"Viet Nam has the right to be freeand independent, and in fact it is soalready." PRESIDENT HO CHI MINH

The Declaration of Independence of Viet-NamSeptember 2, 1945, Ha-Noi

newsletterunion of Vietnamese in the u.s.BOX 4495 BERKELEY, CA.

SECOND YEARNo. 13-14

SEPT.-OCT. 1974

VOICE OFg THE THIRD

POLITICALFORCE

Ed.:In this issue,the newsletter would like to intro-duce to our readers the full texts of too important docu-ments that were translated and granted for public uses bythe Union of Vietnamese in the U.S..

One is a letter of Coo thi QueHuong and Pham van Langsmuggled out of their detention center in the BienHoa"OpenArm Center. " Coo thi Que Buong is a political prisoner. Sheaas a high school teacher until she was arrested alonguithher husband in March 1970. The tao uere tortured in frontof each other to force confession that they were membersofthe SLF. Her husband, Nguyen Ngoc Phuong subsequently diedfrom beatings in prison. Pham van Lang is the father of aveil-known and loved musician in South Viet Sam nationalMusic Academy. His entire family was arrested because theSaigon Police suspected one of his son was a member of theNLF.

The second is a message from the Buddhist Church inSouth Viet Sam issued the same date,marking their resolutestand in defending the Paris Peace Agreement and workingtoward the national reconciliation and concord as memberof the Third political force.

Bien Hoa, South Viet NamAugust 20, 1974

TOALL PEACE AND FREEDOM - LOVING PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS aIN THE UNITED STATES.

Dear friends,We are prisoners in South Viet Nam, arrested without

charge, jailed without any legal procedure.We were unwill-ingly turned over to the Provisional Revolutionary Govern-ment of the Republic of South Viet Nam (PRG) in early!974,but we demanded then to be released in Saigon where out fa

continue on page 4

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS -- THE SUPREME PATRIARCHOF THE UNIFIED BUDDHIST CONGREGATION IN VIET NAM --CALLING FOR THE SERIOUS IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PARIS AGREE-MENT IN THE SPIRIT OF NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND CONCORD

Although the January 27, 1973 Paris Agreement 1s nota perfect document, at least It voices a spirit of compro-mise and reconciliation between the warring parties. Itshows that no party has won and none has lost; there areno victors and no vanquished. Thus, immediately followingthe signing of this Agreement,the Unified Buddhist Congre-gation in Viet-Nam issued circulars and communiques hailingthe accomplishments of the Agreement, praising the leader-ship of the warring parties which had been able tomanifestthe hopes of the entire nation, and at the same time call-ing for all Buddhist clergy and laity to reinvigorate tteirown spirit of national reconciliation and concord in orderto heal the wounds of war and build peace for our country.

Regretfully,since the day the Paris Agreement was sig-ned until now, 18 long months have passed, almost none ofthe articles of the Agreement have been seriously implemen-ted. Bombs and shells continue to fall, blood continuestobe spilt. The majority of the prisoners of war remain im-prisoned,democratic rights and liberties have not yet beenpromulgated. The National Council of National Reconcilia-tion and Concord has yet to take shape!

As the consequences of these violations, the materiallife of the people daily becomes more wretched, and theirspirit more gloomy and dissolute. Death continues its ra-vages. Hatred is heaped upon hatred. No description canconvey the agony of our people.

In face of the very extermination of the Vietnamesepeople, I as the Supreme Patriarch of the Unified BuddhistCongregation in Viet Nam, earnestly call upon the authori-ties who signed the Paris Agreement to honour their ownsignatures and to endeavor to seriously carry out all theterms of the Agreement which they guaranteed. It is clearto me that eventhough one side may seem victorious, m a ycapture additional territory, they in truth fail, because

continue on page 4

• more on the new development ofthe anti-thieu movement, page 3

• deportation of south -Vietnamesestudents, page 5 I

viet-namnews

in briefHEAVY FIGHTING IN SOUTH VIET NAM

Possibly the heaviest fighting since January 1973 isnow raging in South VietNam with the Provisional Revoluti-onary Government(PRG)retaking some 300 SaigonArmy outpostsllegally set up after the signing of the Paris Agreement.

