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Tension between Catholics and Buddhists over the life sentence given to Major Dang Sy heightened.
On Monday, August 9, 1964, 40,000 people marched across Saigon and surrounding areas protesting the sentencing as well as the odd silence of the United States. Started at U.S. International Aid Agency, crowds carried English banners urging U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge to state his official stand and demanded the Military Junta's stand on governing South Vietnam. As the crowds converged at the Cathedral in Saigon, some even tried to tear down the memorial plaque for the late President John F. Kennedy, saying religious ground was not a place for politicians. Though they were promptly stopped by others in the crowd, most South Vietnamese felt the Kennedy administration was partly responsible for the death of President Diem[1]. Some believed that Embassador Lodge was molding the subservient Military Junta which was held under the sway of certain Buddhist leadership influence [2].
Little did they realize that Ambassador Lodge had already warned General Khanh about attacking Major Dang a
t the trial would be considered attacking the Vietnamese Catholic Church itself and the United States would not support a government that caused another upheaval in public dissention[7]; nor President Kennedy had already formed a plan for withdrawing American troops from Vietnam, at the request of President Diem. This would leave 5,000 active members acting at the advisor capacity. It was not in the United States interest to turn Vietnam into a power struggle with Communist powers like U.S.S.R. and China. Nor it was in South Vietnam's interest for turning itself into an international battleground. Vietnam war needed to be settled by Vietnamese. This sparked a furious response from the Washington Post, which printed articles that Vietnam rejected the United States help[3].
On the following Wednesday August 11, 1964, a petition, signed by 345 Catholic clergies, was delivered to General Khanh Nguyen asking clemency for Major Dang. The petition stated the charges were vague and the conviction was based on the testimonies of two men who changed their stories and contradicted each other. General Khanh stated that he would open a commission to review Major Dang's case[4].
South Vietnamese army went through a period of demoralization as commanding officers refused to execute orders from their superiors without written authorization. They blamed the frequent replacement of their superiors would make them doing their duty one day and be punished by the next incoming commanders. They did not want to go through the same ordeal as Major Dang Sy[5].
The United States silence on the trial of Dang Sy had created a double standard. As the media and U.S. government condemmed Saigon regime on Buddhist persecution, little or no coverage on the arrests of Catholic military personnel. Father Patrick O'Connor observed that Buddhists or those claimed to be of this faith, were given preferential treatment, even in cases of committing crimes[6].
REFERENCES:
1. New Religious Tension Builds - New York News, August 9, 1964.
2. Vietnamese Catholics Rap Lodge - Associated Press, August 9, 1964.
3. JFK and the unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters. (2008).
4. Saigon Frees 9 Diem Aids - New York News, October 19, 1964.
5. U.S. Must Correct Vietnam Errors - The Daily Reviews - June 25, 1964.
6. Vietnamese Can't Figure U.S. Stand on Riot Against Government - New York News, September 9, 1964.
7. Lodge in Vietnam: A Patriot Abroad. (1995).
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