Tuesday, December 3, 1968
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
TuesayDeceber3, 968 HE ICHIAN AIL
A SEPARATE PEACE:
'Coconut Power' flourishes
on island in Mekong Delta
1.
By CARL D. ROBINSON world's hippie population. Living
PHUNG HOANG ISLAND, Viet- in simple thatch huts on stilts,
nam (M -- In a Coney Island at- they wear rusty-colored pajama-
mosphere of vicious looking dra- like clothing and cover their un-
gons, bright colored lights, and cut hair with pointed turbans.
noisy loud-speakers, "Coconut Most of the men have wispy
Power" has brought peace to a beards. The young have the long-
tiny part of South Vietnam. haired look but they wear no beads
The scene is a lush Mekong or jewelry and do not smoke,
Delta island, where a utopian drink or demonstrate.
community has been forged by Only two rules exist in the is-
the teachings of a long-haired, land community: no killing and
speechless priest reputed to have no meat. Persons of any religious
eaten nothing but coconuts for 20 or political persuasion are allow-
years. ed to settle here.
Peace thrives on the isle, two- It is a refuge for elderly men
thirds of a mile long. An unwrit- and women seeking a last time of
ten agreement between the Viet- tranquility and the middle-aged
o namese government and the Viet tired of knowing only war in their
Cong keeps it a sanctuary. It is a adult ways.
self-contained society never far For some. young men, it offers
from the sounds of war. a haven from the draft. This ob-
To the one side is Kien Hoa jection to the war, however, is
Province-famous for its lovely based beyond thatrof the simple
girls, its deadly Viet, Cong, and Saigon draft dodger.
its bumper crop of coconuts. To One young man, formerly an
4 the other is the huge American elementary school principal in
base of Dong Tam, headquarters Ben Tre, which was heavily dam-
of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division. aged during the Viet Cong's Tet
Exploding mortar rounds send offensive, commented: "I was
geysers of delta mud into the air tired of all the killing-the kill-
as they smash into a far river ing of one Vietnamese by another.
bank while jets fly over lazily, I want to be away from both sides,
making their bombing runs on and a soldier for neither."
Viet Cong-held coconut g r o v e s * The bond of the community is
two miles away. a modern interpretation of the old
At first glance, the 2.000 fol- Chinese metaphysical philosophy
lowers of the "coconut priest" look of Taoism. It is a philosophy of
like Vietnam's contribution to the inaction, centering on self and
letting the world just happen
around you. It's called Dao here.
The priest is a pleasant, e
like man in tattered robes, bearded
and barefooted Hunched over, he
stands 4%/2 feet tall and wears his
rope of long hair around his head
like a derby hat.
He moves among his congrega-
tion in a large, circular praying s
area studded with ornate columns
of dragons and lotus flowers, or
receives guests in his stucco grot-
to. The Dao Dua, as he is known
by his followers, is virtually ig-
nored by most of them and wishes;
to be looked on more as a scholar
than as an object of worship.
His native province of Kien Hoa
is known for its production of co-
conuts and he long ago adopted
the simple fruit as his movement's
symbol. Strangely, his small island
has no coconut trees. They are all 4
imported from the "outsider
world."
After abandoning a career as a G
chemical engineerafteryears of e Uc l
study in France, 60-year-old
Nguyen Thanh Nam, the coconut -
monk, became a full-time paci-
-Associated Press
These parading Pakastani students were successful last week in
111 their challenge of the government of President Mohammed Ayub
Khan. Khan met with members of his party yesterday after
announcing major concessions to the rebellious students.
i
fist.
When the Indochina war b.roke
out in late 1945, he ceased speak-
ing_ ExnressinLr the Tanist axiom
.. ::.: ItM All Right
Jack
"Devastatingly funny."
-N. Y. Times T
Thurs., Dec. 5
I
I
11. rwjUi1g b u~i xU1
of "speaking by not speaking," he
maintained silence until 1958. In
the 10 years from 1958 to j u s t
after the Tet offensive this year,
he actively preached peace, often
coupled with silent protest in pub-
lic places.
