Thursdoy, November'7, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three Thursday, November 7, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three SEVERE SUPPRESSION: Vietnamese students protest war By D. GARETH PORTER Collegiate Press Service Vietnamese anti-war activists have clearly been driven to a position of advocating the over- throw of the Saigon military government by a Communist-led coalition of forces. "The future role of generals who rule the country depends on how they respond to the peo- ple's wishes .for, peace; if they ., do not give the people peace, they will be lost," a student leader had claimed several weeks before the bombing halt. Now that President Thieu has refused to go along with peace talks which include the new, and probabily militant National Lib- eration Front, demonstrattions against the current government may be expected. Vietnam's anti-war student activists have grown increas- ingly militant this year despite the heavier price of openly op- posing the government. If they wish to speak out strongly against the war, students face the choice of risking a long prison term or joining the Na- tional Liberation Front or its allies. Some of the student leaders have already chosen the latter alternative. Several leaders of the Saigon Student Union in 1967 joined the NLF during Tet. Several of Hue's student activ- ists, traditionally more militant, joined the Front before the end of last year. It is difficult to get accurate information on how many stu- dents are actually working for the clandestine Alliance of Na- tional, Democratic and Peace Forces or its student affiliate, the Saigon Students Committee for Peace, both of which have aligned themselves with the V I Unlike other classics 'West Side Story' growyounger! : "BEST PICTiRE!" Wenerof 1 Acdemy Awards!-M#, .neCU# "ESESThTWEST SIDE STORY" " ROBERT WISE oucT, NATALI EWOOD NATIONAL GENERAL CORPORATION FOX EASTERN THEATRES... 3756No. MAPLE RD.-769-1300 MON.-FRI. 8:00 SUN. 1:00-3:45-6:30-9:15 SAT. 3:45-6:30-9:15 Front as an alternative to the Thieu government. One political figure well-known for his anti- war stand believes that the figure is probably no more than 100. Student leaders themselves admit that only about ten per cent of the approximately 25,000 university students in Saigon even know or care about the Alliance and its purpose. The activists are not typical of Saigon students. It is usual- ly estimated that only about 10 per cent of the university students are politically active. Most of them have little respect for either the Saigon politicians or the generals, and they have been perfectly willing to let someone else die if they can avoid military service. But since nearly all of them are from middle-class families, most stu- dents also find a victory by the Viet Cong unacceptable. They are also quite insensi- tive to the social cleavages and conflicts which underlie the present war. When beginning students at Saigon University were asked by an American teacher of English to write a composition on the ra- cial problem in the U.S., com- paring it with Vietnamese so- cial problems, very few men- tioned the gulf between the urban middle class and the pea- sant, between Vietnamese and Chinese, or between Vietnamese and Montagnard tribesmen. The anti-war movement is limited by the inherent social class composition of the student body. Little interest is generat- ed by the elections for positions in the Saigon Student Union, the organization representing students of the 14 divisions of Saigon University. But the left- wing opponents of the war seem to be in a majority among those who are more involved in poli- tics. Anti-war students have been elected to the executive commit- tees of the various faculties of the university over the last two years, and since these represen- tatives in turn elect the power- ful seven-man committee of the Saigon Student Union, the anti- war movement has dominated it during that time. The 'Student Union has been involved in social action as well as politics, having mobilized about 500 university students to contribute labor regularly in re- fugee relief after Tet Offensive and the May offensive. At one refugee center this summer, I KEEP AHEAD OF YOUR HAIR! " NO WAITING * 7 BARBERS ! OPEN 6 DAYS The Daseola Barbers Near Michigan Theatre saw students teaching refugee children in a school which they had begun on their own. Anti-war activity has run in cycles, depending on the poli- tical circumstances of the mo- ment. Last year, students were mobilized by the results of the Presidential E 1 e c t i o n, which were denounced by Buddhists and student leaders as fraudu- lent. Opposition to the election was couples with calls for a negotiated settlement of the war. Late last September, mem- bers of the executive commit- tees of the four universities at Saigon, Can Tho, Da Lat and Van Hanh organized