Xá Lợi Pagoda raids
Xá Lợi Pagoda raids | |
---|---|
Location | Many Buddhist temples across South Vietnam, most notably the Xá Lợi Pagoda in Saigon |
Date | 21 August 1963 |
Target | Buddhist protestors |
Attack type | Shootings, beatings, temple demolitions |
Deaths | Estimates range up to hundreds |
Injured | Hundreds |
Perpetrators | Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under orders from Ngô Đình Nhu |
History of Ho Chi Minh City |
|
---|---|
Attack on USNS Card (2 May 1964) | |
1964 Brinks Hotel bombing (24 December 1964) | |
1965 United States embassy bombing (30 March 1965) | |
1965 Saigon bombing (25 June 1965) | |
Operation Jackstay (26 March – 6 April 1966) | |
Operation Fairfax (November 1966 - 15 December 1967) | |
Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (4–5 December 1966) | |
Tet offensive battle of Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack (31 January-11 February 1968) | |
Tet offensive attack on Joint General Staff Compound (31 January-1 February 1968) | |
Tet offensive attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (31 January 1968) | |
Tet offensive attack on US Embassy (31 January 1968) | |
Battle of West Saigon (5–12 May 1968) | |
Battle of South Saigon (7–12 May 1968) | |
Hijacking of Pan Am Flight 841 (2 July 1972) | |
Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base (28 April 1975) | |
Operation Frequent Wind (29–30 April 1975) | |
Fall of Saigon (30 April 1975) |
The Xá Lợi Pagoda raids (Vietnamese pronunciation:
In August, several Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) generals proposed the imposition of martial law, ostensibly to break up the demonstrations, but in reality to prepare for a military coup. Nhu, already looking to arrest Buddhist leaders and crush the protest movement, used the opportunity to preempt the generals and embarrass them. He disguised Tung's Special Forces in army uniforms and used them to attack the Buddhists, thereby causing the general public and South Vietnam's U.S. allies to blame the army, diminishing the generals' reputations and ability to act as future national leaders.
Soon after midnight on 21 August, Nhu's men attacked the pagodas using automatic firearms, grenades, battering rams and explosives, causing widespread damage. Some religious objects were destroyed, including a statue of
The Ngô family claimed that the army had carried out the raids, something their U.S. allies initially believed. This was later debunked, but the incident prompted the United States to turn against the regime and begin exploring alternative leadership options, eventually leading to Diệm's overthrow in a November coup. In South Vietnam, the raids stoked widespread anger. Several high-ranking public servants resigned, and university and high school students boycotted classes and staged riotous demonstrations, resulting in further mass incarcerations. As most of the students were from middle-class public service and military families, the arrests caused further upset among the Ngô family's power base.
Background
In South Vietnam, where the Buddhist majority was estimated to comprise between 70 and 90 percent of the population in 1963,
The Catholic Church was the largest landowner in the country, and the "private" status that was imposed on Buddhism by the French, which required official permission to conduct public activities, was not repealed by Diệm.
