old Friends I Danny ScheclÌter, Corol Kurtz, Steve Cogan 12. lndochina Poems / Carol Rubenstein 17. The Defense Department's Hot 100 Leon Reed ? 1 8. Changes 21. Reviews STAFF Tom Brucker Maris Cakars Susan Gakars It Glen Gædner communitY and, in 1950' the beginning of an equity in re¿l estate t reprebsion, often harder to combat than .open enmity; By excluding l0 to 207o of the adutt populatioir from participation in your valuable se¡vices you are helping to further a harmful policy of social dis my wife? DefinitelY nol was her inheritance of $1000. tn L946 that became the down payment o¡f the' , Dear Mothet Ea¡th News: f ERRATA :1 As a subscriber and enthusiastic reader, I was shocked to learn from WIN Magazine that MOTHER is refusing to accept Positions and Situations listings from homo sexuals. Your lettèr to RFD:is quoted: "Many of our readers are not young, lti¡> oper¡minded folks but are little old ladies in tennis shoes." am one of those little old ladies-6 1. ' years old, a lesbian, a homophile activist' author,of seven published gay novels, and I concerned about repression in all forms. Your statement smacks of sexism and something that can only be called age'ism; it implies that only the young are open' ln the box appearing on page 29 of .the 12|19174 issue of !VlN the number of 'the "World Peace " Lobby for Conscious Obiection to lncome Tax-the 'World Peace-fax Fund' Bill, H.R. 7053. Urge Your 'representative and senators to join-1 4' present sponsors of H.R. 7053. lìrformation on H.R. 7053 and 'How to l-ob' by by Mail' is available from WPTF Sieeiing Committee, Box '1447, Ann Arbor, Ml 43106." i li .¡ Tax Fund," Bill was misquoted. The correct number is H.R. 70i3. The Box shòuld have read: ' Mary Mayo Susan Pines . re.d RoÞein Murray Rosenblith Martha Th omases '., '. UNINDICTED CGCONSP¡RATORS 4. ¡'jT Jan Barry.. Lancé 8€lvllle . Jêrry Cofln Lynns Coffln . Ann Davldon . Dlana Davles Ruth Oeâr. Ralph Dlcia. Brlan Doherty Foldy. Jlm For€st. Leah Frltz. Larry Gara Nell Haworth. Ed Hôdemann . Grace Hedemann Kårla Jay. Marty J€zer Becky Jo¡nson Naribi Johnson. Paul Johnson . Alllson Karp9l Cralg Kårpêl . John Kyper . Ellot Llnrer Jackson Mac Low r Davld McR€ynolds j.' Davld Morr¡s . Jlm Peck . Tad Rlchards ' lgal Roodenko. Nancy Roson . Ed Sandepr- , SOth Wêndy Schwartz . Art Waskow . Allan Youfi$, Bovèfly Woodward The drawinls on the cover and pagefour are by the VietnameseartistVo Dinh. These drawings, along with several others, were created exclusively for the work of the School of Youth for Soçial Service in Cholon, Vietnam. Rifton / New York Telephone: 91 +339- 4585 Box 547 / 1247i :" WIN ls publlshed w€€kly except for th€ f¡rst two we€ks ln January, 2nd wæk ln May, last 4 wþ€ks ln August, and tho last week ¡n October by tho WIN Publlshlng Emplre wlth tho support of the war Reslsters Lêague. Subscrlpt¡ons arê $11.00 per year. Second class postage at New Yoik, NY roool. lndlvldual wrlt€rs are r€sponfor oplnlons e,(pr€sssd and accuracy of facts glvsn¡ SorrlFmanuscrlpts cannot b€ re. Slble turnod unless ãccompånl6d by a s€lt ã¡ddr€3sôd Prhted ¡n U.S.A. stamp€d onvelopè WIN 3 legislators, lawyers associations, and labor unions. Although it is a loose confederation with contradictory politics, Thieu's power is dependent almost exclusively on the army and police for support-not the people. JACK COLHOUN t '¿ rhE vierNAM cRisis qETs hor The.crisis in Saigon is intense and becomih'd'moie intense" Sim ultaneous with the disintegration 9f the Nguyen Van Thieu regime is the political an d eco nomic disarray which haunts Washington itself, not to mention the serious malady which.is festering in the world economy un der American hegemonY. The confluence of these problems,al a time when the basic legitimacy of rhe us Preside ncy is under scrutiny, leaves the US hard pressed to bai I out its Saigon Diploal I ies. As Gabriel Kolko wrote in Le Monde., matique: The wor in the Middle East, thè hazards of the world economy, and the serious deterioro.tion o.f 'àetunte' have imposed new priorities on United States foreign policy, Despìte how much-it moy wont to' Wosh¡ngton cannot socrifÌce its fundamentol interests in other points of the globe in order to try to reverse the bolahce of forces more and more unfavorable in South Vietnam, which in the relatively n-eor fu.ture must result ¡n á pne victory in this conflict which has losted for 30 Yeors. Although the growth of the Third Force pplitical opposition to Thieu has been gradual, by Seþtember it had become a serious threat to Saigon. lts. roots can be traced to the primarily Buddtist opposition to Ngo Dinh Diem in the early 1S99'l and.Nguycn Cao K! when he assumed power in'1966. Also, after the 1967 elections some opposition remained in the Senate and Assembly' Oppositipn continued to a lesser degree in the late 19601s as student demonstra' tions pic"ked up when Buddhist resistance declined' As lat'e as 1971a slate of ten dissidents led by Vu Van Mau were elected during the 1971 elections. When the ceasefire negotiations became more serious, Thieu's police dragnets rouäded up tens of thousands of his opponents. Continued US support .for Saigon's increasingly repressive policies clearly slowed-Third Force developmen! but the repression ultimately proved incapable'of stemming the anti' Saigon tide. Óurrent Third Force strength, according to the New York Times, "has been building during the' 21 months of disilldsion, economic decline ànd war that have followed the signing of the Paris peace agree' ments." However, the explanati on of Vietnam Report, .pub' lished by thô Association of Vietnamese Patriots in Canada, is more Precise: The anti-Thieu movement is the direct result of the wor policy, corruption, dictotoiship an.d repres' i¡on of democîatic tiberties which ore distinct fea' tures of the Soigon regime These