Page 82 - History of War - Issue 10-14

VIETNAM: THE UNTOLD STORY

south.Eventuallyafinaldeclarationwasput
forward that would allow elections to be held,
in an effort to unify the country. France and
theUnitedStatesknewverywellthattheViet
Minh would win this election, and they refused
to sign. The north of the country was left to
recuperate its war-damaged land and create
a new country, while in the south the anti-
communist Roman Catholic Ngo Dinh Diem was
putinplaceaspresident,supportedstronglyby
the United States.
The American government, ever wary of the
communistVietMinhforcesofthenorth,made
sure Diem focused on a policy of strengthening
hismilitiaandeliminatingallopponents.The
majority of the population, which was Buddhist,
suddenly found themselves placed second after
Roman Catholics, and anyone who expressed
contempt for the president was sniffed out by
anelitistundergroundorganisation.Awareof
hisunpopularity,Diemrefusedtotakepart
intheVietnameseelectiontofinallyunitethe
Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc
country, but the decision proved disastrous. protesting against the Vietnam war by
The furious communist northern forces setting himself on fire 1963
launched an insurgency movement in a mad
The retaliation in the south was immediate, “THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, EVER WARY OF THE
grapple for power and Diem paid the price.
previously enjoyed were snatched from them COMMUNIST VIET MINH FORCES OF THE NORTH, MADE SURE
thefewlibertiestheanti-DiemBuddhistshad
Anyone who attempted to rise up against the DIEM FOCUSED ON A POLICY OF STRENGTHENING HIS MILITIA”
by the new militant government in 1965.

After a hard-fought war
the Viet Minh enjoyed
a parade of victory
through the streets of
Hanoi in 1954

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