A rarely enforced 1958 law—known as Decree Number 10—was invoked in May 1963 to prohibit the display of religious flags. This disallowed the flying of the
Diệm's denial of governmental responsibility for the incident—he instead blamed the Việt Cộng—added to the anger and discontent of the Buddhist majority. The incident spurred a protest movement against the religious discrimination of the Roman Catholic–dominated Diệm regime, resulting in widespread large-scale civil disobedience among the South Vietnamese public, persisting throughout May and June. This period of political instability was known as the "Buddhist crisis". The objectives of the protests were to have Decree Number 10 repealed and to force implementation of religious equality.[19][20]
On 11 June, a Buddhist monk,
Neither the Ngô family nor the Buddhists were happy with the agreement,[21] and it failed to solve the dispute. Both sides accused the other of failing to uphold their obligations; the government accused the Buddhists of continuing to vilify them in demonstrations, while the Buddhists accused Diệm of stalling and not acting on his commitments to religious reform, and continuing to detain arrested Buddhist dissidents.[23] The demonstrations and tension continued throughout July and August, with more self-immolations and an altercation (known as the Double Seven Day scuffle) between secret police and American journalists reporting on a Buddhist protest.[24][25]
Xá Lợi
The hub of Buddhist activism in Saigon was the Xá Lợi Pagoda.[26] Built in the late 1950s,[27] it was the largest Buddhist temple in the capital and was located in the city center.[26] Many monks from outside Saigon—including prominent Buddhist leaders—had congregated at Xá Lợi since the dispute began and it was used as a venue for press conferences, media interviews, publication of pamphlets and to plan and organize mass demonstrations.[28]
At the time, Ngô Đình Nhu was known to favor an even harder line against the Buddhists. Nhu was the younger brother of President Diệm and his main confidant, and was regarded as the real power behind the Ngô family's rule.[29] There were persistent reports that Nhu was seeking to usurp power from his elder brother and to attack the Buddhists.[30] When interviewed about this, Nhu said that if the Buddhist crisis were not resolved, he would stage a coup and head a new anti-Buddhist government. The news was promptly published, which the American embassy largely disregarded, purportedly unconvinced as to Nhu's seriousness.[31]
Nhu prepared the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces commanded by Colonel Lê Quang Tung—who took his orders directly from Nhu and not the senior generals—for the raids. An American-trained outfit created to fight the Việt Cộng, the Special Forces were better-equipped, better-trained and better-paid than the regular army. They were used by the Ngô family as a private army for repressing dissidents and protecting their rule, rather than fighting for the national interest. As such, they spent the majority of their time in Saigon warding off coup attempts. Tung brought more Special Forces into Saigon, bringing the total from two to four battalions in the capital.[31][32][33]
On Sunday, 18 August, the Buddhists staged a mass protest at Xá Lợi, attracting around 15,000 people.
Planning
On the evening of 18 August, ten senior ARVN generals met to discuss the situation regarding the Buddhist unrest and decided martial law was needed. They wanted to disperse the monks who had gathered in Saigon and other regional cities and return them to their original pagodas in the rural areas.[36][38][39]
Nhu summoned 7 of the 10 generals to
The real purpose of Đôn asking for martial law was to maneuver troops in readiness for a coup, and he had no concrete plans to send the regular army into the pagodas. Nhu sidestepped him and took the opportunity to discredit the army by using Tung's Special Forces and the combat police to attack the pagodas.[26][41] Đính, the officer most trusted by the Ngô family, was the only general who was given advance notice of the raids.[42]
With the approval of Diệm, Nhu used the declaration of martial law to order armed men into the Buddhist pagodas. Nhu chose a time when he knew the American Embassy was leaderless. Frederick Nolting had returned to the United States and his successor Lodge was yet to arrive. As the high command of the ARVN worked closely with American military advisers deployed in the country, Nhu used the combat police and Tung's Special Forces, who took their orders directly from him. The men were dressed in standard army uniforms,[43] such as paratroop attire,[44] to frame the regulars for the raids.[43][44] Nhu's motive was to avoid responsibility for a violent operation — which would anger the Vietnamese public and the American leadership. In falsely implicating the army in the attacks, Nhu intended to dent the confidence of the Vietnamese populace and the Americans in the senior officers who were plotting against him. Nhu evidently hoped the Buddhist majority and the Americans would blame the army for the raids and become less inclined to support a coup by the generals. In the past, Nhu's tactics in playing the generals against one another had kept conspirators off-balance and thwarted coup attempts.[43][44] The raids were not unexpected, as the Buddhists had prepared themselves for the attacks, as had journalists, who were watching military installations for signs of movement.[45]