aspecQ' ' ,love iieote¿ the preient economic andsociol crisis in the regions under Soigon control, Tþ,ey are aJsg the origins oítn, misery, grievonce ond suffering o! the urban population. , ,Thot is why Thieu hos become the main 'taiget of the urban populatìon's struggle, . . The Third Force is a loose coalition o-f Catholics, Buddhists, iournalists, students, veteran's groups,' Jack Colhoun is editor of Amex I Canada. A central position in lhe opposition is held by the i Catholic Anti-Corruption Movement led by Father ' Tran Huu Thanh. Thanh's grçup has arisen from the former stronghold of the Saigon.Government-rigbt-wing anti-communisf Catholics. Not surprisingly .. Thanh has focused his campaign on the corruptiori which pervades the Government. ln the halcyon days of abundant US aid, "corruption was tolerable because the fat came off Uncle Sam not the average Vietnamese." ln Thanh's campaigning, as reported in The New York Times and The llashington Post, little mention - is made of implementing the Paris Agreements. " l'm an anti-Communist, but not the way Thieu is.. 'l accept the'idea of peaceful coexistence with the Communists, we can't kill them all. lt's their country, too," sãys Thánh. Thanh's idea of "peaceful .ooexistence," t+J e{ U however, sees the PRG as a distinct minority in'any ' future Government while the PRG points to the Paris Agreement, Article 12, which stipulates a "National Cóuncil of Natio-nal Reconciliation and Concord of three equal segments" which incluìles the Thieu Governmen! the PRG, and the Third Force. The Catholic Anti'Corruption Movement has its divisions, though, and many priests are reluctant to criticize Thieu so directly. There are some left Catholics who could exercise some influence, but up to now they have rernained in the background. The real ' nature oî the. Catholic movèment is reformism: "We could overthrow President Thieu in a couple of weeks, but that wouldn't do the coüntr! much good. Whatr ' i we really want is reform," Thanh explains. The Buddhist movement centers around the National Forces of Reconciliation led by Sen. Vu Van Mau. The group has political ties with the An Quang Pagoda which played a leading role in the opposition to Diem. Compared to the Catholic movement the Buddhists are quite militant and campaign around the [mplementation of the Paris Agreement. Thich Tri Thu, an An Quang Pagoda leader says that because Thieu is an obstacle to peace, "the Buddhists cannot possibly accept the leader of the present GovernmenL Ñor can we accept any similar leader in the future." Retired General Duong Van Minh, who led the overthrow of Diem in 1963, has taken a militant stand against Thieu characterizing his regime as "a violentWIN 2 4WtN 5 .r' thirsty Government having no longer any regard.for anyone. . ." Big Minh went on to say Thieu's is "a regime that has completely lost the confidence of the people" and called for a new Government. Minh was also present at the An Quang Pagoda when Vu Van Mau announced the founding of the National Forces out of the closet the old stand-by-predicïons of óRV-pnC offensive. He also promised "within three armonths" to'reduce the level of corruption iÍl the and Governmenl "mv'Àítñorslt much of the speeih was conciliatory, ¡ui *ltll"üt substance, the opposition rqaçted quite of Reconciliation. negatively. Since the Third Force is anti-communist, .. it ãidn't áppreciate being dubbed communilt "lackey" as Thieu did several times in explaining why any o¡ ãtsition to him was dangerous' Furthermore, the talk 'n^J l¡ttt. effect on the street demon'strations. By midöäoU"t, The Washington Post noted "for the'first time in íears, the common fecíple of Saigon showed i real spãrk óf interest ln supporting this rhorning's Growing unemployment coupled with uncontrolled inflation has led to some action by workers and unions. Worker activitl, is significant because most trade unions are puppets of the Thieu Government. The CIA is known, as well, to have many contacts within the union movement. Most union activity has been in response to layoffs and inflation. Twelve unions representing 30,000 workers in Bien Hoa called "for a strict control of prices, prohibition of'abusive' sacking of workers, participation of unions in decisions relating to economic and social policies, and action against corruption." Workers have also been active in the railroad, milk processing, and glass industries. Bus workers to the west of Saigon have waged a fight for their: rights. An important indication of Thieu's isolation is that in late October Tran Quoc Buu, President of South Vietnam's largest union, the Confederation of Vietnamese Trade Unions, "issued an appeal for the eradication of corruption, the implementation of the Paris truce agreements and the establishment of democratic liberties." Buu, in the past, has been a staunch Thieu supporter. Dissatisfaction with the existing trade union movement has led to the creation of a new organ¡zation, the Committee for the Defense of Workers' Rights. The committee is headed by Father Phan Khâc Tu, the chaplin of the Young Christian Workers move menl Tu calls for the "re-establishment of democratic liberties, such as the freedom of assembly and the freedom of travel, as sti'pulated by Article ll of the ,t Paris accords" energy to the Women's Mövement for the Right to Life and the Peoples' Organization for the lmplementation of the Raris AgreemenL She also belongs to the Peoples' Front Against Famine and for National Salvation. Since the Paris Agreements the press has been severely harassed by Thieu. The threat of closure, arrests of journalists, and confiscation of papers has limited press opposition until this fall. lronically, it was the confiscation of three Saigon dailies in midSeptember that set the stage for the first largescale public anti-Thieu demonstration