VIETNAM'S FAITHS UNDERLIE RISING 14 SEPT 1964

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01720R000500010011-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 6, 2004
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: September 14, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

,m.1=1411111111.11111
VIETNAV['S4: . or Release 2004/06/14
UNDERLIE RISING
? 14 Sept 4964
Buddhist-Catholic Disputes
Sharpened Under Diem
New_York Time s
By DAVID HALBERSTAM
The deeply rooted religious
divisions in South Vietnam were
reflected in yesterday's military
moves in Saigon against the
Government of Premier Nguyen
.K.hanah.
There were other factors, too
i.---rivalrty among gnnerals and/
!between civilian politicians andl
the military. But relgious divi-1
sions have long been among
the most troublesome in the
war-torn country.
They were sharpened in re-
cent years under the rule a the
late President Ngo Dinh Diem,
when an essentially authoritar-
ian regime became identified in
the minds of many South Viet-
names? as a Roman Catholic;
authoritarian regime.
About 10 per cent. of the 14.51
million South Vietnamese are
Catholics. Ten or 11 million con-
Sider themselves Buddhists, but
only about half are Buddha wor-
shipers. The rest are more like-
ly to be ancesor-worshipers.
The present conflicts were
rooted in the war between the .
French and the Vietminh,
the Communist-controlled but r
broadly-based nationalist force
that fought to end French rule.
Catholics Fled Southward
The war lasted from 1946 to
1954, and Vietnam was then
.divided at the 17th parallel,
with the Communists in control
in the North, and with the
United States trying to put to-
gether a pro-West, anti-Com-
munist government in the
South.
In the North, many Vietnam-
ese Catholics led by their priests
had fought during the war on
the side of the French. Fearing
retaliation by the Vietminh,
they fled to the South when the
war ended.
In the South, the United!
States sought a leader for the'
new government who was both
anti-French and anti-Com-
munist. It selected Ngo Dinh
Diem? who had an enviable rec-
ord as a young civil servants.
He had resigned his post
when the French had reneged
on promises, and he had spent
the closing years of the war in
exile, at the Maryknoll Semi-
nary in Ossining, N. Y.
Mr. Diem was a devout Cath-
olic. He returned to a shattered
country, with little support out-
side of a political party oper-
ated by his own family. He was
profoundly suspicious of many
elements of the population.
Approved
Catholics Were Favored
In this situation, hundreds of
thousands of Catholic refugees
: CIAWMP8OR0/1720R9005000 10011-0
resettled them--One ot the fore-
most achievements of his re-
gime?and he gave them spe-
cial privileges.
This special relationship was
to sharpen feelings of religious
'discontent in the country. Mr.
?Diem, a Catholic from n the
central region, distrusted
namese from the Southern part
of the country and was s uspi-
cious of buddhists.
In forming a government in
a country eroded by division and
jealousy, he created an appara-
tus in ehich jobs in the secret
policenetwork and the command
of key divisions went to Catho-
lics.
The Catholics were far more
militantly anti-Communist than
the more phlegmatic, relaxed
Buddhists. In addition, many
had beeter education because of
training in parochial schools,
and this circumstance enabled
them to succeed more quickly
in whatever profession they
chose.
They soon seemed to be rising
to positions of authority far out
of proportion to their numbers.
Many Turned Catholic
l
Since Catholics seemed to
have special privileges in the
Buddhists' eyes, many young ?
men, anxious to get ahead in the :
i Army, converted to Catholi-
cism.
More than two-thirds of the.:
iprovince chiefs were Catholics.
iSo were a large number of dis-
trict chiefs. To many Vietnam-
ese, the secret police organize,-
1
/tons, increasingly powerful
year after year under President
1,
Diem, seemed to be Catholic-
dominated.
Finally, the Diem Government
became increasingly authoritar-
ian. It allowed no dissent, no
;,oPPosition political parties, and
t it controlled the press.
In this situation many Viet-
i-lainese looked upon Buddhism
as a means of expression that
was purely Vietnamese and an
alternative to organizations con
trolled by the Ngo family.
1 On May 8, 1963, the Buddhists
l in Hue were denied the right
,
I to fly their flag. They protested,
hand Government troops fired
I into a mob. Nine were killed.
::The Government refused to ac-
cept responsibility for the
1 deaths, saying that they were
I caused by a Communist agent
, who threw a grenade.
