851G.00/6–2447
The Consul at Saigon (Reed) to the Secretary of State
No. 260
[Received July 16.]
Sir: I have the honor to report, as of possible interest to the Department, the report appearing in the June 23 issue of the Echo of Vietnam, a daily advocating the cause of Ho Chi Minh and his Government, that one of the leaders of the National Union Front of Vietnam, the party advocating the return of Bao Dai, has been sentenced to death in absentia by a military court of the Executive Committee of Nambo, the control body of the Viet Minh in Cochinchina.
The leader in question, Mr. Nguyen Van Sam, self styled diplomatic delegate of the National Union Front, has been accused of (1) sabotage of the national defense, (2) dealing with the enemy, and (3) disobeying the order of April 18, 1947, dissolving the Social Democratic Party. The military court is reported to have consisted of Nguyen Binh, Commander in Chief of the 7th Military Zone, Ta Minh Kien and Le Dinh Chi, Assessors, and Nguyen Van Tri, Director of the Political Committee in the 7th Military Zone. While the court order order [Page 107] reads that Nguyen Van Sam is to be brought before the court to make his defense, it adds that if he refuses to appear before the court the verdict of death may be carried out anywhere.
This is but one indication of the possible fate that awaits persons who are for one reason or another in opposition to the program of the Viet Minh Party and the publicity given to the verdict, and to the threat of assassination, may well be a hint to all those who oppose the aspirations announced by Ho Chi Minh and his Government. The fact that such pressure is brought to bear on political opponents is rather disturbing to those who do not want Cochinchina, or all of Annamite Indochina, at the mercy of the totalitarian group now holding forth in Tonkin.
In fact, native sources, who confirm there is a growing sentiment in Cochinchina away from Ho and his party, assert that just such intimidation may well influence many Cochinchinese to join what is now called a Cochinchinese front.
In this same vein there are reports to the effect that there is a split in the ranks of the Executive Committee of Nambo, that a number of the members, particularly Pham Van Bach, President of the Committee, are opposed to the terrorist activities of Nguyen Binh and have asked the Government in Hanoi to suppress the position of Commander in Chief and to place the resistance movement largely in the hands of the civilian authorities. These reports speak of the split as a grouping of the strictly Cochinchinese nationalists in opposition to the communist and extremist elements of the Viet Minh.
According to report there are 24 brigades in the resistance army in Cochinchina, of which four are composed of mostly Tonkinese, are the best armed, and are well provided with money. The Cochinchinese nationalists are said to be endeavoring to gain control of the remaining brigades but admit they do not have the funds to keep things going.
Well informed French sources are inclined to discount the above reports and are reasonably certain that, even if there are a few dissidents in the ranks, the Viet Minh and the so-called Army of Resistance are stronger than ever—these sources feel that while the numbers in that Army have not increased these troops have now advanced in training and have profited from many months of experience in actual warfare. These sources, and among these I may mention the Chief of the French Sûreté, also stress that the communist complexion of the Viet Minh and the Army of Resistance is becoming more and more apparent, even though Ho Chi Minh endeavors to show that he is a nationalist and not a communist.
Respectfully yours,