Tragedy of Vienam

Death and destruction

In late October, two tropical
typhoons of unusual violence
ravaged the coastal provinces in
the northern part of South Viet-
nam. Torrential rains caused ex-
tensive Sudden floods. The
waters carried away crops,
dwelling houses, cattle and poul-
try, etc. Thousands of people
were drowned or reported miss-
ing.

According to Giai Phong Press
Agency quoting preliminary re-
ports from the hardest hit areas,
in Quang Nam province (where
Da Nang is located) alone, 2,000
people penned up in the Thuong
Duc and Kiem Lam “refugees’
camps” were swept away. In
other camps in Hoi An and in
the western part of Duy Xuyen
district, 4,000 others fell victims
to the disaster. Most of the cas-
ualties were old people, women
and children. Tens of thousands
of people were made homeless
and about 85% of the crop were
destroyed.

The provinces of Quang Tri,
Thua Thien, Quang Tin and
Quang Ngai which form with
that of Quang Nam the puppet
First Military Area were also
seriously hit. At least 300,000
people in all lost their property,
among them about 170,000 in the
provinces of Quang Tri and
Quang Ngai.

“Mopping up”

While the PRG gave specific
instructions to local revolution-
ary committees to take urgent
relief measures, the U.S.-puppets
launched in the height of the
flood “mopping-up” operations
to regroup the inhabitants into
new camps. Nguyen Van Thieu
personally came to Hue and held
secret meetings for a stepup of
“pacification” in flood-stricken
areas.

The hypocritical protestations
of the Saigon puppets of their
solicitude for the victims can in
no way obscure their responsibi-
lity for the grievous losses and
damage suffered by the popula-
tion.

The U.S.-puppets had im-
pounded the inhabitants in close-
ly watched “strategic hamlets.”
They had flattened whole vil-
lages with dwellings solidly built
to be handed down from genera-
tion to generation. The camps
set up by them were only pro-
vided with flimsy structures
easily carried off by the current.
Furthermore, villagers living on
river banks had their boats
either confiscated or kept under
seal by the puppet authorities.
Because of this measure 6,000
people in the camps of Thuong
Duc, Kiem Lam, Hoi An and Duy
Xuyen were deprived of the
means of coping with the cala-
mity.

Caused Floods

In addition, the effects of the
chemical warfare conducted in
South Vietnam since 1962 by the
Americans had devastated the
vegetation which would have
curbed the destructiveness of the
floods. Nobody ignores the role
of the natural cover of the soil,
especially at the sources of
streams, over the flow of rain
waters. The danger arising from
extensive deforestation is ter-
rible when the rains are torren-
tial. The systematic “defoliation”
carried out in South Vietnam on
vast jungle areas is more devas-
tating than the clearing of mil-
pas by the ethnic minorities.
Since 1962, the Americans have
spread 45,000 tons of toxic che-
micals on more than 2.2 million
hectares of forests and crops, or
13% of the total surface area of
South Vietnam.

According to an authority in
ecology, Mme. Mousseau of the
National Scientific Research
Centre in Paris (statement on
Orsay Studies Day, Jan. 21,
1970), “in some areas where ap-
plication of defoliants was re-
peated 2 or 3 times, more than
50% of the vegetation was des-
troyed, including young shoots.”
Moreover, the flood-stricken pro-
vinces were in the last few years
the scene of one of the most in-

Photos taken by scientists in the Herbicide Assessment Commission show

effects of chemicals sprayed on mangrove forests in Vietnam. Top photo

shows unsprayed forest 60 miles from Saigon. At bottom is view of nearby

forest that was sprayed sometime before 1968. The scientists report that
the effects of the defoliant are long-term ecological damage.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1971—PAGE 8

tensive “pacification” campaigns.
Significantly, the Son My, Ba
Lang An, Que Son, Tien Phuoc,
Thang Binh and Binh Duong
massacres, the ‘“‘Sea Tiger” Ope-
ration, etc., took place in this
sector. If we add to these 45,000
tons of toxic chemicals and an
average million tons of bombs
per year we can figure out the
colossal scale of the destruction
of the natural cover in South
Vietnam.

War on Stricken

The U.S.-puppets took advan-
tage of the disaster to step up
their pacification program. The
Western press filed numerous
reports on their military opera-
tions in the stricken areas.
Nevertheless, this was not the
first time the enemies of the
Vietnamese people had recourse
to such a piece of dastardliness.
Thieu, Ky and Khiem had gain-
ed abundant experience in this
field as mercenaries in rainy-
season “mop-ups” in the Plain of
Reeds, during the French colo-
nialist war. In 1964,a big flood
occurred in the Mekong Delta
and the U.S.-puppets then order-
ed the bombings of high grounds
turned into islands on which the
inhabitants had taken cover. The
underground shelters having
been flooded, these bombings
had a much greater chance of
inflicting heavy human and ma-
terial losses. On board of their
hydro-gliders which can operate
in shallow-waters areas, the
U.S.-puppets sprayed with bursts
of machine-gun fire every tuft of
grass or shrub susceptible of
serving as cover for the popula-
tion. Asdisclosed by Mme. Ngu-
yen Thi Binh, mothers had to put
their babies in wash-basins or
large cauldrons to keep them
afloat. When there was an in-
coming plane or boat, they wrap-
ped the whole thing in a square
of water-proof cloth to keep it
under water and out of sight of
these murderers.