a semin- ar and demonstration, then is- sued a statement demanding the cessation of the bombing of North Vietnam, a ceasefire, the withdrawal of foreign troops and negotiations to reunify the country. Within the same week, students demonstrated in front of the National Assembly and tore up the board displaying the names of those elected in Presi- 'dential and Senatorial elections. As a result of these and other demonstrations, the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Saigon Student Union, Ho Huu Nhut, and six other student leaders were arrested and spent some time in jail before they were drafted into the army. At the beginning of the Tet Offen- sive, all seven joined the Viet Cong. A new cycle of student anti- war activity began early I a s.t summer, not with demonstra- tions but with public statements. After a long silence on the war, the official newspaper of the Student Union, with a circula- tion of about 5,000 published an editorial both strongly anti-war and anti-American. At the same time, the Student Union's Exe- cutive Committee issued a state- ment urging that the war "must cease by negotiation in order for the nation not to be destroyed." It called for, a "realistic peace solution" acceptable to both par- ties. Within a month, the edi- tor of the students newspaper was arrested and later sentenc- ed to five years at hard labor. The main reason for thetim- ing of these statements was the impending general mobilization under which most students would lose their draft defer- ments. Students called on mem- bers of both houses of the Na- tional Assembly to protest the, mobilization and to demand how long they would permit the war to go on. NATIONAL LEN.RAL.-CORPORATION FOX EASUTERN THEATRES001 I FOH VILLaGEI 375 No. MAPLE RD. "769.130 Nixon for T.V. show) Election listening post A Marine corporal held his H-16 rifle yesterday as he listened to the tight election race 'over a transistor radio perched on an ambulance at the Da Nang airport. Four students quiz By JOHN SIEFERT EDITORS NOTE: Thisinterview took place prior to yesterday's elec-1 tions and was scheduled for na- tional prime time television on Oct. 10. However, it was cancelled but will be shown now that the elec- tions are over. The author is a stu- dent at the University of Chi- cago. CHICAGO (CPS)-Roger Ailes of the Nixon staff met us Tues- day morning, Oct. 1. for breakfast and a final briefing. "Us" was four students who had been picked to tape a program with the candi- date titled "Richard Nixon on Campus." The half-hour program was to have been aired Thursday eve- ning. October 1.on CBS. The air be necessary to edit the program to "tighten up"-edit out the un- interesting verbage while preserv- ing the "high points." Other than preventing a major slip of the "brainwash" variety, Ailes said he was not interested in censoring what we had to say or suggesting that we go "easy" on the candidate. Long after the viewers have for- gotten what the candidate or panelists say, Ailes explained, they will remember the tone of a pro- gram.So he suggested that what he wanted on the program was "warmth." Hostility, it was plain, was out. the by T he Associated Press and College Press Service RICHARD NIXON'S ELECTION to the presidency is expected to shed a different light on peace talks in Paris, now suspended indefinitely. Nixon could show his hand by supporting President John- son's efforts to bring South Vietnamese President Ngyen Van Thieu to the negotiating table. There have been signs that Thieu was gambling on a Nixon victory, hoping that this would insure greater support for his position than he has been getting from Johnson. During his campaign, Nixon offered to fly either to Paris or Saigon to help in the peacemaking effort, in the event that he was elected president. Now he must learn whether Presi- dent Johnson wants him to fulfill that offer. At the very least, Nixon is likely to assign, with Johnson's consent, a personal envoy to join Ambassadors W. Averell Harriman and Cyrus R. Vance in Paris until January 20. On that date, Nixon will assume office, and the American negotiators in Paris will be at his disposal in case he should want to name new chief delegates.. THE STATE DEPARTMENT denied yesterday that 'resident Johnson announced the bombing h a 1 t over. North Vietnam in the full knowledge that South Vietnam would fail to show for the day's scheduled peace talks. Fully informed authorities in Washington said Johnson had delayed the announcement for at least 24 hours while he tried to get the Saigon government back into line with his plans. But then he decided to go ahead. Officials said Johnson hoped that sooner or later Saigon would go along with the proposal anyway. President Thieu, however, made public his refusal a few days later. State Department official Robert McCluskey, who issued the denial, admitted that