SIR,—Malcolm Rutherford states in his 'Vietnam Diary' that the North
is less populated than the South. I bad always understood that the position was exactly the reverse and that this fact explained the reluctance of the South Vietnamese (and the Americans) to implement the Geneva agreements and to agree to all-Vietnam elections—the more populous North would be able, by virtue of greater numbers, to impose Communism on an unwilling South Vietnam. Is Malcolm Rutherford right or wrong?
PETER STEIN
97 Queen's Gate, London SW7
[Malcolm Rutherford writes: Mr Moore-Gwyn is certainly right that many air attacks are launched from Thailand. My remarks, however, were intended to apply to attacks launched from within South Vietnam. As for population, I wrote that the North's is 'slightly smaller' than the South's. Some sources, it is true, give it as slightly larger. The discrepancy comes about because population estimates are not made simultaneously in the two countries. You are likely to get the 1966 figure for the North compared with the 1964 figure for the South. The real point I was making is that they are much the same.]
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