Most of the fighting centralized in the Da Nang-Quang Ngaiarea north of Saigon and in the Mekong Delta.

Observers point to the beginning of July as the startof the increased fighting."In someways I don't blame them,the Communists," said one Western.diplomat quoted in NewYork Times July 30. " At some point they say. 'Enough'senough.1"

The diplomat was referring to the countless seizuresof PRG land which the SaigonArmy has carried our illegallysince January, 1973.

Patricia and Earl Martin spent 1966-1969 in QuangNgaiprovince as representatives of the Mennonite Central Com-mittee and then returned in January of this year to resumework with Vietnamese refugees reported to the same effect.

The Martins point to large areas of Quang Ngai pro-vince alone where land consistently controlled by the PRGsince 1965 was taken by ARVN since the ceasefire. Theseareas, they reported, Include:

"l. The Nghia Thuan valley and the road to Minh - Longdistrict, not controlled by the ARVN (Saigon) since 1964,was taken by ARVN forces in July,1973. Now at least 6 newARVN outposts ring the valley and line the road toMinhLong.(One of these new outposts was recently retaken by the PRGin April of this year.)

"2.* The whole eastern seaboard of Mo Due District andnorthern Due Pho District, not controlled by the ARVNsince1964, has been the scene of a major 'pacification' effortof 3 battalions of second Division and Ranger forces.SinceFebruary of this year numerous outposts in this vast regionhave been established by the ARVN. The people who had beenliving in those areas have been screened and catalogued(some imprisoned) by the police and have been organized in-to a RVN administrative organization.

"3. Numerous other ARVN outposts have been establishedbeyond the ceasefire perimeters of RVN control.Among theseare outposts in western Son Tinh District, N.E. Binh SonDistrict and west of National Highway Route 1 in MoDuc and'Due Pho District."

The Martins also charge that refugees have not beenallowed to return home when their home have been in con-tested or PRG controlled areas.

"While official [SaigonJ pronouncements make much of"return to village" and "resettlemenf'programs.consistent-ly those programs move people into areas which havebeen se-cured under Saigon government control. Many people havewanted to return to their native farm sites even thoughthey are under PRG control or in disputed areas, but theyhave been prevented from doing so by various pressureAncngthem : "PRG areas and disputed areas are still frequentlyshelled by ARVN artillery.The few brave--or desperate hun-gry—people who do move back to these areas clandestinelyto farm have to sleep underground at night time to avoidbeing hit by this artillery. Occasional ARVN military pa-trols move through disputed areas, sometimes burninghouses,sometime arresting people." (LNS, New York)

AID TO SOUTH EAST ASIA AND SOUTH VIET NAM

1. The Flynt-Giaimo-Conte AmendmentApproximately 20 congresspeople voted against aid to

Thicu for the first time. By a resounding vote of 233-157,the House adopted the Flynt-Giaimo-Conte Amendment to sub-stantially reduce military aid to South Viet-Nam from $1.4billion requested by the Administration to $750 million.

2. Economic AidThe Senate Foreign Relations Committee has cut the

i^ixon Administration's economic aid requested for Indo-china frorc $940 million to about $550 million. In the pro-cess, aid to Saigon was proposed reduced frorn $750 millionto $420 million. As one recalls, the last year's appro-priation was $5̂ 0 million for Indochina.

For the first time, the Committee set spending cei-lings for individual countries. Aid to South Vietnam, forexample, would not be permitted to exceed $^.28 billion.The tetal figure for Cambodia was set at $347 million. Inboth cases, the recipients would be allowed to transfer mi-litary aid into economic aid but not the reverse.

The Appropriations Committees of the Senate and Housewill vote on this matter early October.

3. Bingham Amendment Cuts U.S. Personnel in SouthViet-Uam

The House of Representatives voted a 10% cut in thenumber of U.S. personnel working in South V1et-Nam. TheAmendment, offered by Bingham of iJew York, says the U.S.government will pay for no more than 2,850 people.

4. Re-instate 108 Limitation on Food for Peace FundsOne of Richard Nixon's last acts in office was his

veto of the Agriculture Appropriations bill because of thecontroversal 10% limitation on Food for Peace funds to allcountries. The result of this restriction would have meantthat no country could receive more than $42.5 million ofFood for Peace Title I funds. During the FY 1974, Saigonreceived $304 million, and Lon No! of Cambodia $190 mil-lion. Floor votes in early October.