This simple call for peace gives
the Dao Dua's movement a mass
peasant appeal and therefore a
political role in the present phase.
of the Vietnam war. The follo~ers
of the priest speak hopefully of
a broadly based Gandhi-like
movement which will use nonvio-
lent means to resist both sides in
DSespte evasions and finagling,
Rhodesia just can'tgo it alone
By KENNETH L. WHITING' estimated at little more than $280 1 on, some say the greater the likeli-
SALISBURY, Rhodesia ( P) - million. hood that Rhodesia will become
The economy- has been running Rhodesia has to pay more of its an economic satellite of South
down since Rhodesia declared it- dwindling foreign exchange for Africa. However, South Africa
self independent of Britain three imports. At the same time it earns clearly wants a British-Rhodesian
years ago. less for exports sold by middle- settlement. Its support of Rho-
There has been evasion of men on a sort of gray market and desia is embarrassing a new "out-
sanctions and boycotts aimed at slipped out via South Africa or ward looking" foreign police of
returning the white minority gov- Portuguese Mozambique. mutual cooperation with black
ernment to London's control. Fi- Tobacco used to be the keystone Africa. There is widespread specu-
nancial adjustments have been of Rhodesia's economy, but now lation about a massive loan from
made and crops and industries the industry is stagnant. Many! South Africa iftsettlement is
diversified. But stagnation is growers are turning their land reached with Britain.
spreading and symptoms of poor over to a government agency. A settlement would also bring
economic health are appearing. Warehouses and sealed hangars a mining boom. The Johannes-
Unemployment is steadily in-: hold much of the unsold crop from burg-based Anglo-American Corp,
creasing among blacks. "No work" two seasons. already is spending $1.4 million
signs in the Matabele tribal ver- Virtually all unlicensed commer- yearly on mineral prospecting,
nacular hang in many Salisbury cial and financial transactions by double the amount before inde-
stores. Americans with Rhodesia are pro- pendence.
the
news toda
byThbe A.,sociae Pre and Co,,Ie Pess Serice
PRESIDENT-ELECT RICHARD NIXON yesterday ap-
pointed Harvard Prof. Henry A. Kissinger assistant for
national security affairs.
Kissinger, a professor in Harvard's Department of Gov-
ernment, has been a consultant to the State Department
since 1965. Explaining his perception of the job, Kissinger
said yesterday, "I believe very strongly that the position of a
White House assistant is inconsistent with making public
statements on substantive matters."
Nixon said although several men were under considera-
tion for the assignment, Kissinger was selected because, "I
felt at this time there was a need to bring to government
someone who had never had that responsibility before."
NEGOTIATORS IN PARIS made progress yesterday
toward expanding the peace talks.
At a secret meeting American and North Vietnamese en
voys discussed the working language, delegation size, and con-
ference sight for the expanded formal talks expected to begin
next week.
U.S. Ambassador CyrusR. Vance and Hanoi's Col. Ha
Van Lau also discussed recent military action in Vietnam.
Lau protested continuing U.S. flights over North Vietnam and
U.S. air attacks in support of downed American flyers.
Informants said Vance countered Lau's protest with com-
plaints about Communist military action, presumably the
movement of North Vietnamese into the demilitarized zone
between the two Vietnams. Vance also reportedly complained
about North Vietnamese firing at U.S. Reconaissance planes.
SOVIET VESSELS are tailing the U.S. aircraft car-
rier Hancock on patrol off South Korea, a Japanese news-
paper reported early today.
The newspaper Yomiuri said it sent reporters out in a
plane and they sighted the Hancock in the Strait of Korea
between the Korean peninsula and Japan. The paper said two
Soviet ships were about 22 hiiles behind the Hancock which
is patroling South Korea in an effort to block any new land-
ings by North Korean guerillas.
After more than 60 North Korean guerillas landed on
South Korea's east coast in November, the U.S. and South
Korean governments charged the Hancock with. discouraging
"any further provacative acts."
A U.S. military spokesman in Seoul, the South Korean
capital, said the Hancock was carrying out routine opera-
tions and the carrier's planes would continue to conduct
flight operations.
AN ARMS EXPORT BAN yesterday was placed on
Switzerland's biggest weapons manufacturer.
After a government probe of illegal arms shipments to
the Middle East and Africa, the Zurich Engineering firm of
Oerliken, Buehrle and Co., was slapped with the unprecedent-
ed ban which applys to all arms exports, including those al-
ready licensed.
Federal prosecuter Hans Walder said two company ex-
ecutives admitted violating an official embargo on a r m s
shipments to tension areas by forging export applications. He
said more than $2.3 million of air to air rockets, cannon and
ammunition were sent illegally to Nigeria, South Africa, Is-
rael, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
Oerliken, Buehrle and Co., which has suspended the two
arrested executives, blamed the arms deals on "a few indi-
vidual employes of the companies" acting without the know-
ledge of the general management.
NEARLY 30,000 FRENCH AUTO WORKERS yester-
day voted to strike for five hours Thursday.
The strike at Renault's suburban Billancourt auto plant
will be the first test of strength between French organized
labor and President Charles de Gaulle's austerity program.
In his Nov. 24 statement refusing to devalue the franc
de Gaulle said "all agitation and exhibitions, all marches and
tumult which hinder work" must stop. He pledged that "the
needed measures" to halt any disturbances would be taken.