Raids
Saigon
The Buddhists in Saigon were aware that a raid on the pagodas was imminent. Buddhist relatives of Special Forces and combat police personnel had tipped off the monks, and Buddhists who lived near pagodas had observed them move into the region in the lead-up. American journalists were tipped off and traveled through Saigon to visit the pagodas ahead of the raids. The pagodas had been locked by the monks in preparation for the attacks and the doors were barricaded with furniture[46] and reinforced by nailing wooden planks across them.[47] The monks told members of the U.S. press corps in Saigon that the raids were coming, allowing them to be more prepared for the event than the U.S. embassy.[48]
In the afternoon before the raids, trucks filled with soldiers headed past the offices of media outlets—from where the journalists saw them—destined for the Ấn Quang Pagoda. More troops were seen congregating at police headquarters, ready to board trucks moving towards Xá Lợi.[49] The American-made trucks had been provided as part of the U.S. military aid program for South Vietnam.[34] Late at night, the convoys arrived and surrounded Xá Lợi from several sides, causing a traffic jam in the city center. Several thousand personnel were estimated to have been present.[50][51] Journalists were informed as soon as the attacks began, even as Nhu's men cut communications lines, and rushed to Xá Lợi.[52]
Squads of Special Forces and combat police flattened the gates and smashed their way into the pagoda at around 00:20 on 21 August as Xá Lợi's brass gong was struck to signal the attack.[47][50] Nhu's men were armed with pistols, submachine guns, carbines, shotguns, grenades and tear gas. The red-bereted Special Forces were joined by truckloads of steel-helmeted combat police in army camouflage uniforms.[47] Two of Nhu's senior aides were seen outside Xá Lợi directing the operation, while Nhu and his wife, Madame Nhu, watched the action from a nearby tank.[44] Monks and nuns who barricaded themselves behind wooden shields were attacked with rifle butts and bayonets. The sound of the pagoda's gong was largely masked by that of automatic weapons fire, exploding grenades, battering rams, shattering glass and human screaming.[53] The military personnel shouted as they attacked, as did the occupants, in fear.[50]
Tung's men charged forward in a V-shaped riot formation.
One monk was thrown from a balcony down to the courtyard six meters below. Nhu's men vandalized the main altar and confiscated the intact charred heart of Thích Quảng Đức, which had failed to burn during his re-cremation. However, some of the Buddhists were able to flee the pagoda with a receptacle containing his ashes. Two monks jumped the back wall of Xá Lợi to enter the grounds of the adjoining United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mission, where they were given asylum,[55] despite the presence of troops behind the pagoda walls who opened fire with automatic weapons on any monks who tried to flee by jumping the fence.[56]
Thích Tịnh Khiết, the 80-year-old Buddhist patriarch, was seized and taken to a military hospital on the outskirts of Saigon.[57] As commander of the III Corps, General Đính soon announced military control over Saigon, canceling all commercial flights into the city and instituting press censorship.[55][58] Later, Thích Quảng Độ, one of the leading arrested monks,[50] explained that the Buddhist leadership did not flee to avoid arrest because they feared it would appear to be an admission of their guilt.[59]
Huế
The violence was worse in Huế, where the approach of government forces was met by the beating of Buddhist drums and cymbals to alert the populace. The townsfolk left their homes in the middle of the night in an attempt to defend the city's pagodas. At
The most determined resistance to the Diệm regime occurred outside the
Ten truckloads of bridge defenders were taken to jail and an estimated 500 people were arrested in the city. Seventeen of the 47 professors at Huế University, who had resigned earlier in the week in protest against the dismissal of the rector Cao Văn Luân,[57] a Catholic priest and opponent of Archbishop Thục (elder brother of Diệm and Nhu), were also arrested.[55] The raids were repeated in cities and towns across the country. The total number of dead and disappeared was never confirmed, but estimates range up to several hundred. At least 1,400 were arrested.[57][61][62]
U.S. reaction and sanctuary for monks
The United States became immediately embroiled in the attacks following the escape of the two monks over the back wall of the Xá Lợi pagoda into the adjacent USAID compound. Saigon's police chief, disguised as a member of Nhu's Republican Youth, cordoned off the building. He ordered all Vietnamese inside to leave the area and threatened to storm the building when the Americans denied him entry.