5. Abourezk Amendment and the economic aidSenator Abourezk offered 2 amendments to the FY 1975

foreign aid bill which will deal specially with politicalprisoners and American support of various police and pri-son programs. The first amendment would end all foreignpolice and prison training and support either in this coun-try or abroad and abolishes the International Police Aca-demy.

The second amendment would stipulate that before re-ceiving military aid a country must allow any one of thehighly respected international humanitarian organizations,such as the International Red Cross, or Amnesty Internati-onal, to inspect Its prisons. This requires the State De-partment and A.I.D. (U.S. Agency for International Development) to regularly report to Congress on the Status of po-litical prisoners in aid-receiving nations.

This is one of the important successes in the effortsof the American people. However, Gerald Ford has pledgeda continuation of the Nixon-Kissinger foreign policy. Heaccused Congress on September 11, 1974, of reducing his a-bility to conduct his foreign affairs and "severely reduceSouth Viet-Nam's (Thieu's) ability to defend itself..."

"Mr. Ford's pleas," wrote L.A. Times September 12,74"appeared to generate little enthusiasm among the Congres-sional leaders. Even Senator Hugh Scott, the RepublicanSenate Leader, indicated little hope that the cut could berestored."

INTERNATIONALDAYS OF CONCERNsept.29-oct.6,'74

ANTI-THIEU MOVEMENTS

SAIGON ATTACKS THE PRESS

Hoa Binh Dally (Peace) of the Catholics was recentlyconfiscated by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministryof Population Mobilization and Open Arm. Catholic fathersTran Du and Nguyen Quang Lam, editors of Hoa Binh, had todeclare bankrupcy and the consequent close down of the pa-per. According to the Catholic fathers, the reason whyHoa Binh was confiscated was because of its active supportfor the struggle of the 301 Catholic priests against thecorruption of the Saigon government.

The Ministry of Population Mobilization and Open Armalso closed down all private news agencies in Vietnameselanguage in Saigon, and further summoned the journalistsof these agencies, including Nguyen Thai Lan and.Ngo DinhVan, to the National Police Headquarter in many days toextract information from them about their news of theblack market copper export, in South Viet-Nam.

These actions, in addition to the recent crack downof the Saigon government on the press led to many opposi-tion. In its statement public, the Nationalist DeputiesGroup of the Saigon Lower House condemned that:

1. The repression of the Hoa Binh Daily is the repression of the press and of the opposition, especially, oppo-sition of a religion.

2. The close down of all private news agencies andthe summon of directors and reporters of these agencies tothe National Police Headquarter by the Ministry of Popula-tion Mobilization and Open Arm is a form of terrorizationagainst the press and of building monopoly of distributinginternal news for the government's Vietnam News Agency.

3. The above facts proves that the Ministry of Popula-tion Mobilization and Open Arm has initiated a Police Sta-te upon the press.

The Group then "solemnly declared to the public opi-nion that:

1. The Government of ... (Saigon) for a long time nowis able to stand because of its repression on freedoms ofthe press and of speech of the Sou.th Vietnamese poop-le.Besides prisons built for active opposition people,besidesthe systematic measures of election rig, the decree-law007 on the press and measures of confiscation and sentenceof newspapers are the most systematic imprisonment of thefreedom of speech.

2. It calls on the peace and freedom-loving people inside and outside of the country, it calls on the religion,the organizations for peace and freedom, and especially,it calls on the freedom-loving governments of the world todo anything possible to force the Government of ... to nullify at once the confiscation of newspapers, to declarenull and void the decree-law 007, and to immediately abo-lish the police measures against the press in order to giveback to the South Vietnamese people their fundamentalrights."

According to Times magazine, September 30,1974, aftera long series of unproductive meeting with Hoang Due Nha,Minister of Population Mobilization and Open Arm, the edi-tors announced that they would henceforth ignore the go-vernment restrictions, Saigon Deputy Tran Van Tuven said:"The cup is too full, in any case, the government (Saigon)has condemned the press to death. Another occasion, Tuyensaid the present Saigon press regime is far more backwardand regressive than the press laws of July 29, 1881, underthe French domination."

