SIR,--In your leading article of February 7 you describe the
Vietnamese people as 'fighting an alien regime.' But one of the essential things about the Vietnam situation—especially when questions of. neutralisation are considered—is that the Com- munist regime in Hanoi was not imposed by alien intervention like those of, say, Czechoslovakia, Rumania or Bulgaria.
I. The Vietnam guerrillas fought from 1946 to 1954 with outside help that, in terms of modern arms and equipment, was small compared with that which came to the French Expeditionary Force and the Bao Dai forces from the US. Armies manipulated by outside forces do not fight like that. French officers used to describe the Vietminh as the best infantry in history, and General Giap as 'a guerrilla commander of genius.'
2. A feature of the Vietnam situation at that time, as I saw for myself in 1950 and 1952, was the wide: support for the Vietminh from non-Communist nationalists in the intelligentsia, among the youth and in the mandarin class. 3. It seems uncertain whether today the Vietminh guerrillas are relying on military aid from China or Russia to the extent that the South Vietnam gov- ernment depends on US assistance.
In short, despite the fact that Ho Chi Minh's Communist regime has turned out to be fanatical, intolerant and repressive, one of the principal factors in today's dangerous situation must remain the con- siderable prestige of the Vietminh just because it is not only a Communist 'movement but was the formidable instrument of successful national struggle against alien rule. This clearly also has a bearing o.i the possibility of neutralisation in the inter- national sense.
27 Somali Road, NW2
DERRICK SINGTON
Previous page