U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker had informed Johnson of Thieu's unwillingness. Thus, the Johnson administration appeared to be making a fine distinction between what the president thought South Vietnam might do and what he definitely knew. A TWO-DAY CONFRONTATION between Jordan's King Hussein and rebellious Palestinian guerillas appear- ed ended yesterday. The Jordanian government lifted the curfew from An- man, its capital, as commando sources reported Hussein had reached an agreementwith them. The rebels reportedly tele- phoned the news from Amman's royal palace, but there was no immediate confirmation from Jordanian officials. Possibly to discuss the agreement, Hussein will hold a press conference tomorrow afternoon. The king's position appeared to have strengthened Tues- day in skirmishes with commando groups that left 25 persons dead and 100 wounded. Jordanian authorities said earlier they had arrested the Victory Phalanges, a splinter guerilla band accused of-starting the fighting Monday. The government accused the group of being paid by an unidentified foreign government to stir up civil strife in Jordan rather than fight Israel. VIET CONG FROGMEN yesterday blew up the cen- ter of one of South Vietnam's busiest bridges northwest of Saigon. A military spokesman said saboteurs apparently floated a massive charge beneath the Phu Cuong bridge just before dawn, and wounded at least four U.S. soldiers. U.S. and South Vietnamese guards had tried to blow up the charge with hand grenades when they spotted movement in the water. The bridge was expected to be replaced by a pontoon bridge early this morning. In other action, U.S. bombers launched h e a v y raids against enemy troop concentrations in the central highlands near the borders of Cambodia and Laos. The U.S. Command also reported the loss of four heli- copters earlier this week. * 0 * CHARLES MUNCH, the 77-year-old conductor of the Paris symphony orchestra, died in a Richmond, Va. hotel room yesterday. His body was discovered by his valet, who had gone to wake him. Munch was to have conducted the orchestra in concert yesterday, as part of a tour that began in Canada in October. The Alsace-born musician was former conductor of the Boston Symphony, and other orchestras in Paris. He was a member of the French government's Legionne d'Honneur i FRIDAY-NOV. 1 - ONE SHOWING 11:00 P.M. A Realistic Film that Could Happen Julie Oskar Christie Werner t rst Mole since her winner of the Academg Award New York Critics' % for"Daring": Best ActorAward' m "ahrenhe 459 '4 TECHNICOLOR' TICKETS AT BOX OFFICE 7:00 P.M. MON.-THUR. - 8:00 FRI. -- 6:30-9:15 SUN-1 :00-3:45-6:30-9:15 SAT-3:45-6:30-9:1 Unlike other classics "West Side Story" grows younger! time was purchased weeks in ad- ;All four panelists were white. vance. When I first met Ailes to discuss the format of the program I sug-, But the program never made it ested that 'one of the panelists be on e air. Eventually the pro- a black student. "Black people gram will be shown, the Nixonj should speak for black people," staff has said, but only on edu- I suggested. Ailes rejected this, cational TV stations and only, saying that black Americans com- after the election. pose only 11 per cent of the pop- When Ailes met us for breakfast, ulation and that white students he shplain. dthe afinglformatbe could represent the views of the the show. The taping would beablack students on their campuses. done at the College of WilliamAabu1:3Nioarve, and Mary in Colonial Williams- Everyone not directly connected burg,Va b esexplainedwe would tape with the production was ushered about an hour and a half of dis- out of the room. cussion with Mr., Nixon: this would I began by asking, "About half be edited down to a half-hour of the draft-eligible graduat'ing program, seniors at the University of Chi- The editing would be done for cago signed the following state- two reasons. First, as Ailes had ex- ment, which I'll try to quote from plained to us the previous week- memory: 'Our war in Vietnam is end in our preliminary meetings unjust and immoral. 'As long as with him in Detroit. the Nixon the United States is involved in staff is determined to prevent the this war I will refuse induction kind of slip that ruined George, into the armed forces and counsel, Romney. aid, and abet others to do the Second. Ailes explained, it would See STUDENT, Page 8 EL UNION-LEAGUE SOPH SHOW CARN IVAL" Thurs., November 7-8:00 p.m. $2.25 Fri., November 8-7:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. $2.50 Sat., November 9-8:00 p.m. $2.50 TICKETS are STILL AVAILABLE.I Mendelssohn Theater Box Office Open 8 A.M. until 8 P.M. I MIRISCH PICTURES presents a fi LmEE N W to every man DA -61 who has, i ever had to lie aot. I I I " 0D Q0 "0.a Happiness is Paris at night ..a gorgeous chick waiting md your wife far, far away! I . sr _.. . 016..-.