A new organization called the Committee Strugglingfor the Right to Freedom of the Press and of Publicationwas formed early September by publishers, journalists andopposition politicians to "actively struggle for freedomof the press and the repeal of Saigon's severe press laws'.'Its first statement denounced Saigon for "oppressing andterrorizing the press, newspapermen, writers and artists."

The struggle for freedom of the press of the Saigonpress community rose to the peak at 6:10 pm, September 12,1974 when a councilman-journalist stood up and burned thedecree-law 007 and law 019-69 on the press. Some 200 .jour

nalists and politicians at the Saigon Lower House enthusias-tically applauded in a meeting of the Committee Strugglingfor the Right to Freedom of the Press and of Publication.

INDICTMENT No. 1 OF THE PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT AGAINST CORRUP-TION FOR NATIONAL SALVATION AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OFPEACE.

The Indictment No. 1, which calls Nguyen van Thieu byname,and which is composed of six points in five pages,wasissued by the People's Movement against Corruption for Na-tional Salvation and theConstruction of Peace(The movementwas formed after the Open letter of 301 Catholic priestscharged Thieu with corruption and had a widesupport of thepeople in South Viet Nam, especially the Catholic Clergyand Laity. The Indictment is prohibited to be released orpublicized in Saigon press.

Here are the summary of the six points:

1. Nguyen van Thieu abuses his power.He illegally oc-cupied a villa in the Military Headquarter Coumpound; used30 million piaters of the public funds to remodel it. Healso bought a 40 million piaster house on Phan Thanh Gianstreet for his own son,(who is still a teenager), and a 98million piaster house for his wife on Cong Ly street.

2. Nguyen van Thieu Illegally seized thousands of ac-res of land in Da Lat, Long Khanh, Bien Hoa and Gia DinhProvinces.And he consequently used hundreds of millions ofpiasters and even the ArmyEngineering Corps to improve theland.

3. Nguyen van Thieu used his fertilizer company Hai -Long (which belongs to him and his in-laws)to black marketthe product. When the crime was revealed, Thieu orderedthe evidences destroyed.

4. Nguyen van Thieu allows Ms wife and his relativesto steal money from international charity funds and fromthe national lottery.

5. Thieu and his highranking aids are involved in thedealing of narcotics.

6. Nguyen van Thieu allowed his aunt to stockpile andthen sell rice in the black markets in Central Viet Namcausing the rice shortage and consequent starvation.

On the same day, 5000 Catholics, most of them migra-ted South from the North in 1954, marched to down town ofHue. They were intercepted by 1 battalion of MPs, 2 bat-talions of CombatPolice.and hundreds of undercoveredagents.Rockets and tear gas were fired at the demonstrators. Tenof them were seriously wounded (8 adults and 2 children).Among the seriously wounded,one was Father Nguyen Kim Dinh.After 3 hours battling against the police on the streets,the people went back to PhuCam Cathedral to continue theirvigil.

The waves of protest have swept all over SouthVletNam.

On September 15,another demonstration was held in Hueto protest the corruption and the police brutality againstthe demonstration on September 8.

continue on page 6

VOICE OF THE THIRDPOLITICAL FORCE 1

continued from page 1

allies are living without going through an "Open Arm Cen-ter."

At the Loc Mirth airport, prisoners-exchange site, onMarch 2, 1974,the representative of the Saigon Administra-tion promised to meet our demand. This promise was witnes-sed by the International Commission of Control andSupervi-sIon, the Two-Party Joint Military Conmisslon, and newspa-

per reporters.

The Saigon Administration, however, did not keep itswords, instead, it forced all political prisoners to gothrough procedures of a "returnee to the Just(Thieu)cause"if they wanted to be returned to their families. In doingso it has trampled on public opinion, violated Article 11of the Paris Agreement. We did not accept this conditionsince:

1. We are not captured civilian personnel of the PRG;2. We had been arrested without charge and jailed

without sentence; we had undergone persecution inprison; therefore, we had the right to demand ourfreedom to be with our families after our detention,

3. According to Article 11 of the Paris Agreement, wehave the right to freedom of residence, and no go-vernment shall force us to submit to its order.