and also helped to galvanize further press opposition. The papers seized contained lndictment Number 1, a 6count "indict' ment" of the Government by Father Thanh. The demonstrat¡on led to street bonfires while opposition deputies shouted ant¡-Thieu slogans on the streets. The issue offreedom of the press has led to the formation of the Committee To Struggle for Freedom of the Preiss and Publícation as well as another rally of about 100 Catholic priests, Buddhists and opposition 6 2 wlN Madame Ngo Ba Thanh before her arrest and imprisonment. Photo by Don For the last two years a group of left Catholics have waged a campaign to free Thieu's political prisoners. Recently, however, very influential rightwing Catholics have become involved. Up to now, these Catholics have been silent supporters of Thieu. Mnre. Ngo Ba Thanh, a political prisoner released during the summer of 1973 while the US Congress was considering aid cuts, has given þer seemingly 'limitless transfer of three military corps commanders. But early the same day the folice raided Saigon's National Press Club where more ìhan fifty iournalists had gathered to prepare for the day's demonstration' Shooting and fighting broke out during the raidAmong lhose béat and arrested was Ho'Ngoc Nhuan, i an opposition dePutY. Thä police raid prompted a group of 44 le-gislators :. to call on the U$ Congress to úíe its good.offices*to . ' terminate the Saigon Governmént's "policy of brutalizing deputies, prlests, reporters and of the savagê reprässiån of ihe people.;' Their statement also drew attention to the fact that Saigon authorities "have * ur"ã US aid and assistahce to iepress the people" and bear responsishould therefore the "US Government bility for that policy. . ." Simultaneously, Tran Van president of the Saigon Bar Association, isíued a ' Ti, statement denouncing policé repression. ;' Early November seemed to be a crossroads for the .opposition movements. Big Minh responded to Govern.r"nt violence with a call for a new government. Father 'j inanh met with his staff to discuss Stiategy and came out of the meeting calling for Thieu's resignation for the first tine. Hisiuperior, ArcKbishop"Ngqyen Van Binh, has made it knowh in prlvate that he thinks . ¡ Ttranh has gone too far. The Buddhists are continuing ¡ their anti-Gãvernment pressure but are still reluctant a Luce/LNS ,t politicians. In mid-November opposition newspapers shut down for two days in protest of a lower house of the National Assembly's support for a bill which only slightly reduces Thieu's power to confiscate newe papers. Although Thieu was forced to make minor modification in the law, his political base in the Nadonal Assembly has yet to abandon him. Third Force opposition groups have many contradictions among them and the confluence of these ' diverse movements has produced the first serious political crisis for Saigon since the ceasefire. At first Thieu responded with kid'gloves to the street demonstration5. He summoned the remnants of the Catholic community to his side by having priests appear on national TV to make proThieu appeals and denounce Father Thanh's movemenL Police repression was conspicuously absent. Next he took to national TV to make a long awaited response to charges of corruption. ln a two hour speèch, which drew the cómment that it resembled a Nixon Watergate pronouncement Thieu denied the allegations and offered to resign if "the entire people and army no longer have confidence in me." Like his former Washington mentor, he failed to respond point-by-point to the charges lèvelled against him and made constant reference to his enemies-the Communists-who would gain from domestic unrest. When really in trouble, he brought " anii-government - 1ñ. growth ofProtesl support for the demonsfrations did not go õnnoticed byihieu, who dqok a mycf h3rder oosiiion on demonitrations. His pdlice arld'plainåloth"r detectives were let off their leashes and atäãíi.J news correspondents and demonstrators, the effect of which was not to put a damper on. demonitrations but to rïake them more militant. ln. late Oçióber several hundred students occupied the National Assembly, smashed glass doors and hurle-d plant pots across the street. The police cordoned off the area \ wi,th barbed wire and eventually the demonstration died down while'3,000 gathered in Hue to hear from the'Bu¿dhist National Reconciliation ió.át "tt the same period Father Ttanh went During Êor""t. towns in the Mekong Delta' through tour a on -'opposition to be arrested were 14 of t-he nrst tne 'the National Assembly' students who occupieif to have plainclothes police taciic'is Thieu Áñotnt, shadow opposition figures: "a Catholic priest was i"oÀrt.¿tv tollowed 6y three plainclothes men into a th'eatre w'h.t. u Charlie'Chaplin film was playing," fht Nr* York Times reported. The tempo quickly picked up as violent clashes began to break out be[*""n pótit. and anti'Thieu demonstrators' A session of the iower house of the Nationafrassembly erupted pistol "ìntä irmuir . .as ashtrays were thiown and a wasfired into the air. .." in mid-November' The uproar was the result of a debate over a Government bìä which only partially lifts a ban on political partiés other than the President's. Sen. Doan Van Luong ãr'rát*.á that Thieu's police, a few days earlier, fired-. i"lã T ãt"*¿ of anti-ö over n ment demônstrators, kil linn on. and wounding 12 others in the village of öi""ñiln, i¡.ur70 mÏles northwest df Saigon' About i.OOO òertont had gathered near the local Catholic óñrttf't. Fighting broke out when secret police at' i"rotà¿ tõ absðond with the microphon'es and broke iwo'altars in front of the church. Then Government troops burned ten houses' During this period Thieu was considering what he'would have to malie in hopes of co"on-.