The PRG celebrates its

By MARK SYDNEY
. If you look at the January 27,
1973 Paris Agreements on Viet-

nam, there you will find, as one —

of the signatories, the name of
the Provisional Revolutionary
Government of South Vietnam.

On June 6 of this year, the
PRG celebrates its fifth anni-
versary. It is a young govern-
ment, born on a vast battlefield;
out of one of the most incredible
demonstrations of heroism ever
seen—the struggle of the South
Vietnamese people. It is their
government, and the symbol to
the rest of the world, of 20 years
in which a whole people said
“No” to’a military might unpara-
lleled in history.

The Provisional Revolutionary

Government of South Vietnam

was born in the crucible of a
people’s fight for national libera-
tion. It arose out of necessity,
and out of an event that showed
the world that the will of a
people could defeat a modern
army of occupation.

We begin with the 1968 Tet
(Vietnamese New Year) offen-
sive. In that electrifying military
uprising, the South Vietnamese
people led by the National Lib-
eration Front wrested control of
areas of the South from the
corrupt and despised Saigon
government, propped up only by
U.S. firepower. .

A New Alliance
Following the NLF victories,
as in all liberated areas of the
South, people’s self-governing
committees were established. ©
Added to this arose a new

force, right in Saigon itself. This —

was the Alliance of Vietnam
National, Democratic and Peace
Forces, made up of intellectuals,
students, civil servants and
small businessmen of the Saigon
regime who had awakened, dur-

ing the Tet offensive,.to the
realization of the national libera-
tion struggle.

Together, the two forces, the

NLF and the Democratic Alli-
ance, after several discussions,
convened an All-South Vietnam
People’s Congress, representing,
at that time, the whole of the
popular forces within South
Vietnam. And out of this Con-
gress’ came the , Provisional
Revolutionary Government of
South Vietnam, elected on June
6, 1969, as the representative

- and voice of the South Viet-.

namese people. Architect Huynh
Tan Phat was named president.
_ As the representative of the
fighting people of Vietnam, the
PRG emerged with a 12-point
program for unity and national
concord, along with the People’s
Liberation Armed Forces, which
would lead the fighting forces

of the people of South Vietnam -

to major victories over U.S. and
Saigon troops. ‘

The 12-point program, which
later .was condensed into eight
and seven points as the situation
demanded, stated that as a first
step to ending the problem of
Vietnam, U.S. and foreign troops
completely and unconditionally
withdraw from South Vietnam
“with a view to bringing the
war to an early end, restoring
peace and enforcing the funda-
mental national rights of the
Vietnamese people — inde-

pendence, sovereignty, unity -

and territorial integrity — and
recognized by the 1954 Geneva
Agreements on Vietnam”.

Won Support
Other demands called for
strengthening the resistance of
the people, the broadening of
the patriotic front with other
anti-U.S. and anti-Thieu forces,
a policy of neutrality, and the

The People's Liberation Armed
Forces won resounding victories
on the field against U.S. and Sai-
gon troops.

establishment of diplomatic
and cultural relations with all
countries,

It was on the basis of this
program, which corresponded to
the needs of the South Viet-
namese people, that more and
more support was won, both
inside and outside the country,
for the PRG. :

But it was not easy, as the
NLF newspaper South Vietnam
in Struggle points out, “to sta-
bilize the life of the masses and
to build a new society in the
midst of an atrocious war. To
give land to the peasants, to
see to its farming and its high
yield, while deluges of bombs
were rained on it . . . it was
indeed an uphill task on a dual
front: against the aggressors
and against natural calamities.

“To enforce democratic liber-
ties while the enemy was clamp-
ing down upon the people all
kinds of fascist measures was
no simple job.” ‘

This was’ done under the
leadership of the PRG, and made
Possible because of their poli-

_Jewish Choir sparkl

TORONTO — A godod omen
for the future — such was the
Annual Spring Concert of the
Toronto Jewish Folk Choir at
the Edward Johnson Building
here May 25. :

With almost 50 years behind
it, one may think it strange to
use the word “future” with spe-
cial emphasis when speaking of
the Choir. Yet given its recent
uneven past, when the very sur-

vival of the Jewish Folk Choir as -

a credible musical ensemble was
sometimes in doubt, it is re-
freshing to be able to again use

_ the word in describing this par-

ticular ensemble, whose 50 years
have provided so much enjoy-
ment to both Jewish and non-
Jewish Canadians.

_ Special credit for the revival

must go to. conductor, artistic
director and arranger Searle
Friedman, who put together an
entertaining program for the
packed house. Mr. Friedman has

‘managed to break away from

some of the typical ethnic choir
patterns to. allow the ensemble
to be attractive and always inter-
esting.

This was seen right at the out-
set, with the choir immersing it-
self into a selection under ‘the
title “Six Songs from Six Conti-
nents.” Although not always con-'
sistent in quality, the choir man-
aged to bring out the particular
flavor of each number, Soloist
Elliott Chapin was most compe-
tent in the Russian song, My
Homeland. Ae

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JUNE 7 19

74—PAGE 10

Most welcome on the pro-
gram was the Chilean song, El
Pueblo Unido Jamas Sara Ven-
cido (The people united will
never be conquered). It is one
of the last songs written during
the Popular Unity government of
President Salvador Allende, and
powerfully expresses the deter-
mination of a people to free
themselves from the bonds of
oppression.