Lodge was in Honolulu for last minute briefings with Nolting when news filtered through of the pagoda raids. He was given directions to proceed directly to Saigon, and arrived after sunset on 22 August. In the meantime, the State Department denounced the raids as a "direct violation by the Vietnamese government of assurances that it was pursuing a policy of reconciliation with the Buddhists".[57] On 23 August, Lodge's first full day in Saigon, he visited the two monks who had taken refuge in the USAID building, and ordered that vegetarian food be made available for them. The meeting was a means of showing that the American government opposed attacks against the Buddhists.[64]
Diệm reaction
At 06:00 on 21 August 1963, President Diệm broadcast a statement on
Government sources claimed that in Xá Lợi, Ấn Quang, and various
Confusion over culpability and army denials
The driving force behind the government assault on the Buddhists appeared to have come from senior military commanders acting without consulting the civilian government.[39] Immediately after the attacks, posters were erected across Saigon under the aegis of ARVN, but the language was recognized as that of Nhu.[44]
The Secretary of State
Diệm had long distrusted his generals and frequently played them against each other in a divide and conquer strategy to weaken any chance of a coup attempt. The army also contained substantial numbers of soldiers of Buddhist backgrounds, thus heightening skepticism that they would have attacked the pagodas and monks in such a violent manner.[39][44] The synchronized military operations throughout the country, the speed at which banners were erected declaring the ARVN resolve to defeat communism, and doctored propaganda photos purporting to show Việt Cộng infiltration of the Buddhists suggested that the actions were long premeditated.[39] In an attempt to maintain secrecy, special printing presses had produced propaganda materials only hours before the raids.[69]
The initial government line was that the regular army had taken the actions. ARVN radio broadcasts bore the influence of Nhu's abrasive tone in directing the Republican Youth to cooperate with the government.
Initially, the American embassy believed the Ngô family's claims that the regular army was responsible for the raids.[71] Voice of America, which was widely listened to in South Vietnam as the only non-Diệmist news source, initially aired Nhu's version of events, much to the dismay of the generals.[72] The American media thought otherwise and began to debunk this theory, pointing out that the Ngô family constantly sought to undermine the army, and that Madame Nhu's joy over the events suggested the family had neither ceded power nor had their hands forced by the military. Furthermore, they identified Nhu's aides at the site, his idiosyncratic style in the announcements supposedly made by the ARVN, and the fact that the army had little motive to attack the Buddhists.[73]
The New York Times printed two versions of the raids on its front page, one by David Halberstam implicating Nhu for the attacks, and another with the official government version.[74] Sheehan of United Press International also claimed Nhu was responsible for the attacks. At the time, Sheehan and Halberstam were on a Ngô family hit list along with political dissidents because of their exposés of the regime's human rights abuses, and following the raids, they slept at the home of John Mecklin, a U.S. official.[75][76] They also received information that the Ngos were going to plant bombs in their offices and blame the deaths on the communists.[77]
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) went on to report that ARVN officers resolutely denied any involvement in the pagoda raids. They held that Tung's Special Forces had disguised themselves in ARVN uniforms before attacking the pagodas. Further unsubstantiated rumors had spread within the army that the Americans, who trained the Special Forces, had helped to plan the attack. The ARVN leaders were unsure of how to proceed and Don called a staff meeting on the morning of 23 August to discuss impending demonstrations against the raids by university students and the anger of junior ARVN officers about the pagoda attacks. General Dương Văn Minh noted that the ongoing presence of armed military personnel had alienated society by creating an "aura of suppression".[70]
Later in the day, Đôn privately met with CIA officer Lucien Conein and reiterated that the Americans were mistaken in believing that the ARVN was responsible. Đôn insisted that Diem remained in control although Nhu had to approve all of the generals' meetings with Diệm. Đôn insisted Nhu had orchestrated the raids, fearing that the generals had too much power. He asserted that Nhu used the cover of martial law to discredit the generals by dressing the Special Forces in ARVN uniforms. Đôn insisted that he was unaware of the plans and was at Joint General Staff headquarters with Khiêm when he received a radio message informing him of the assaults. Police Commissioner Trần Văn Tu, supported by Tung's men, were in charge of the operation at ground level, and by the time Don arrived, the mission had been completed.[78]