Eventhough we have expressed our determination not toaccept the "return to the just ((Thieu) cause", the SaigonAdministration still resorted to force, sending us to theDue Tu Open Arm Center (Bien Boa) and detaining us here.Five months have elapsed since the prisoners exchange dateof March 2,1974, still, no decision has been made by theSaigon authorities concerning our case.

Now, after five months and a half of detention, westill demand the Saigon Administration:

- either to release us uncontitionally;- or to bring us back to prisons;because we do not accept "the just (Thieu) cause,"

therefore, we do not want to stay in an "Open Arm Center."

In the same circumstances, Mr. Huynh van Trong andstudent Huynh Tan Mam ( President ot the South Viet - MamNational Student Union) were taken to an unknown place bythe Saigon Administration.More than 6 months have passed.still their families have not yet known their whereaboutsand their health conditions.

We address this letter to you, our Peace and Freedom-Loving American friends,as a testimony to the fact that inthe zone controlled by the Nguyen van Thieu Administrationin South Viet Nam, freedom and democracy are totally de -nied and the Paris Agreement Is not seriously implemented,even in its most basic provisions, like article 11.This isthe reason why 18 months have passed since the signing ofthe ParisAgreement,political prisoners and innocent peopleare still detained in prisons under the most barbarous andsevere treatment and living conditions. Their lives areconstantly threatened by the bloody repressions and trea-cherous plots. Moreover, since the signing of the ParisAgreement, the Saigon Police Regime has never ceased forone second its repressions,arrests,imprisonments,tortures,in villages, cities, towns, and in all prisons throughoutSouth Viet Nam.

Dear friends,Twenty years have passed since the USGovernment began

to officially and directly intervene in the internal af-fairs of South Viet Nam. During that time, the Americanpeople have been paying greatly to the barbarouswar on ourland: your money and blood,through the enormous annual aidto Saigon,and through lives of over 1/2 a million Americanyouths directly participating in the battlefields of SouthViet Nam. However, this enormous support of the Americanpeoplehas not been directed towards helping the South Viet

Namese people to build freedom, democracy, peace and pros-perity. Instead, this contribution has the completely con-trary effect.Bombs andAmerican means of war have destroyedour fields, houses, villages and cities. The American aidhas been used to prolong the war, to build more fortifiedprisons, to kill and imprison Vietnamese youths and patri-ots. This aid has been used to trample and to turn upsidedown all spiritual and cultural values of our people. Howmuch sufferings and humiliation have been inflicted uponour land over the past twenty years; and they are continu-ing 'to occur.

We realized that the American people have been decei-ved and taken advantage of by the US government. As a mat-ter of fact, the American people have never wished theirmoney and lives of their children being used to harm anysmall country. But contrary to their expectations,this hashappened over the past twenty years, and over five admi-nistrations taking power in the U.S.

Now,the sixth administration of President Gerald Fordcomes to power, we, prisoners still detained In South VietNam, wish that the American people would raise their voiceto stop the U.S. Government from intervening in the inter-nal affairs of our country, and from supplying arms andmeans of war to the dictatorial and war monger regime inSouth Viet Nam,that is,to prevent the latter from prolong-ing the war as an excuse to build up and consolidate posi-tions, interests and private properties for themselves andtheir brood, while the Vietnamese people are dying, starv-ing, and suffering from the bombings and shellings andthe misused of American aid money. Our people do not wantto live forever in a state of war, nor we want to liveunder any insidious form of colonization, our sovereigntytaken away. Therefore, we are willing to trade our bloodfor independence, self-determination and freedom so as toconstruct a peaceful country of our own.

With the above dearest aspirations, we would like tosincerely send to you,friends in all peace and freedom-loving organizations in the U.S. our warmest greetings andsolidarity.

Respectfully yours,Signed by

Prisoner Mr. Pham van Lang74 year old.Topometric Engineerin Saigon

Prisoner Mrs. Cao thi Que Huong34 year old,high school teacher

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS.

they only increase the mournful suffering of innocent peo-ple, and thereby lose the people's faith. With utmost sincerity, I fervently hope that you will raise high the spi-rit of reconciliation and concord, and try to open up thepolitical and military conferences that are now in deadlockin order to peacefully solve all differences of viewpointsand truely Implement the Paris Agreement.