1 This was to begin a crisis in
I which the Buddhists became a
I spearhead for latent discontent
1 against the unpopular family
,
i regime, The crisis ended when
i the Army overthrew President
4 Diem and his family last Nov. 1.
d
1 Khanh Worried Buddhists
, Most Vietnamese, happy to be
i free of an oppressive govern-
ment, credited the Buddhists
[trather than the junta of gen-
erals who led the coup.
The Buddhists themselves did
knot underestimate their role.
They wanted to remain involved
in Vietnamese politics, and they
felt that they should have some
sort of say in the Government
For them, the head of the
, junta, Maj. Gen. Duong- Van
; Minh, was a hero. When the
1 general was overthrown three
4 months later by Maj. Gen.
iNguyen Khanh, the Buddhists].
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Ill U u _
That Draws the Loyalty of Many Persons
By PETER GROSE
Special 0 The New York Times
SAIGON, South Vietnam,
Sept. 12?A Buddhist revolution
Jis taking place in South Viet-
nam. Its lines and. goals are
still far from clear even to
many of the Buddhists them-
selves,- but seasoned obserwers
consider it the most significant
and far-reaching trend in pres-
ent-day Southeast Asia. Its im-
plications stretch far beyond
the frontiers of this country.
They extend, not only to na-
tions nearby but also, because
of Buddhism's unclear 'relation
to the ideology and power of
Communism, the Vietnamese
experience could alter the en-
tire power structure the United
States ' has been fighting to
maintain in the southwestern
Pacific.
The Buddhists seem to be
gambling that they can produce
a new basis for stability.
So far what has actually
happened is that the American-
sapported Premier of South
Vietnam, Maj, Gen. Nguyen
Khanh, has accepted in general
and in detail an immediate
Buddhist formula for reforming
his Government along new civil-
ian lines. Thia is the Out:come,
now apparent, of this country's
political crisis last month:
Premier First
That crisis was the second
step in an evolution starting 16
months ago. The first step was
reached last November, when
nine years of rule by President
Ngo Dinh Diem collapsed in a
bloody coup d'etat. Both the
Buddhists and the Vietnamese
Army contributed to president
Diem's downfall, but the Bud-
dhists were, neither Organized
nor motivated to fill by then).-
selves the void left when PreS1-
dent Diem was removed.
Since Nov. 1 the any has
governed South Vietnam. On
Jan, 13 there was a change in
leadership?General Khanh took
over where a junta had failed to
get off the grotind?but through-
out his first seven Months in
power the army remained Pre-
mier Khanh's principal base of
support, his only real claim to
hold power in a land torn by
war and popular dissent.
Now the Military Revolution-
ary Council, the instrument of
army rule, has been disbanded.
A Constitution that seemed to
institutionalize military dictator-
ship was withdrawn.. Premier
Khanh is in the process of eas-
ing his former military cronies
out of their Government posi-
tions. Many have already re-
signed.
"I am still a general," Pre-
mier Khanh said the other day,
"but I am Premier first." The
former field commander now
wears civilian clothes. He has
shaved off the little goatee he
sported throughout the ,military
phase of his ,rule. He never
stated publicly Why he had
grown this beard in the weeks
preceding his coup d'etat, but
from the smiles and jokes of
officers around him it is clear
the goatee had a certain bar-
rack-room symbolic value to the
military clique that helped him
into power. Now both the goatee
and the clique are gone.
New Foundation
The full story of, why the
army gave up so easily has yet
to come out?maybe it was only
a tactical retreat to prepare
for new power plays, perhag
by a younger generation of colo-
nels. Some elements would have
ithe people believe there were
Isecret inducements?that is to
'say, money?that persuaded cer-
tain individuals to abandon their
claims to power. More likely the
generals felt an onrush of frus-
tration and helplessness from 10
unpleasant months in power,
,ven a feeling that they might
as well get out while the going
was still good.
However it happened, the
army says it has abandoned its
foray into politics and now the-
oretically will return to the
business of fighting a war. Po-
litical power is forming on a
new faundation.
Spokesmen in the Buddhist
hierarchy will firmly deny any
political aspirations for them-
selves as persons or for Bud-
dhism as such. They are speak-
ing, they say, solely in the name
of theVietnamese people of
whatever religion.
A Good Claim
In fact, Buddhist leaders have
as good a claim as anyone else,
and better, than many, for pre-
senting the views of "the peo-
ple," for Buddhism is the fam-
ily religion of the vast majority
of Vietnamese. It has been so
for centuries. Premier Khanh
himself has long had a Buddhist
shrine to his parents in his
house.