Khiêm had his own meeting with Rufus Phillips at the U.S. Embassy. He bitterly confided that Nhu had tricked the army into imposing martial law and becoming his "puppet". Khiêm asserted that Đính, Đôn and the other generals were not aware of the raids in advance and revealed that the arms and explosives that Nhu claimed were found in the pagodas had been planted. As a result, the Vietnamese people expressed anger at the army and their U.S. backers, strengthening Nhu's position.[79]
Martial law and riots
Following the raids, tensions were high in the streets of the cities. Police were ordered to shoot those who defied the 21:00 to 05:00 curfew, and troops in full camouflage battle dress guarded every major intersection and bridge with automatic weapons bearing fixed bayonets. The empty pagodas were ringed by troops and armored cars.[63] All outgoing news was censored, forcing reporters to smuggle their copy out with travelers flying to foreign countries. The telephone lines in the homes and offices of all U.S. military and embassy staff were disconnected.[53][55][71] The head of the USAID mission, Joe Brant, was stopped and searched while commuting to work, and other American officials had their meetings with Vietnamese officials and applications for permits to travel after the curfew hours delayed.[71] The 14,000 U.S. military advisers in the country were given orders to stay in their homes, and all leave was canceled.[39]
The pagoda raids provoked widespread disquiet among the Saigonese. At midnight on 22 August, Generals Đôn, Đính and Khiêm informed Nhu that student demonstrations were planned for three consecutive days. They recommended that schools be closed, but when Nhu took them to see Diệm, the president refused to close the educational institutions. Diệm decided the students,[80] not usually known for political activism,[81] should be allowed to voice their opinions.[80] Students at Saigon University boycotted classes and rioted, which was met with arrests, imprisonment, and the closure of the campus. These events were repeated at Huế University, which was likewise shut down.[81]
When high school students demonstrated, Diệm had them arrested as well. Two of the detained students were paraded at a press conference in which they falsely admitted to being communists who had brainwashed their entire school, having been tortured to force their confession.[81] At Trung Vuong, an elite girls' high school, the students hung up banners attacking Diệm and the Nhus, while students from the corresponding boys' schools became violent, smashing school windows and erecting banners that insulted Madame Nhu in explicit language.[82] More than 1000 students from Saigon's leading high school, most of them children of public servants and military officers, were sent to re-education camps.[83] The result was that many army officers and senior civil servants had to lobby to have their children or younger siblings released from jail, causing a further drop in morale among government and military officials.[84] Brawls broke out between police officers arresting students and the students' parents, many of whom were military officers and/or public servants.[85]
Foreign Minister Vũ Văn Mẫu resigned, shaving his head like a Buddhist monk in protest. Mẫu had decided to leave the country for a religious pilgrimage to India, but the Ngô family had him arrested before he could depart. General Đính softened the punishment at the behest of a fellow officer and put the former diplomat under house arrest instead of placing him in jail.[82]
Voice of America announced that Chương had resigned in protest against the Ngô family's policies, but this was denied by the Saigon government, which asserted the Chươngs had been sacked. Diệm bureaucrats claimed Chương's last telegram had been so critical of the regime that it was determined to be "inadmissible in form and substance" and that after years of privately complaining about his ambassador, Diệm dismissed him.[80] In the meantime, the brothers made selective payments to some generals, hoping to cause resentment and division within the army. Vietnamese civil servants also became more reluctant to do their jobs, especially in conjunction with American advisers. They reasoned that as the Americans were funding Tung's men, they must have been involved in the attacks.[87]
Change in U.S. policy
Once the U.S. government realized the truth about who was behind the raids, they reacted with disapproval towards the Diệm regime. The Americans had pursued a policy of quietly and privately advising the Ngôs to reconcile with the Buddhists while publicly supporting the partnership, but following the attacks, this route was regarded as untenable. Furthermore, the attacks were carried out by American-trained Special Forces personnel funded by the CIA, and presented Lodge with a fait accompli.[88] One Western ambassador thought that the raids signaled "the end of the gallant American effort here".[87] The U.S. State Department issued a statement declaring that the raids were a "direct violation" of the promise to pursue "a policy of reconciliation".[53][57]
On 24 August, the Kennedy administration sent
Notes
- ^ Moyar, pp. 215–216.
- ^ "The Religious Crisis". Time. 1963-06-14. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ Tucker, pp. 49, 291, 293.
- ^ Maclear, p. 63.