I earnestly call upon the people of both southern andnothern Viet Nam, those in zones controlled by either ofthe two sides in southern Viet Nam, political, cultural,social and youth groups to actively and zealously defendthe accomplishments which the Paris Agreement has broughtafter more than four years of difficult negotiations. W emust be conscious of the responsibility which each of usmust shoulder, and of the consequences which each of usmust bear if we let this war continue to spread due to ournegligence and passivity. For the supreme interests of ourcountry, for the life and welfare of our people, of eachand everyone of us, we must come together, ten thousand asone, in the irrepressible resolve to stamp out the fire ofwar now exploding.

continue on page 6

Publication date

September 15, 1974

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EVEN

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ELEV

ENP

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of po

litic

alpr

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ers

UN

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OF

VIE

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IN T

HE

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.

The

song

now rises

as hi

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Now

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, ki

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Chim Trang

(Excerpt from the Rising Song)

ELEVEN POEMS BY POLITICAL PRISONERS is a

collection of poems, sketches and writings

by the political prisoners

in South

Viet

Nam and their compatriots

outside

the

prison walls about their moments of suffer

ings, of struggle and of love.

It includes an introduction by Doctor

John Champlin, who

treated

political

prisoners in South Viet Nam,and JeanPierre

Debris and Andre Menras,who spent two and

1/2 years in Chi Hoa prison in Saigon.

"... Our Vietnamese brothers returning from

the tiger cages, in their black

pyjamas

patched with bits of fabric of different

colors, some crawling along the • ground ,

others being given piggy-back

rides

byyounger ones,their emaciated bodies broken

and bent yet their faces lit by their ex-

traordinary smile."

(Jean

Pier

re D

ebri

sand An

dre Menras)

"...It is a book to be shared. Many lives

and resolute will to bring about freedom

and independence...And perhaps the unsus -

pecting reader will discover, as I did,

that to encounter the spirit of VietNam is

to awaken from a long, long sleep."

(John

Cham

plin

)

sevensouth Vietnamesestudents facedeportationto Saigon

The preliminary deportation hearings against sevenSouth Vietnamese students, ordered by the U.S. Emigrationand naturalisation Service in Los Angeles (INS LA) on advi-oe of the U.S. State Department, began on August IS, 1974,and will be continued on October 2, 1974, at the FederalBuilding of Los Angeles, California.

VHO ARE THE SEVEN SOUTH VIETNAMESE STUDENTS?

The seven students were brought into the U.S. to stu-dy under the scholarships of the U.S. Agency for Interna-tional Development (USAID) some six years ago. During thecourse of their study, they have participated in variouseducational activities voicing their opposition to the Saigon repressive regime of Nguyen Van Thieu, and expressingthe love for peace, independence and self-determination oftheir compatriots at home. As a result, their visas andpassports were refused to revalidate by the INS and theSaigon Consulate General in San Francisco. Some of themhad their scholarships terminated and were ordered to re-turn to Saigon by the USAID "under the request of the Go-vernment of the Republic of Viet-Nam (Saigon)."

The South Vietnamese students point out that the ma-chinery of repression and reprisals of General Thieu

The South Vietnamese students point out that the ma-chinery of repression and reprisals of General Thieu inSaigon still continue unabated in South Viet-Nam, althoughthe Agreement on Ending the Mar and Restoring Peace in VietHam, signed 18 months ago, prohibits such acts. More than200,000 political prisoners including intellectuals, reli-gious leaders, students, workers union leaders, peasants,... are still kept in jails, facing tortures, maiming, andeven death for having advocated peace, democracy, and thefaithful implementation of the Paris Peace Agreement. Theinhuman conditions of the Saigon prison system and interr-ogation centers have long been reported not only by theworld-known press, but also in various U.S. Congressionalcommittees.

Therefore, the seven South Vietnamese students conti-nuously demand that the Saigon Administration headed byNguyen van Thieu release immediately all political priso-ners without posing any conditions at all.