Figures are difficult and mis-
leading since there are few cri-
teria for claiming to be a Bud-
dhist. Out of a population of
14 million an estimated total of
five or six million people are
practicing Buddhists responsive
to the voice of the hierarchy.
Many more who say they are
Buddhists if asked pay little
more than lip-service to any re-
Llederman 30 The Long Island Press
"They're burying themselves !"
ligion. Others adhere to Bud-
dhist-oriented sects that never-
theless shun the central Bud-
dhist organization.
Furthermore, there are clear
geographical distinctions of at-
titude among even the most
faithful of Buddhists. Until re-
cently the most politically ac-
tive were bonzes, or monks,
from North Vietnam who had
fled to the South to escape
Communist rule. They gravitat-
ed toward Saigon, establishing
their own pagodas separate from
the pagodas of their brothers
native to South Vietnam.
Northerners are outspoken in
their opposition to Communism
and have supported the mili-
tary Government in active pros-
ecution of the war against the
Communist Vietcong. The best-
known spokesman for the North-
ern refugees is Thiel]. Tam Chau,
who holds the position of rec-
tor, or chairman, of the Bud-
dhist Secular Institute, the or-
ganizational center of Buddhist
political activity.
At the opposite extreme In
zeal are the Buddhists of the
far south, the populous and rich
Mekong Delta. In this area the
orthodox hierarchy is weak,
laymen have greater influence
and religion plays a lesser role
in the comfortable life of the
population. Here also thrive
many independent sects of Viet-
namese Buddhists as well as a
militant anti-Communist group
of Buddhists of Cambodian or-
igin who adhere to the "hina-
yana," or "lesser vehicle," branch
of international BuddhismNiet-
namese Buddhism is predom-
inantly "me.hayana," or "great-
er vehicle," in which the Buddha
is deified.
Hardest to Define
It is the Buddhists of centre
Vietnam who have spurred the
most significant recent advances
into politics. Their intellectual
center is at Hue. These are the
Buddhists hardest to under-
stand or define in political
terms. They profess anti-Com-
munism and anti-neutralism, but
they 41so seem far from happy
?
with the present American, pal-
icy for fighting the war.
Their undoubted leader .2ts
Thich Tri Quang, considere,d7by
many the mastermind of ,i,ast
year's Buddhist revolt agagi4
President Diem. By seeking 1..faf,s
uge in the United States Ave.
bassy a year ago, he forcedAltg
United States Government,,A9
take sides with the Bud ,cf.hisfs
against the Diem GovernM,e4
which was trying to arrestAiA-
dhist leaders.
Though Tri Quang lacks,20,14
Chau's prestigious position-AV
head of the Secular Institul,e,
he seems now to be the..,rneat
influential single Buddhiate in
the country. There are. sxie
observers who look upori?Als
political skills as setting?,the
pattern for Buddhism threngh-
out Southeast Asia.
A long-term Buddhist ,WeVQ-
laicn is taking place both with-
in the movement and in the
country at large. Its goal is
undefined. Its purpose, accord-
ing to the bonzes, is to ,f`pro-
tect Buddhism." Neither: the
meaning of this phrase nciretlie
means to realize it have Iiipn
made clear to nonbelievers..,7;
A basic strain within,-he
movement is the whole questien
of whether Buddhism S4enid
deal in temporal politics., Any
typical Buddhist declaration pall
be couched in terms of religien,
shunning partisan involvement
in worldly political matters.
Bonzes such as Tri
evade difficult political gips-
tions by insisting they are;Sole-
ly men of religion not eciill-
petent to speak on matters .of
politics.
Drive Removed Doubt
Considering their rola_last
year and this, it is difficulf,,,to
refrain from charges of hYPDc-
risy on this point. Any clopt
about the potential politieal
strength and interests of.
least some Buddhist leaders' Was
removed in their campaign
against President Diem.
With the November coup
their effectiveness seemed2e4d-
ed for the moment, since?-they
had no viable organizatiotri ca-
pable of retaining political an-
trol after 10 centuries of :ieta-
tive noninvolvement. QUfekly
but quietly this was changed.
Starting on Jan. 3, when
the "Vietnam Unified Bud,d,hist
Church" came into being, ihe
Buddhists under Tarn Chan and
Tri Quang have established, a
shadow government acroaa_the
country, a shadow rapidly, as-
suming substance. At the top
there are two "institutes,"..pne
for religious affairs, which. has
nominal and honorific resppnsi-
bilities equivalent to those,af
chief of state, and the ..other
for secular affairs, which??like
a premier, wields actual power
over the organization.