- ^ "The Situation In South Vietnam – SNIE 53-2-63". The Pentagon Papers. Gravel. 1963-07-10. pp. 729–733. Archived from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ Tucker, p. 291.
- ^ Gettleman, pp. 280–282.
- ^ "South Vietnam: Whose funeral pyre?". The New Republic. 1963-06-29. p. 9.
- ^ Warner, p. 210.
- ^ Fall, p. 199.
- ^ Buttinger, p. 993.
- ^ Karnow, p. 294.
- ^ Buttinger, p. 933.
- ^ Jacobs p. 91.
- ^ Hammer, pp. 103–05.
- ^ Jacobs, p. 142.
- ^ Jacobs, p. 143.
- ^ Hammer, pp. 113–14.
- ^ Jacobs, pp. 144–47.
- ^ Jones, pp. 252–60.
- ^ a b Halberstam, pp. 125–29.
- ^ Jones, pp. 275–77.
- ^ Jacobs, pp. 150–51.
- ^ Prochnau, pp. 328–332.
- ^ Langguth, pp. 218–19.
- ^ a b c Karnow, p. 301.
- ^ Ray and Yanagihara, p. 332.
- ^ Jacobs, p. 145.
- ^ Jacobs, pp. 86–88.
- ^ Halberstam, p. 139.
- ^ a b c d Halberstam, p. 140.
- ^ Jacobs, p. 167.
- ^ Karnow, pp. 306, 309.
- ^ a b c Sheehan, p. 354.
- ^ Hammer, p. 164.
- ^ a b Dommen, p. 524.
- ^ Halberstam, p. 141.
- ^ a b c d e Hammer, p. 166.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Jones, p. 300.
- ^ Jacobs, pp. 168–69.
- ^ Halberstam, pp. 144–45.
- ^ Halberstam, p. 181.
- ^ a b c Hammer, p. 167.
- ^ a b c d e f g Halberstam, p. 145.
- ^ Halberstam, pp. 139–42.
- ^ Halberstam, p. 142.
- ^ a b c Jones, p. 297.
- ^ Prochnau, p. 366.
- ^ Halberstam, pp. 142–43.
- ^ a b c d e f g Halberstam, p. 143.
- ^ a b Sheehan, p. 355.
- ^ Prochnau, p. 367.
- ^ a b c Jacobs, p. 153.
- ^ Prochnau, p. 368.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Crackdown". Time. 1963-08-31. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
- ^ a b Sheehan, p. 356.
- ^ a b c d e Hammer, p. 168.
- ^ Jones, p. 298.
- ^ Halberstam, pp. 143–44.
- ^ Dommen, pp. 508–11.
- ^ a b c Jacobs, pp. 152–53.
- ^ a b Halberstam, p. 144.
- ^ a b c Jones, p. 299.
- ^ a b Hammer, p. 171.
- ^ a b Jones, pp. 298–99.
- ^ Moyar, p. 460.
- ^ Halberstam, pp. 181–82.
- ^ Karnow, p. 317.
- ^ Jones, p. 305.
- ^ a b c d Jones, p. 306.
- ^ a b c Halberstam, p. 146.
- ^ a b Karnow, p. 302.
- ^ Halberstam, pp. 145–46.
- ^ Halberstam, p. 148.
- ^ Sheehan, pp. 356–57.
- ^ Prochnau, p. 374.
- ^ Prochnau, pp. 364–65.
- ^ Jones, pp. 307–08.
- ^ Jones, p. 309.
- ^ a b c Hammer, p. 173.
- ^ a b c Halberstam, p. 153.
- ^ a b c Sheehan, p. 357.
- ^ Jacobs, pp. 153–54.
- ^ Halberstam, p. 154.
- ^ Sheehan, p. 358.
- ^ a b Jacobs, p. 154.
- ^ a b c Halberstam, p. 151.
- ^ Halberstam, p. 147.
- ^ Jacobs, pp. 162–63.
- ^ Karnow, pp. 303–04.
- ^ Halberstam, pp. 157–58.
- ^ Halberstam, p. 152.
- ^ Jacobs, pp. 165–75.
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