Therefore, the devastations oc-
casioned by the October floods
were not only the work of natu-
ral elements. The Americans and
their lackeys must assume a
major part of the responsibility
and this has given us a fresh
idea of the real proportions of the
crimes they have been perpetrat-
ing against the South Vietna-
mese. :

—Vietnam Courier

Why did the Soviet Union
cancel concert tours in the U.S.

and Canada by the Bolshoi
Opera and _ other cultural
groups? There is a lot of non-
sense in the daily press about
that. So we here present the
reasons explained by O. Vasil-
yev in the Soviet Government
paper Izvestia:

This happened a few days ago
in Philadelphia, where the Sov-
iet circus ice show company
was giving performances. When
the bus drew up in front of the
hall entrance, our actors were
met with shouts of abusive
words from a group of hooli-
gans who surrounded the ma-
chine and did not let the pas-
sengers come out. The rowdies
dragged the bus driver out and
beat him up.

The’ incident in Philadelphia
is one in a whole chain of pro-

_vocations against companies of

performers from the Soviet
Union touring the United States
in conformity with an_ inter-
governmental cultural exchange
agreement.

Recitals by D. Oistrakh and
S. Richter were broken up in
New York last February, when
ammonia bottles were hurled in
the audience. The same thing
occurred at the time of recitals
by R.Bobrineva and V. Klimov
in New York. A tear gas grenade
burst on the stage and stopped
a performance by the Moiseyev
Folk Dance Company last Aug-
ust. Further attempts to wreck
the shows of this troupe were
likewise made in Washington,
Baltimore and Philadelphia. The
same thing was tried in relation
to concerts given by the Mos-
cow Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by K. Kondrashin.

These outrages were commit-
ted in different cities, but the
instigators were the same, rabid
Zionists, and, notably the Jew-
ish Defense League. The thugs
of this Zionist organization late-
ly perpetrated a whole series
of criminal provocations against
the USSR Embassy and other
Soviet offices in the United
States. For instance, a group
of bandits broke into the TASS
Bureau in Washington on Nov.
20 trying to disrupt work and
demolish equipment there. Two
days later, Zionist hooligans
committed an outrage at the
USSR Permanent Mission to the
United Nations in New York.
On the night of Nov. 24, the

same hoodlums wreckR
premises occupied by re
and Intourist in New Y@l:
bombs. Ve
These acts of hooligatin
direct terrorism interfélt:
Soviet institutions in
ted States executing th¥il
cial functions and endaliv
personal safety of Sowhi
zens. sr
The surprising thing!
these frenzied Zionists be
committing more and mo!
rages, whereas the U.S. 4s
ties only “express regtt
promise to “take steps”
such actions. They usua G
to the “unexpectedn@h
Zionist provocations, pA ,
a lie: everyone knows
and carries out these “te
ful deeds. Meir Kah
leader of the Jewish :
League, has become sec
as to hold public newSit
ences where he openlyil
ens to carry out acts of ¥
against Soviet agencies is
formers. 3
In these conditions, the
surances” of the U.S. 4n
ties cannot be regarded, {
wise than as actual coir
with the criminal actidhe
ried out by terrorists of n
raeli extremists in thé ict
States. In spite of repeaté }
entations, including the
the USSR Government s
Government of the
States of Oct. 1, 1970, ths
ist provocations are conlare
and assuming an ever moro}
ous nature. a
Under the inter-govel
agreement on. cultural’ Hot
ges between ‘the Soviet iw
and the United States, "Ith
shoi Opera Theatre was
ed to perform in New
the Bolshoi Ballet Com a
a number of cities of #4,
next spring, but the CM f
which have shaped up :
country as a result of
nivance of the U.S. av
with the unbridled acl i
Zionist roughs have nt;
these tours impossible. 3
The Bolshoi Theatre 15
tional pride which has pe
worldwide acclaim. 1% r
we can understand th@es
pointment of the U.9: far
public on the cancellatafed
Bolshoi tours, but the D
ly lies with the U.S. aulllst
who have done nothing | G
the criminal action of # th =
ist hooligans.

Pattern of nationalizatio®:

By A. VASILIEV

The Libyan Government has
fully nationalized a number of
British, American and Lebanese
banks, such as the Commercial.
The government’s act is one of
the latest manifestations of the
trend towards freeing the coun-
try of economic dependence,
which is typical of many devel-
oping nations. Last year alone
banks and foreign companies
were nationalized in Sudan, Al-

geria, Somalia, South Yemen,
Zambia, Ceylon, Bolivia and
Peru.

The countries of Asia, Africa
and Latin America, consolidating
their sovereignty, are developing
agriculture at an accelerated
rate.

In Libya, the nationalization of
foreign banks is one in the series
of political and economic meas-
ures. Libya has shut down the
foreign military bases, consoli-

J
_ lung cancer or other ie

dated its alliance with "Ans
gressive Arab regimes ft
against imperialism an@Me
aggression, compelled @Pt
companies to pay a biges 5
of the profits received ?

from oil extraction, and ® ca
ized Some of the forelB?ne
operating in the country) ©

LONGER LIFE SP ia
BERLIN — The avél
expectancy of the poral
the German Democratié
lic will increase from rl
years by 1975. In 19% a
were 108,000 cases of .
losis in the GDR ane pn
11,000 in 1969. In 1968, <"@
lion citizens underwe BS
tests which revealed tha!
had some form of tubelt

ment. These were most
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Co)
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for a cure. a