51. Memorandum of a Conversation, Saigon, March 1, 19551
PARTICIPANTS
- Foreign Minister Tran Van Do
- The Secretary of State
- Ambassador Collins
- Mr. MacArthur
- Mr. Robertson
- Mr. Young
- Mr. Kidder
SUBJECT
- Security in Viet-Nam and All-Viet-Nam Elections
The Secretary, after an opening exchange of amenities, assured Mr. Do of the complete support of the United States Government for the Diem Government and of his satisfaction with the increasing position of strength in which the Diem Government finds itself. He likewise informed Mr. Do that at Bangkok he had been assured by the French representatives there, particularly Ambassador Bonnet, of the French Government’s final determination to give its full support to President Diem.
The Secretary asked Mr. Do for his estimate of the situation. In reply Mr. Do outlined the extremely weak position in which the Diem Government found itself when it was inaugurated during the Geneva Conference at a time when it controlled neither the army nor the police and did not have the support of the sects with their armed forces. Mr. Do then gave a résumé of the development of the government and expressed his belief that it had been largely thanks to the work of Ambassador Collins and the constant support of the United States Government that the Diem Government had been able to surmount the many difficulties in its path. He referred to the removal of General Hinh and the control of the army by President Diem, and said that little by little the President is now getting control of the sects. However, he emphasized that the remaining great problem in the South is that of security of the provinces. Until such time as the sects are brought under control and National Army units stationed throughout the country it will be extremely difficult to carry out the agrarian reform program and to resettle properly the great numbers of refugees from the North.
The Secretary asked Mr. Do about elections and the conversations, which, according to the Geneva Accord, should commence in July of this year. Mr. Do’s reply made it evident that the Vietnamese Government has not as yet adopted any firm position. He was not [Page 104] explicit in expressing his ideas as to exactly what the elections might be or for whom one might vote.
The Secretary referred to the experience of the United States with proposed elections in Germany and Korea and said that in the case of the former we had been discussing the matter for ten years without being able to come to agreement with the Communists in East Germany on what constitutes free elections. He believed that the issue of free elections was all in favor of Free Viet-Nam. Viet-Nam, he said, must be in a position to carry on the conversations with the Viet Minh with a thorough knowledge of Communist tactics. Advisers could be made available who are familiar with the methods that the Communists have used in the past in attempting to frame elections to suit themselves. He said that he did not believe that freedom of election could be assured in the North merely by the supervision of the International Control Commission. Unless freedom from pressure before the elections and freedom from fear of reprisals after the elections can be assured, it is quite immaterial what happens on the day of the actual elections.
Mr. Do, in expressing thorough agreement with the Secretary’s views, said that undoubtedly conversations would be carried on for a long time and doubtless without any meeting of the minds as to exactly what the elections should represent. The Geneva Accord, being as vague as it is in its provisions relating to elections, would allow a great deal of such discussion. The Foreign Minister expressed appreciation for the offer of assistance in the matter of elections.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751G.00/3–155. Secret. Drafted by Young and Kidder.↩