ðttioîi åoting the opposition into coming off-the streets' . Ëirtfi. secuie¿ the resilnation of lnformation Minihis closest s,rcr fuoung Duc Nha, his cousin and one of to engage in mass protests and violence. gy lãte November, however, the opposition movet.nt s.ets to have pulled back. The New York Times writes that "sóme politiéians and foreign diplomats ' believe that Mr. Thieu has maneuvered shrewdly and of his erosion the to check weeks in recent itittfrtty oãtiti"uí power. He has made some small concessions io ttre oppos¡tion and then 'talk" During the fall's heightened activities, the l¡beration forcõs have made iheir position clear. ln early 'i September Hanoi's prestigious Nhan Dan called.for government which a of 'Itñã ¡mmediate installation wåulJ implement the accords of Paris and one which : The '.,' ,; Þarisian daly Le Monde noted that preceding the Nhan Dan dómands, the editorial review.ed the action .' *orfã Ut¡ng about peace..and national concord"' , ':i oi iñe l¡beration foices in the south during August: ' ". . .This ryï-age seemed to^announce a.hardening oh 't 't', " the oart of Hanoi and the PRG." -":ftt" part of the liberation rnilituty activ¡ty on the forces during t'he summer made it clear that they're, iñ top tft"p"]They have, in fact,-recaptured most of ' ifie tänitory taken by Saigon in land. grabbing aotions imme¿iateiy after the cease.firg was signed' The'in- il;t"d tt¡iitury initiative i3 nðt an announcemqnt'of i new PRG-pRV general offensive but rather a denxrh' the. ittution to Saigon of their military capabilitiesat all military caPabilitY. 1 ment that by the end of 1974,377 field-grade army ómi.rt wouid be fired fcjr "corruption and dishonest activities." No generals were. on thq !ist, however' Just äõiönéilàn¿ mãiors got the boot' when thrs gesture i..u.¿ inadequate, Thieu came on with a carrot in ãnã flin¿ and a stick in the other. He announced the i --'{' sime time tnuiUS military aid cut backs have forced iàstrictions of Saigon air and artillery strikes and over- with the resignations of three other "àuit"tt, t¡n¡tiers. As an effort it defupe the opposition, "ibinét it failed. This move was followed by the announcea-Íong he gave them some tough By mid'-Septe mber Nhan Døn published an even mo-e significint editorial calling for the overthrow of fnieu ¡ñ the near future. lt stated, "the war will con' tinue until there is a complete cessation of American aid." "The fall of President Thieu will be desired and prepared by the Americans, who are already trying to manipulate the opposition movements.by remote control.'í The PRG. about the same time, issued a state' ment charging ÚS involvoment in the grooming of a successor to Thieu. ' " ^ ' wtN 7 ,T ln Saigon the PRG on October 8 announced that it had broken off negotiations with the Thieu Governmenl The PRG also demanded the immediate overthrow of Thieu, the implementation of the paris Agreement and the end of US ,,interference" in Vietnam. This is an important move since the pRG hds been quite successful diplomatically and political- ly by negotiating and showing willingnóss to imple- ment the Agreements. lt is thought this signals the PRG belief that Thieu's days are drawing to a quick closc. The liberation forces suspect that the US is implementing contigency plans for the repfacement of Thieu with a-new Pres¡dent, who would carry out the same policies but look more respectable, and therefore be able to buy crucial time by diverting the opposition movement. Another important factor is tire aid-trimming US Congress. A Mr. Clean in Saigon, with some popular support, it is reasoned, woul¡' make it less diffcult to guide aid programs thîough Congress. Thieu himself in speeches has made reference to "Communist and coloilíalist" financial support of the opposition movemenL ,'Colonialist is a euphemism for Americans. . . and Thieu is thought to be concerned that the United States, despite iis public stance of support for him, might turn against him if it appeared that he could not control the country and if another. viable leader surfaced." There is no doubt that Washington has active contingency plans for replacing l hieu. lt is no secret that a large number of experienced Vietnam experts have been commuting between Washington and Saigon in order to resolve the current political crisis. For example, Henry Cabot Lodge, the US Ambassador to South Vietnam during the period of the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, spent about a week in Saigon during Sep tember. The infamous Gen. Edward Lansdale, the legendary CIA saboteur and tactician, left for a two month mission to Saigon in mid-September. Lodge's presence either indicates indirect pressure on Thieu to resign or the cultívation of old ,,d'epend- {"È able" Vietnamese associates. Lodge didn't meet with leaders of the Thieu regime or the Third Force. lnstead he met with people associated with the old Di- - em Government. Thot Boo Ga, a Vietnamese newspaper reported: "lt is important to note that Lodge was a key figure in. the coup against Diem and that he hgd close contact with the coupls leaders and other political and religious personalities. Also noteworthy is that Landsdale holds a personal grudge against Thieu for blocking his plan to put together a right-wing coalition in 1967;then Thieu forced l-ansdale out of the country. Lansdale is "either getting his Vietnamese proteges to join a right-wing coalition that can replace Thieu, or he is trying to scare Thieu into resigning peaceful l y. " Another key American is 4 rising star on the Kissinger staff-Douglas Pike. ln August and September, Pike met with several prominent Vietnamese while in Saigon. Since his return to Washington, he has met with several key US journalists anC columnists, such Alsop and Rowland Evans and Robert as Joseph Nova( "presumably to brief them of possible changes of leadership in Saigon and what they would mean." One of the most steadfast supporters of Thieu in the past has been the current US Ambassador, Graham Martin. Martin returned to Saigon cn October, 1 after spending two months in Washington participating in 2 8 WIN top level strategy sessions and appearing before Congressional committees. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Martin responded tersely to a question from Hubert Humphrey on ' "what would happen if Thieu were out of power, what kind of government,would follow." "l mvself do not anticipate that any change in individuals would cause any deviation from the thrust of the Government of South Vietnam." Martin left Saigon afer a five day stäy, presumably to fly back to Washington. CIA' Director William Colby is also known to have paid a secret visit to Saigon. How suçcessful US maneuvers have been at this point is difficult to determine. lt seems very likely. that Father Thanh keeps in close touch with the Amèricans, and if he doesn't his superiors do and keep him in line. Thanh's background is classical pro-collaborationist Vietnamese. ]n 1954 after the Geneva Accords hê presented the American puppet Diem' with a plan for an anti-communist network along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. i'The plan was rejected but Father Thanh was offered the job of forming Republican Youth'cadres under the direction of Ñgo'Dinh Nhu, the President's brother and the power figure of the regime." More recently he has led anti-communist Minister of Social Welfare and Land Development and Hamlet Building. Over the last three years Dan has risen from obscurity to a position of high power. lt is well known'that his meteoric fise is due to the influence of "high United States officials.in Saigon." Accordirlg to Edward L. Block, a former official of the US Agency-for lnternational Developmentwho advised Dan with respect to land development and hamlet building, Dan "would mean more of the3ame' . ." Ì l 1 i. I The questions of how successful Thieu will be in holding on or, conversely, how successful the US will be in finding a replacement who will continue the same basic policiõs is difficult to answer at this point in itre stiuggle. A more basic question-ls it possible'for any Saigon Government to continue the same policies?-can be answered no. As long as the US suffers from economic and politic4l inst4bjlity, is preoccuþied with other pressing lssues of foreiglr policy, and is change was not merely coincidental with Thieu's dif- ficulties in forming a new cabingt. According to Thanh, "We don't need to have demonstrations now." Soon afterwards the Governmçnt issue.d a communique "reminding citizens of the decree laws banning the possession or distribution of published documents 'detrimental to national security'. . .li was clearly I aimed at the opposition móvement's literature." The lnterior Ministry followed this.up with a warning "to citizens to avoid illegal meetings and demonstraiions." By mid-November Thanh issued a proposal fof the formation of "a 12-member nàtional leadership dnd advisory counsel that would guide the President on major policy.l' Nhon Don replied that the proposal clearly "unmasked" Thanh's intentions to find a mechanism by which Thieu could stay in power. ln Saigon the PRG repeated its October 8 demands, including the immeiliate overthrow of Thieu. The PRG also attacked Thanh for his "cunning tricks.'" * psychological warfare courses for Saigon colonels. Thanh has boasted, "Among my students, I can count' 'six generals. lt is because of this that Thieu is afraid of me." Thanh has the 'ltacit approval" of the Vatican. The Vatican's history, it should be recalled, includes several dismal chapJers of collaboration with the Nazis. during their reign of terror. The Vatican has been charged with helping Nazi war criminals escape into the undlrground after Hitler's defeat; Furtheimore, Henry Cabot Lodge is the current US representative to the Vatican. Some observers feel the Vatican would not have given Thanh "facit', support arìd would not have written two secret reports, critical of Thieu and arguing that his continued regime is beneficial to.the PRG, if the US had been actively opposed. . t . Perhaps the central Vietnamese figure in the palace plots is Tran Quoc Buu, President ofthe Confederation of Vietnamese Trade Unions. Buu's union "has long been known to be a CIA front; large sums of money have been funneled into it by rh; AFL-CIO and the German Konrad Adenaler Éoundation." His relationship with George Meany, the head of the AFLClO, and.the US Government goes back to the days of the Johnson Administration. Meany argued with the administration that Vietnamese tràde unions such as Buu's were critical to American interests. ,,probably because o-f his connections and power, a number of polítical figures in Washington were tól¿ by usually reliable sources in láte August that Buu haä been chosen to_ replace Thieu at the head of a new rightwing coalitioñ." However, it is by no means certain that Buu will replace Thieu. For reasons of the US Government's relations with Congress,.which are central to obtaining greater aid allocations, a "peaceful" transition of powãr in Saigon is desired, This is especially necessary coming on lhe heels of the Watergate dirty tricks discussion of Kennedy Administration involvement in the Diem assas. sination. At present Thieu has given no intention of stepping down without putting up a fighl Already he ,,the two men .has destroyed the/careers of who were closest in line to succeed him constitutionally." Another possiþle successor to Thieu is Dr. phan Quang Dan, currently Deputy Prime Minister and ?. å p I l I i : I Anti-Thleu demonstrators ¡åttt¡ng pollce ¡n Saigon. Photo from LNS. I I faced witli the possible economic collapse of the United Kingdom, France, and ltaly, its