REQUEST FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM

The seven South Vietnamese students strongly believethat their democratic liberties and even their lives willbe in great danger should they be deported to Saigon, whilethe Saigon regime is in power. They are convinced that itis within their right to request political asylum in theU.S. until the Paris Agreement is fully implemented.

Legally, their request is based on Artiole243 (h) .of theU.S. Immigration and Naturalisation Act'which states that

"The Attorney General is authorized to withhold depor-tation of any alien within the U.S. to any country in whichft his opinion the alien would be subject to persecutionon account of race, religion, or political opinion;"

and Article 33 of the United Nations Protocol on Re-fugees which was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1968 andwhich states that

"No contracting state shall expell or return a refugeein any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories

where his life or freedom would be threatened on accountof race, religion, nationality, membership of a particularsocial group or political opinion."

The seven students state that they seek to remain tem-porarily in the U.S. until the Paris Agreement is fully im-plemented,and their safety after their return to South VietNam is guaranteed.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FIRST TVO HEARINGS?

Too deportation hearings have been held, one on AugustIS, and the other on September 19,1974. During these hear-ings, five students took stand and testified to the facts ofreprisals should they be deported to South Viet Nam.Most ofthem have received letters from their families telling themnot to go back or else their lives would be in great danger

Hiss Doan thi Sam Hau presented a secret letter sentby Mr. Diep Quang Hong, the Saigon Consul General in SanFrancisco, to a representative in Saigon. In the letter,MissNam Hau's name was mentioned and she was labeled "<2n activesupporter of Communism." It is worthwhile to mention herethat the Saigon Constitution outlaws Communism;and an exe-cutive decree law was issued to imprison any Communist orneutralist up to 2years which is renewable.lt was also tes-tified that in 1969,a Court Martial in the 3rd Military Re-gion of South Vietnam had sentenced six students in absen-tia to six years of hard labor for their antiwar activitiesin several countries,such as Japan and Germanyjand that thestudents' families have been constantly harassed by the Saigon Police. Miss Sam Hau's brotheraas arrested at one timeand his draft-deferment card confiscated due to her acti-vities in the U.S.. A brother of Mr. Dao, another defendantstudent, is presently a student at Long Beach State Univer-sity, and has not been able to renew his passport due toDao's activities,and consequently,may soon face deportation

On both occasions, the South Vietnamese students weresupported by several hundred friends and well - wishers whopicketed outside of the Federal Building in downtown Los -Angeles.

At the first hearing, Immigration Judge C.L. Hozmangave in to the demands for a larger hearing room, and ad-joint hearing for the students. Initially, a room with on-ly six seats was assigned for the hearings, and some of thestudents as well as radio, telivision and press reportershad to remain standing.

At the second hearings, a delegation of several pro-minent American characters came to see Mr. Sureck, theDistrict Director of the INSLA,demanding that the studentsrequest for political asylum be granted. Legally, Mr. Su-reck has the full authority to do so; however, he refusedto commit any decision.

BOH TO HELP THE SEVEN SOUTH VIETNAMESE STUDENTS

The prosecutor and the Saigon ContulateGenera" try toprove that the students are fighting to stay here in theU.S. because of the "soft" and "convinient" life they areleading in this country; and that if they return to Saigonthey would not have to face with any danger of any kind.This statement was made in spite of the fact that not verylong ago, Mr. Hong, the Saigon Consul General had admitted

continue on page 6

DEPORTATION . . . continued frontpage S

implicitly of violating "the Pearie Agreement by his refusalto invalidate passports of several otheretudente for theiranti-war feeling.

The sevenstudents hove reoeived numerous support frommany individuals and public organizations in the U.S.. TheSeasletter nails on the Ameriaanpcople to continue to givesupport to the students by writing letters of support totheir request for political asylum, addressing to:

1. The Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger;2. The Attorney General William Saxbe;3. Immigration Commisioner Leonerd F. Chapman, Jr.;

Washington DC 205304. District Director Joseph Sureck;INS, L.A..CA 900125. Your Senators and Congresspersons .A copy of these letters of support should be sent tc

their, lawyers, Mr. Frank Pestana and Leonard ffeinglass at619 S. Bonnie Brae, L.A., CA 90057

Material and financial support are also welcomed andshould be directed to THE DEFENSE FUND FOR THE VIETNAMESESTUDENTS, P.O. Box 3493, Fuller ton, CA 92634.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

There are more SouthVietnamese students in CaliforniaNew York, Masschussetts, Oregon facing deportation. We willhave a complete report on the next issue of the Newsletter.

continued from page 3FORCE FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION.