Unions, however, feel rising prices will hit the working
man hardest and make meaningless the 14% wage increase
they received after the general strikes last May and June.
E E .e
THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY. yesterday called on
the Security Council to pressure South Africa to end its
race discrimination policy.
The 126-member body asked the Security Council to en-
force mandatory sanctions against South Africa, approving
the African-Asian sponsored measure by 85 votes. The resolu-
tion said, the policies of apartheid create in South Africa "a
grave threat to international peace and security."
Only South Africa and Portugal voted no while the United
States and Britain were among 14 nations ab'staning.
the war. They claim from three
million to four million followers
-most through loose association
with other peace-minded organi-
zations.
The Dao Dua converses w i t h
visitors through a young "inter-
preter," one of his disciples, who
reads his hand signals and ex-
pressions. - Rhodesia has 4 million blacksj
The disciples say he is deter- and some* 220.000 whites. Thes
mined to maintain silence until population pressure is such that
the four leading Vietnamese the country cannot afford to
leaders - Ho Chi Minh, the Na- stand still.
tional Liberation Front's Nguyen The African population has in-
Huu lho, and South Vietnamese creased by 13 per cent since 1963,
President Nguyen Van Thieu and but there are no more jobs now
Vice-President Nguyen Cao Ky than there were then. At least
-agree to sit down with him and 42,000 blacks have lost their jobs
talk peace. since the unilateral declaration of
Peace will come soon, he says, independence Nov. 11, 1965, and
but war will break out againtun- as many as 250,000 may be with-'
less the Vietnamese solve their out work now.
own problems free from outside Finance Minister John Wrathall
influence. told parliament that an annual
growth rate of 6%2 per cent is nec-
NATIONAL SENERAI.CORPORATION ! essary to assure "a minimal im-
FOX EASTERN THEATR S 1L7
provement in the standard of
living." But per capita income has
rex VILLAGE ecp,95 n 97
375 No. MAPLE RD.-"7691300 decreased every year this decade
except 1965 and 1967.
NOW SHOWING Exports were valued at $462 mil-
Mon -Tues-Wed7:20-9:30 lion in 1965. Last year they were
hibited. The United States once
was a major importer of Rho-
desian chrome ore.-
Businessmen in Salisbury tell
Americans that this unrecognized;
country is fighting the same kind
of war against terrorist infiltrators
from black Africa as the United
States is fighting in Vietnam.
A surface glitter remains in
Rhodesia and casual visitors see
few signs of trouble. Shops are
well stocked, gasoline is rationed
but plentiful, seemingly well-heel-
ed patrons throng night clubs andj
the race track and a gambling,
casino . at Victoria Falls was ex-
panded this year.-
South Africa has not offered
Rhodesia- full diplomatic recogni-
tion, but neither has it enforced
United Nations sanctions against
At least two firms in the searchE
for nickel, copper and other base
metals. Roan Selection Thrust
and Rhodesian Chrome Mines,
have large U.S. backing. American
Metal Climax has a block of Roan
Selection stock and Rhodesian
Chrome Mines is a subsidiary of
Union Carbide.
Landlocked Rhodesia is almost
as big as Callifornia and the
mineral hunt covers almost the
entire country. The deputy min-
ister of mines, Ian Dillon, says
mineral production could be in-
creased from the present level of
less than $98 million per year to
$280 million in a few years.
The government views mineral
exports as one of the best ways to
evade sanctions because many
minerals are difficult to identify
Morgan
"Wild, bizarre, free wheeling.
Howlingly funny.":-N.Y. Times
Sat., Dec. 7
Elvira Madigan
"Perhaps the most beautiful
movie in history." New Yorker
Sun., Dec. 8
N Nobody
i Waved Goodbye
"A marvelous movie."
-The New Yorker
Mon., Dec. 9
Nothing
But A Man
"A great movie. A revolution
-in the cinema."-Life
Tues., Dec. 10
Salisbury. as to source.
The longer the dispute drags It is not at all certain, however,
Sot.3:00-5:15-7:20-9:30
Thurs.-Fri.-Sun. 1:00-3:00-5:15
7:20-9:30
No one admitted under 18
unless accompanied by a parent
COMPLETE SHOWS AT 1 -3-5-7& 9
PRNmOUlT PICTURES PReSenTS
d DIlO De LdURefTIS PRODUCTIOfl
whether the mines can expand
enough to help carry the economy
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i I
3020 Washtenaw, Ph. 434-1782
Between Ypsilanti & Ann Arbor
NOW SHOWING
I
Accident
"Like a punch in the
chest. A compelling
film."-Newsweek
Wed., Dec. 11
ENDS
Wednesday
4EM
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