THE SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A000500010049-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 4, 2007
• Sequence Number: 49
• Publication Date: April 5, 1966
• Content Type: IM

Approved For Release 2007/09/04: CIA-RDP79T00826A000500010049-7
,JL'CK1L1 e 111C ~--
OCI No. 1131/66
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Current Intelligence
5 April 1966
The Situation in South Vietnam
(As of 2:00 P.M. EST)
1. Da Nang was reported quiet during the evening
hours of 5 April (Vietnam time), with no immediate
prospect of fighting between pro and antigovernment
troops there. Vietnamese Marines dispatched from Sai-
gon last night will apparently remain at the air base
for the time being, but will not attempt to enter the
city. I Corps commander General Chuan, after con-
ferring with Premier Ky today, is exerting his influ-
ence to maintain peace in the city, but there are con-
flicting reports concerning his ultimate loyalties.
The two Ranger battalions moved to Da Nang appear to
be under Chuan's control, and reportedly are being
withdrawn.. Thus far, Chuan appears to be urging
moderation in order to avoid a head-on confrontation
between the Saigon government and local dissident
elements.
2. In Hue, the Vietnamese First Division com-
mander reportedly announced his opposition. to the
Saigon government in a radiobroadcast today. The
subsequent deployment of elements of the First Divi-
sion. near the city in anticipation of the arrival of
troops from Saigon caused the withdrawal of US mili-
tary advisors and air support from the division. As
a precautionary measure, some US civilians in. Hue
and Quang Tri city are in the process of being air
evacuated. According to late reports, I Corps com-
mander General Chuan in Da Nang has been informed of
these developments, and has promised to take urgent
steps to calm the situation.
State Dept. review
completed
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?J.Cd U 1'c rJ l
3. It is not yet clear what the reaction of the
antigovernment elements will be, now that Premier Ky
has postponed the use of force to restore government
authority in Da Nang. The government is apparently
following up on its plan for convening a national
political congress to discuss proposals for a civilian
government. Meanwhile, Buddhist leaders have indi-
cated their willingness to continue talks with the
government to arrive at a political solution to the
unrest, but do not appear to have altered their de-
mands thus far. According to press reports, moderate
Buddhist leader Tam Chau appeared to take a stronger
stand than he has previously in a speech at the Bud-
dhist Institute in Saigon this evening. For the
first time, Chau reportedly called for a national
assembly within three months, and declared that the
people's "nonviolent" struggle was "just." In pre-
vious public statements, Chau has urged his followers
to remain calm so that the government could ulti-
mately fulfill its promises for a civilian government.
4. Elsewhere in Saigon this evening, various
press accounts have reported that Buddhist student
demonstrations continued beyond the 9:00 P.M. cur-
few. One Buddhist monk attempting to intercede be-
tween students and troops was reportedly knocked
unconscious by a rifle butt. The US Embassy has re-
ported that a few small groups were still holding
out against police at 11:00 P.M., and that both the
troops and the police had been forced to resort to
tear gas and occasional volleys of small arms fire
over the heads of the demonstrators.
5... There is no further information relating to
press accounts which described the burning of the
USIS library in Nha Trang. The library is co-located
with the Vietnamese Information Service, which has
been the object of conflict between government au-
thorities and demonstrators during the past few days.
It is not yet clear whether the reported burning and
sacking of the building was a deliberate anti-
American act, or whether it was the culmination of
previous activity centering around the Vietnamese
Information Service facility.
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6. Although the penetration and influence of
the Viet Cong in the antigovernment movement re-
mains somewhat obscure, the Viet Cong?s Liberation
Radio today broadcast a statement that the National
Liberation Front is "ready to unite" with elements
of the "rebel army" to achieve "independence, de-
mocracy, peace, and neutrality" in South Vietnam.
The broadcast played up the anti-American overtones
of the unrest, but also singled out some of those
in the protest movement, including moderate Tam
Chau, for criticism.
-3-
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 v74G
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SE(;RFT 10
OCI No. 116816'.`
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Current Intelligence
5 April 1966
The Situation in South Vietnam
(As of 10:00 a.m. EST)
1. At 5:55 p.m. Saigon time, when Prime Min-
ister Ky departed Da Yang, there was still no re-
ported direct confrontation between the three emer-
gency Vietnamese Marine battalions and antigovern-
ment agitators in Da Nang. Before Ky left for Sai-
gon, he announced in a speech that his previous ap-
praisal that Hue and Da Nang were Communist held
was incorrect. The press reports that while Ky was
in Da Nang he conferred with Buddhist leaders be-
fore making his soft-line speech.
2. In Saigon, however, Buddhist students from
the Buddhist Youth Association battled riot police
for three hours before being dispersed. One of the
demonstrators was wounded slightly by a shot from
carbines which were being fired over their heads.
A Vietnamese Ranger battalion moved to the Buddhist
headquarters during the demonstration to enforce the
9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew imposed earlier in the
day.
3. Demonstrations continued in Nha Trang,
where the USIS library was reportedly burned and
sacked, in Pleiku town, where there were u.nconfir=ned
reports of fighting between soldiers loyal and op-
posed to the government, and in Hue, where students
reportedly demonstrated in front of the American
advisory billet.
4. The commanding general of the 3rd US Marine
Amphibious Force has ordered the evacuation to secure
SECRET
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areas of all US advisers to tactical Vietnamese units
in I Corps trouble spots. Eight civilians in Quang
Tri city and 75 in Hue are also being air-evacuated
to the marine base at Phu Bai. This is phase one of
the contingency evacuation plan and does not include
members of the consulate in Hue
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