policy options in Vietnam are critically limited. ¡1 As long as the political, economig and military problems which plague Saigon rema¡n unsolved, as they will until peace comes to Vietnam, the country will remain a tinder box. This is especially the case since the political, military, and economic crises in neighboring Cambodia are also intensifying and will have an effect on South Vietnam. The contradictions in South Vietnam are coming to a'climax, and will be resolved within the next two or three years at the latest. Whether the Washington-Saigon axis will be able to hold the line in the short-term is not so clear. The New York Times reports onp Vietnamese source as saying, "lf he is smart, Thieu can stay on until the end of his term (in the fall of 1975). lf he is unlucky, he may go faslt'Another source predicts, "lt is only a matter of time." Le Monde writes, "The erosion of powers held by General Thieu have alrçady undergonè an irreversíble process. . .A Government member particularly well placed has already made it known that'the question' will be resolved before thg end of*the year." A major tactic of the Washington-saigon axis is working through Father Thanh "to manipulate the popular struggle" as the PRG charged in late November. After the street fighting in late October, Thanh 'announced "his intention to switch for a while from marihes to meetings." Thanh noted that this tactical When considering the present political struggle in ' Saigon, it should always be kept in mind that political struggle, although the liberation force's current priority, is only one element of the strategy of revolutionary wars of liberation. Thê two other important aspects of strategy are fought on the economic and mili- tary fronts. Economically, the liberated zones are much more sound than the Thieu controlled.areas in' !" :l that they are able to provide the basic nécessities of life, whereas hunger is widespread and even starvation has been reported in Saigon controlled areas. Mili' tarily, the morale of .the Saigon army is quite low and' US military aid cuts have seriously restricted its opera-. tions, while'the military.capability of the liberation forces has never been Èreater. 1' .n As for the final demise of Thieu or any like-minded' successor, we should look for a political victory rather than a È¡ilitary assault. ln reviewing the defeat of the French colonialists in lndochina in 1954, the Army Combat Forces Journal drew parallels between the vic', tory of the liberation forces in China and the Viet Minh's victory. "The deadly parallels between the t¿ctics of the Red Chinese and'the Viet Minh is nowhere more precise than in adherence to Mao's dictum to be cautious and patient in assaulting cities. Mukden fell to the Red Chinese in 1947 and Viet Minh forces walked victoriously into Hanoi in 1954," The referenpe to Mao Tse-tung's ten military principles is "As for strongly defended enemy fortifled points and . cities, wait until the conditions are ripe and then take them." wtN 9 for example, read "Do Not Kill Your Fellow Vietnamese.'l Although to people in Europe and America prisons, disease, of untreated of tortures in of pathetic Saigon. Devi Prasad. Photo by Davld McReynolds. A SHONT IÌ{TEßVIEW WITH DEVI PNASAI) fhe following is an interview done by Croig Simpson w¡th Dev¡ Prosqd in November following DevÌ's tour of South and Southeast Asio including India, Maloysia, lndonesio, Singopore, and Bongladesh, He visited Soigon for a week in lote August when the UnifÌed Buddhist Church began its "Don't Kill Yóur Brother Campaign." Croìg Simpson is o staff person for the l'lor Resisters lnternotionql in Belgium. Devi Prasod is t å WRI's Chqirmon. llhat is the Pol¡t¡czl Environment in South Vietnam like presently? I would like to make four observations and all relate to the tremendous mass oppositíon to the present government told by several people that any thinking person would oppose. Those who support President Thieu and his regime of course "benefit" from it. 1) There is a fantastic amount of corruption. For example, the huge military budget and the real number of servicemen in the South Vietnamese Army. I was told on record the South Vietnamese Army has 1,100,000 soldiers but in reality only 500,000. A bat- talion is supposed to have 136 soldiers but there are only 20. So there is a campaign against corruption. Z) fne two committees on the question of prisoners are becoming more and more important in the network of opposition. There are over 200,000 political prisoners although the government refuses to admit having any. These committees have the names of tens of thousands of prisoners and publish some very good literature. 3) One sectlon on the Unified Buddhist Church (UBC), particularly the An Quang Pirgoda is organizing a national reconciliation campaign. Slogans used, 2 10 wlN What are the makeup ond goals of the movem"ni, ,o help prisoners? There are two committees in South Vietnam: a general or National Committee and a Buddhist Committee. The National Committee is demanding free, untried and acquitted defendants; that those imprisoned beyond their sentence, children, aged, invalids and pregnant mothers be released; that all unlawful arrests and unlawful incarceratión be stopped; that the policy of ill treatment and torture of prisoners and using prisoners to rule other prisoners be stopped; that political prisoners be considered opponents of lhe presenf regime and not criminals afainst the government; that people just freed from prison be given assistance to lead normal lives. lt is working toward these goals. The Buddhist Prison Committee is working to prepare a list of prisoners, to provide moral and material assistance, and to campaign for their rpleáte. One man spent seven of ten years imprisoned in and out of tiger cages. He was kept, say, foi a