The main problem of the
Choir came out markedly here,
mainly because the song de-

-manded strength and powerful

delivery. The choir lacks young
voices. It is unfortunate that
the musical and artistic renais-
sance of the group has not yet
been accompanied by the neces-
sary infusion of youth that is
essential to its continuing pro-
gress and development. How-
ever, if the Jewish Folk Choir
continues its attractive program-
ming as presented at this con-
cert, new voices should be
drawn to it.

Charles Jordan is a welcome
addition to any program, His
broad, expansive baritone voice
and relaxed stage manner are
compelling, and he is equally at
home in both the Yiddish and
Canadian repertoire. Ably and
sensitively accompanied by Jose
Shapero at the piano, his rendi-
tions of five Yiddish folk songs
were excellently done, especially
the last, Vie Trinkt A Keyser
Tey — how a king drinks tea —
in which wise men in a small

town: satirically explain how
they think the Czar drinks tea,
eats potatoes and sleeps.

The second half of the pro- —

gram was given over to an am-
bitious undertaking, The Fiddle,
a cantata for chorus, soloists,
actors and dancers with music
by Vladimir Heifitz and text by
I. E. Rontch. The cantata is
based on the Story Oifn Fiddle
by the great Yiddish writer,
Sholem Aleichem.

Because it is such a new and
adventurous presentation, there
were a few little deails that
sometimes rankled. A general
atmosphere of amateurism some-
times seemed to prevail, which
marred what was otherwise an
engaging presentation. A great
deal of work by many people
went into the production. and it
was a-welcome and frankly sur-
prisingly good addition to the
choir’s evening. Charles Jordan
again proved his excellence in
the baritone solos, and all the
actors . conducted _ theniselves
ably. The dance group lent much
credibility to the scope of the

. work, and costumes were pleas-

ing, without being either pre-
tentious or stereotyped. -

As suggested at the outset,
the concert as a whole presages
well for the future of the. To-
ronto Jewish Folk Choir. It is
heart-warming to see the re-
emergence of the ensemble con-
ductor Searle Friedman, and
now that this one is over, we'll
have to wait and se what they
can do next.- ey

fifth birthday

cies. People power in South
Vietnam, a power that can never
be crushed, found expression in
the free zones. And such is the
foundation of the legality of the
PRG—the people’s government

in South Vietnam.

The Real Power
That is why, looking at the

Paris Peace Agreements. on.

Vietnam, you see the name of
the PRG. What is on paper in
the Paris Agreements could not
have happened without the
emergence, of the PRG.as the
real power in South Vietnam,
the expression of a _people’s
will that together with massive
international solidarity around
it, forced the U.S. war machine
to give in, : ;

Of course, what.is on paper
in the Paris Agreements ‘still
has to be won. Its clauses have
been repeatedly violated by the
U.S. and Saigon administrations,
which see in the full. implement-
ation of the Agreements the
abject defeat they have been
subjected to, the end of their
influence and existence in South
Vietnam.

Today, it is the PRG and the

Canada’s Vietnam role,
the most insidious kit!

When Canada “withdrew” its
soldiers and diplomats from the
International Commission of
Control and Supervision (of the
Paris Agreements on Vietnam)
last. July, our involvement was
said to have ended. Right?

Wrong.

Like it or not, Canada is still
involved in the “forgotten war”
that continues despite the Paris
Agreements. Repeated violations
by the Saigon administration and
Nixon government have ensured
that the war goes on.

Basically, Canada is involved
in two. ways. First, Canada re-
tains special responsibilities as
a member of the International
Guarantees Conference, which
approved the Paris Agreement.
And second, in diplomatic and
trade policies,.Canada still fol-
lows Washington in bolstering
the corrupt regime of Nguyen
Van Thieu.

As to Canada’s responsibilities
on.the Guarantees Conference,
not once has the government
said a word about the continued
flagrant violations of the Paris
Agreement, especially about the
plight of the 200,000 political
prisoners kept in Thieu’s dun-
geons and concentration camps
in contravention of the Accords.

And instead of giving recogni-
tion to the Provisional Revolu-
tionary Government of South
Vietnam, as one of the signa-
tories, Canada, following Wash-
ington’s lead, kow-tows to Sai-
gon.

Democratic Republic ot
Vietnam that are deman™
full implementation of
Agreements. As the Hs
of the people’s will, | :
is not giving up the ¥
has to be won, and in (
solidarity around the P®*
the PRG is vital.
People’s. Will
Born five years 80
has secured a solid va
the hearts of the in
people and progres :
.where. Its spokes
Madame Nguyen Th soil
become beloved sym"
those struggling i
and national liberation.
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PRG have proven
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South Vietnam has er
ernment of pel den?
‘standing for indepé
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and consolidate it #

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government in a eit th
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1974) points “dane
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