Responding to the call of HIsHoliness ThichGiacNhien,(re. Viet Nam Voice) the Unified Buddhist Congregation ofViet Nam launched a movement in August calling for Peace,National Reconciliation and the implementation of theParisAgreement. After more than 8 years in silence, this action•MOM-'i.J a new course in the Buddhist Church. During the 60'sth' BuddhistChurch was leading the public in waves of pro-tes : aqainst the dictatorship and repression of Ngo Oinh"'•.;; und Nguyen van Thieu demanding Peace andDemocracy forSouth Viet Nam.

In early August, the Executive Board (Vien Hoa Dao) ofthe Church agreed to support the Force for National Recon-ciliation headed by Professor Vu Van Mau(who recently sha-ved his head to protest Nguyen Van Thieu when the latterchanged the Saigon Constitution to allow him running for athird "Presidential term"). At the same time, Youth and Stu-dent Buddhist groups are reorganized. These are the groupsthat spearheaded in the struggle for democracy during thesixties. They were badly repressed by Saigon and most oftheir leaders are in jails.

On Saturday afternoon September 14, the Force for Na-tional Reconciliation was formally presented to the publicThe aims of the Force are to unite all Buddhists, to coope-rate with all other religious and political organizations

TO CARRY ON OUR ACTIVITIES, ESPECIALLY TO CONTINUETHIS NEWSLETTER, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. (Check theboxes below, "and forward to us at the Union of Viet-namese in the United States.Box 4495, Berk.,CA.94704

to work for peace and to build an independent,prosperousViet Nam. In his opening speech.Prof. Vu Van Mau emphasi-zed the legality of the organization. He said that "t h egovernment [Saigon] must implement the Paris Agreement andaccording to it, we do not need their permission!"(Article11 of the Paris Agreement guarantees all democratic liber-ties, among them, the freedom of political activities andthe freedom of organization).

News of the new moves of the Buddhist Church was warm-ly greeted among the public. One Saigon warehouseman said,"I am just finished the paper (about the news). I read itover and over. I am very happy... I am a Christian. I de-monstrated with the Buddhists years ago. . I an ready now."Another man said, "I long for peace, so that life won't beso hard." When asked, a Saigon soldier said, " We are theones in the jungles, we want peace so that we can be reuni-ted with our family."

voice of the 3rd p. force «***«• from page 4I further appeal to other nations, especially to the

great powers which signed the Joint Communique, and to allpeace-loving organizations and people in the world todemon-strate their greatest goodwill in campaigning and helpingour people to reestablish peace soon and thus to end alongblood soaked page of history which has greatly moved t h econscience of mankind.

I have reserved for the last an earnest call to allBuddhists--clergy and laity--all over the nation to concen-trate all your thoughts and actions for the defense of peacein our country. To defend peace is also to defend the Bud-dhist Dharma and the Vietnamese people, for this war is itself the cause of the decline of the Dharma and the causeof the misery of the Vietnamese people. Let us vigorouslystep forth to heal every fracture, dress every wound a n dbring back understanding and loving confidence into everyhuman heart. Uith Compassion we dissolve hatred, with Wis-dom we bring reconciliation and concord to our people. Thebasic spirit of the Paris Agreement lies in reconciliationand concord of the Vietnamese people, a spirit very much inaccord with the disposition of Buddhists and the traditionof Buddhism. Thus in achieving reconciliation and concordof our people, we not only serve the cause of peace but al-so the Dharma and the Vietnamese people.

I pray to all the Buddhas to assist us in fulfillingthis sacred mission.

Hue, the 20th of August, 1974, BE 2518His Holiness THICH GIAC NHIEN

The Supreme PatriarchThe Unified Buddhist Congregation in Viet Nam

THE UNION OF TIETNAMESE IN THE U.S.P.O. BOX 4495BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94704

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