Political Structure
In the secular institutatbere
are six "general offices," resem-
bling ministries, for clerg-y,af-
fairs, Buddhist studies, cultural
affairs, construction and finance,
lay peoples' affairs and youth.
Each general office is hauled
by a commissioner.
Down in the provinces -there
are delegates and deputies?' all
bonzes, mostly in their thirties
or early forties, all appointed,
like the Government's prevince
chiefs, by their own adminis-
tration in Saigon.
This is the political strtleture
the Buddhists were eretting
during the 10 months of Mili-
tant rule over South VigiTam.
How effective would' this
structure be in support Of a
government favorable to 'Bud-
dhists? The matter has ii;if,yet
been put to a test?littfeT has
so far been demanded othe
Buddhist population by their
leaders. But many observers
think the test will come in the
next months as long as Pmnier
Khanh leans more and those
heavily on apparently the 4::nie
noh-Communist element Of the
nation that has not yet-been
brought into active parliapa-
tion in the Government.
?
Approved
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iritthe Wider/1 World.
'
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at mass audience at hip summer residence in k,aEltel 145111111)/IU
1953 to $4.2 billion last year,
while in the same period So-
viet trade with other Commu-
nist-ruled countries has only
little more than doubled.
Political Climate
The primary factor in the
rapid increase of Soviet trade
with Western Europe and Japan
has been the easing of world
political tensions since the end
of the Korean War in the mid-
1950's. That in turn has pro-
duced a major relaxation in the
strictness of the embargo on
strategic exports, evidenced by
progressive reductions in the
number of goods whose sale to
Moscow is prohibited.
To pay for the increased pur-
chases, the Soviet Union has
stepped up its sales abroad,
mainly sales of raw materials
auch as oil and lumber; has
contracted an increasing volume
of short and medium-term?up
In five years?credits. It has
also increased Its sales of gold.
Two developments combined
this last year to make the Rua.
sians step up their pressure fol.
longer-term loans. One was the
realization in Moscow that the
Several hundred ?million dollars
worth of short and medium-
term loans it had contracted
had reached the. limit :of its ca-
p4:1city to sen/ce, that is, to re-
pay?along with accrued inter-
est?as the loans fell due. The
second was last year's unveil-
ing of Premier Khrushchev',s
ambitious chemical expansiop
program, whose fulfillment ori
schedule requires the purchase
of billions of dollars worth of
foreign machinery and tech-
nological know-how.
In recent months, therefore,
Soviet agenti in Western Eu-
rope and Japan have been dan-
gling the prospect of huge or-
derS't - amounting to hundreds
of millions or billions of dollars
'?before businessmen and gov-
ernment 'officials in these coun-
tries. But these orders, the So.
Viet envoys have made plain
will g6 only to those firm:
a.11:c1 Countries that are willinf
to extend "reasonable" credi
terms, that is, to give loans that
do' not have to be repaid fo3
more than five?and very pref.
era* more than 10 ? years
Those urging the Soviet
*sired easi?nr.:01 credit term.
have poinCed'to the Soviet Un
ion's scrupulous repayment 'o
past commercial credits extene
Cd it, arguing this record makc
VATICAN- II. RECONVENES
The Ecumenical Council, Which Gathers in Rome
Tomorrow, Could Make Significant Changes
By ROBERT C. DOTY
Special to The New York Times
ROME, Sept. 12?The more
than 2,300 Cardinals and Bish-
ops of the Roman Catholic
Church will assemble Monday
in St. Peter's Basilica for the
third, and undoubtedly climac-
tic, session of Vatican II, th
church's first Ecumenical Coun-
cil in nearly a century.
It will be a splendid, colorful
ceremony?Pope Paul VI in full
pontifical vestments on his
throne, the bright scarlet robes
of Cardinals against the darker,
purplish red of the Bishops
in a magnificent setting, the
lofty nave of the great cathed-
ral.
The task of the fathers of
the Council will be to complete
the "aggiornamento" -- updat-
ing ? of the church for a more
effective dialogue with the Mod-
ern world, an updating that
began five years ago when Pope
John XXIII announced the coun-
cil.
Two previous sessions, In 1962
and 1963, have produced only
two completed decrees but,
along with them, an immensely
significant stocktaking and ex-
change of ideas that almost
transcends formal votes and de-
cisions in importance.