month in the tiger cage and then transferred to a prison with a slightly larger space for a few days before being brought back to the tiger cage. He spent seven years in this manner. The old tiger cages were extremely inhumane but those new cages built with US money are monstrously inhumane. His ration was reduced from 700 grams to 500 grams. Now, after release, he lives in a village but has to come to Saigon every week. He has no work and is finding it extremely hard to feed his far¡ily. "l do not know how I can carry on like this," he told ffie, 1r¿¡d alsg look after my family." What about Conscientious Objectors in South Viet- nom? I had heard that a large number of young men lvere either refusingpr avoiding service by becoming monks and t¡king refuge in the pagoda. This seems ûo be stìll true in the rural areas but in Saigon, I was told it has become almost impossible for the pagodas to give their protection to draft resisters. There is a very constant watch kept by special police on every pagoda-so much so that anyone opposing Thieufs government or Þarty is under surveillance by the special police. lt is well known that if people are caught hiding in a pagoda not only they but their families or their relatives will be arrested and imprisoned. it- Speak strongly about: the Crimes that can never be erased; An Quang Pagoda and I had them in my notes and papers but they were seized by police while walking on the streets. This happened twice during my visit in 4) The political and challenging phenomenon of the Third Force is gradually emerging and will eventually take shape on the basis of self-selection and selfelimination. Up till now it has neither crystalized nor become very powerful-particularly against the enormous power of the Thieu regime which they are op posing. lt is neutral, political, popular, and does not speak of violent action. lt consists of forces excluding those on the extreme right and extreme leff TheThird Force has very active liaison with the PRG on one hand and on the other a fair degree of infiltration in the government represented by the extreme righl will do We it may sound innocent, it is an extremely meaningful for Vietnamese. There were several banners on slogan ._ t puPpets uná po*.r" hungry prppått.ers' will tell our f¡iends about Vietnarn About its strength and fortitude The will to survive We came in search of old friçnds. 'fhe three of us, old activisti, new comradps had lived with Vietnam most of our lives' -'. ln h<¡urs of outrage and protçst, in nightmares of shame and horror ln wãeks of solidarity and conceiii ' against the We * 19 years old, guarding the bridge in the rain. Too shy to talk with us, Not tóo timid for the rifle on her back. .With memories of an old woman, her'mouth red with the taste of beeíle leaves, amazed at meeting Americans on a ferr! near her home. She looks at us, ,' Our lnspiration Filtered through-a thousand photos, a million words an abundance of facts ' and the stories of travellers, who've come before. tells us simply about the bombing and asks about our children. We will bring home memories of_tþe baskets in the,market at Dong Ha But WE had never breathed Vietnam before Or watched iis wirnder with our own eyes Travelled its highways to liberation This was, for us, all nerv on sale, cheapcrafts of peace from the products of war. May Robert McNamara turn over in his living grave! We will talk of all these things, about the U.S. airbase whose runways Up close: You nrust walk through a hundred rivers because the bridges are gapinq holes. Up close: You can see the forests that once had timber antl jangled steel in fields meant for growing food' Up close: :t Vietnam is something real. odds will do it with memorics: of the militia girl, , Vietnam has been our awakening I As Real as the man in Vinh who fishes with one arm The scars of war are everywhere As Real as a peasant child who now has a chance at life The sparks of hope are everywhere. As Real as the moment of truth will be as Precious as independence of the free A Country, in three, be one' We can say that now with : We TO MEET OLD FRIENDS now keeP houses together providing the wall on which hangs a picture of Uncle Ho. Vietnam was everything we thought it would be And more much more. Enough to keep ourselves engaged in getting our country unengaged. We came in search of old friends And found them. will assurance. A soldier told us that in Quang Tri { , A student in Thanh Hoa That was the message of the man in Hanoi and on the liPs of twelve Proud women who spend theii days sapping rubber from trees. "'- i' Schechter DannY -Cqrol.lçurtz í Steve Cagan Indochina Peace Compoign delegation,,. ' Hanoi 18 October'1974- , '' We met a people who speak with one voice in quiet tones, in a gentle waY who speak with courage in the jungles of war or the mud of reconstruction A people who want their lives to be their own and will settle for nôthing less. flow do we now take this lnessage home? To lives of affluence or manipulated ignorance, To leaders of indifference and imperial calculation How do we tell our own about our rveeks in V,ietnam' wlN 1 r.. THE ALIVE BROWN EYES \ e s Shrapnel pieces in the cloud X-ray of the skull and a lake where the hole is. s Flecks in the lecherous € s gape ,.tÍ' .l (chickens ånd goats with slit throats iñ a film of "Secret Africa" and natives i4 the dark surrounding.) 