One of the completed actions
was a decree on the reform of
the sacred liturgy, introducing
vernacular tongues to replace
Latin and decentralizing con-
trol on liturgical matters?an
action qualified experts view as
one of the most important
changes in the Roman Church
in centuries.
The other was a decree giving
a rather conservative, super-
ficial and much-criticized def-
inition of the church's attitude
toward the press and other com-
munications media.
13-Item Agenda
On the agenda this time are 13
items. There are six schemata,
full-scale developments of major
subjects for discussion and vote.
There are six simple "proposi-
tions," statements of general
principles on lesser matters,
synthesized from the written
intersession comments of the
Council Fathers. There is one
"votum," an expression of the
will of the council on the gen-
eral direction of a reform of
the provisions of canon law on
marriage.
Most important and still con-
troversial, after 79 sittings of
the council, are the huge schema,
of the church itself?a search-
ing re-examination and redefini-
tion of its very nature; a schema
on the sources of divine revela-
tion; a schema on ecumenism,
defining the church's attitude
toward efforts to achieve Chris-
tian unity; much-disputed dec-
larations on the Catholic atti-
tude toward religious liberty
ad toward the Jews and a
c tch-all schema on the church
4thedern World.
Among them, they touch on
all of he challenXing issues
facing the church today: the
problem of marriage and birth
control, relations with Protes-
tants and non-Christian,s, the
Impact of materialiemrand mod-
ern science 'on traditional doc-
trines and forms, the sharing
of the authority:of the Pope
and his predominantly Italian
and conservative,Cnria with the
bishops most closely at grips
with mid-20th-century problems
at the pastoral level. -
Many of the specific issues
are stated in theological terms
confusing to the average la3r-
men.
Underlying almost all the de-
tailed theological qtestions are
several general attitudes of ap-
proach that have divided the
conned between progressive and
conservative camps.
Question of Power
One of these Is the attitude
toward the government of the
Church. A clear majority of the
bishops gave evidence, in their
approach to almost 'every issue,
that they be,lieved that the
Roman Curia exercised too
much, too centralized and too
conservative power in the day-
to-day administration of the
church under the authority of
the Supreme Pontiff.
This view received its most
precise expression in a series
of five preliminary votes on the
collegiality?the collective au-
thority?of the bishops, all Won
overwhelmingly by the pro-
gressives. This has been followed
by proposals, not yet in any
formal draft, for the establish-
ment in Rothe of a kind a
"senate" of the world's bishops
to advise the Pope?first in au-
thority among the bishops?on
church affairs. This plan would
cut into the present virtually
unchallenged authority of the
many curial congregations to
interpret the Pontiff's will
the Innumerable innumerable matters of d
tail he must delegate to other
A second major watershed
opinion has been the approa(
to ecumenism, the aspirate
toward the unity of Christiar
Here so called "triurnphalisr
the concept of the church ;
having only to pursue its coui
secure in the certainty of ti
eventual return of all dissente
to the fold, is opposed to tl
view that the church bears son
responsibility, for past schism
that it must actively seek a
comnaoddtions -with the "se
arated brethren," minimizir
points of difference without,
Course, compromising on esse
tials.
Here, too, the Curia no
those bishops comfortably e
sconcal in Catholic societi
tend, in varying degrees, to su
port the, first view. The bishor
whose lot is cast among Prote
tants and non-Christians amour
the globe, generally favor
more aetive ecumenism.
An issue of a`special kind
presented by the declaration (
the Jews. An original draft pr
pared under the guidance of
progressive, Augustin Cardin
Bea, head of the Secretariat ft
Christian Unity, unreserved
acknowledged that the JeN
generally, in Christ's day
now, had no special responsib
ity for His crucifixion, which
viewed as an atonement for tl
sins of all mankind.
At the insistence of conserv
tive curial officials and bisho)
from Arab countries who fear(
hostile governmental reactio3
even to a purely religious stat
ment on the Jews, Cardin
Bea' s draft was withdrawn
the second session.
A new draft has offendi
Jewish opinion by exoneratir
only modern Jews of guilt in ti
crucifixion and therefore, I
implication, endorsing the r
United Press Internationa
Pope Paul VI, who will reconvene the Ecumenical Council ii
Rome tomorrow, is shown responding to greetings last wedl
at mass audience at hip summer residence in Castel Gandolfo
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