0 The face in skelton is without a Cnnol RubENsrEiN lndochinrn Poems nose but with sockets, the frontal forehead is a smooth ice fall and behind it the world is veiled, seeing thru the black X-ray. A green t!. \. .? Negative Preserver gives data of procedure and date, Chronological Record of Exposures. It is a Terminal Digit. From the top the bubbles and wires circle in a garland-on the side the flukes, the inserted eitras, goodies for the hungry which feed on any action.. And the side view of the clenched teeth bits, all of them, packed in .. the jaw, the kernels of corn' firm, and the sweep of brow bones and the buildup of cloud and bone complicating into base of skull, where \ the head balloons. The four X-rays fall back into the Negative Preserver, FADING MOUNTAIN WASHED AWAY BY TEARS The weather affects the war: rains,,rhick fog and low-hanging clouds roday grounded , I:_Tî": nunoreds of hel¡copters needed and .even ground convoys to the hundreds of needed forward allied base at 12 miles east of dangerous battle plans supply network in half inside toward sweãping up sizeable ammunition caches by saíd he expected his iroops to during the next ten days to push u"ror, ,"hirh ,iorr.J the border open. Owing to the fading mountain washed I/^el9 away by rain. 7800 lose jobs in wig slump crisis: More than 7800 people Hong_Kong,s wíg industry contracted shar:ply during the last three monrhs of wai *"uãt,rr. jrring the last three months of war rose their heads un¿ r"r"i¡r" washed away. 9 Februory Hong Kong lg7î iã¿Jng ,.hïrntuin the head owner prefers not to have the hole f¡lled altho he now holds his head, just tb lean his hand on iq now leaning on his elbows, talking with other travelers about back on Bleeker Street, and a year ago he was in a hole; now his mouth hole is articulating and his naturally somewhat hoarse voice voice ceases while the beat on the thumping skeletal (listening to the calls and beats on the music vibration, affecting everyone who hears it) continues, same as his watch, seeming to be still and bright on his wrist. 5 March 1971 Bangkok, Thailond 12 WIN !1 THE SILENCE OF THE LOADED TRUCK Carrying ice in gl istening sharp chunks, large lightstricken coals, within two tin rectangles, ,..| a cans that are buckets. A cigarette hanging compressed;w¡thin the middle of his lips. ln the ice cream parlor, the cold fruit drinks, the Laotian urban elite, ì not so rich, young, with their own expansion on their minds. A truck load . of soldiery in war green, camouflage helmets dappling into treelight, back then, in the morning if was still earl¡ on the street of afternoon dust which water buffalos in coats of mud cross in ghostly substance: the l¡ttle Lao conscripts, the silence of the loaded truck. AprÌl 1971 Vientiane, Laos 2 WIN 13 \:, the girl oarrying the blue lattice plastic bucket to the preþared food stall, basins under the flat screen to keep away insects, or the giri handing her her choice'in a prastic bag nipþed ¡,t ttre tof wiir, ,ruüårt."¿. scream, rhe liftlest ones sragger¿*.playing on levels Il::1i,-0r"" of tabtes, running loudly on the boards, cróúðhing to jump, to return to earth. A nakéd boy crawls and lifts fr!msetf at a concrete step. ,pright ' Along my spine the helicopter and airplane, the crackle of cindeis rising and_smoke of the woman who turns suddenly from cooking stirring-near a blackened back fence, the wild cluck of fowl rising aird hopping with oúishooting wings. The.paper rnoney changes hands, the knife hacking and shredding the long cabbagg the pestle club pounding the coconut in the mortarbowl, the baby's body being Ëatted where he straddles " a hip. The hot season is coming-perhaps everyone would úebetter off dead. lt can be arranged. But you i,uu" to know I I the right The slim black monkey tied to the little tree at the side of the movíe theatre and market of Dong Palane in Vientiane is dancing. He is also escaping the leafy switches the children thrust at him. He crouches in the tiny tree fork which ejects outward in bicycle spokes its straight branches. He hanjs free form. The children are plãying with sticks at Ue¡ng swordspeople, part of the Chinese costümed swordplay of the movies Nobody likes to see a kid being beat up_ she must have done something really bad, taken ã piece åf money, they crowd to see. lf the helicopter had rayed down red lines from its gunship openings, everyone in the neighborhood would be swinging as if no broken familiar ground or marketplace concrete existed. For many the rope holding us would be shivered. We would lie dead, a bundle of lifeless monkey. Or in perpetual dísconnection, never again properly to dance. . :t t Ð people. MONKEY DANCE IN LAOS saY,there is more to tife than coveting a gotd bracere, ht"iliË ",' made less bananas hanging from long pink paper ribbons motion, they would fall into holes in the ground, make cratdrs with heavy hands. The tiny spider on my knee or the beetle in rapid transit on my book-l blow them away. Who is to say that the eggs, coconuts, lemons, tomatoes, bags of beansprouts, mounds of tubers, cucumbers, are not food for thought? The knife rests on the basin and the Lao woman continues slicing the bamboo shoots. The gleaming nose of a helicopter turns to the sideways buzzand hack of another helicopter. lts lateral sweep chops the bamboo shoots to shreds-they spray íll over the land among the pits and dents the bombs have made. But the land does not really belong to these people-they, they have no money. Or not enough to claim, to be worth while to cultivate their friêndship with interest. Granny, her lips compressed around betel nut, the dark blood red of the betel charring her mouth, wéars two gold bracelets; all her wealth is on her person. Jl,i'"iiiååîffi :ijï;lï'"n norher sha kes h is roo r. H ßX : around himself and his endless center-his soJñead establishes a swoon of limbs, hooking and continuing in a circle-if he stops, we shall all be unable to see A n"t' ,: gone to a dangerous sharp corner. Everyone is embarrassed and srill at Granny's wrath and the welt on the líttle one,s back. Rich wrapped in banana leaf squares, scallions tied into bunches. Or maybe the old girl js craqy with worry, are fatting in this ciry-that is al r.,rpprn¡nfIiitJnj,Tlr{ "" I ! bombs in villages that are no more. The cai