Word: thieu
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Although the voting swung more on ethnic and regional loyalties than on the issues, the Buddhist showing dented the prestige of President Nguyen Van Thieu. Thieu's main support rests on South Viet Nam's 2,000,000 Catholics, who are vastly outnumbered by the country's 15 million Buddhists and their followers. However, the outcome did support Thieu's claim that his government had conducted honest elections. The voting was largely peaceful, as 65% of the 6,600,000 eligible voters trooped to the polls. The candidates on the two top tickets, plus the members...
Coalition with Communists. The election results may have little immediate effect on national policy. The ten Buddhists will be a small minority in the Senate; besides, the Senate is a relatively powerless body compared with the presidency and the Thieu-controlled lower house of the National Assembly. As if that were not enough, the Buddhists are divided among themselves. The most noticeable immediate change will probably be in the rhetoric in the Senate, which is likely to become a forum for antigovernment statements...
...long-range implications are more profound. The Buddhists favor total U.S. withdrawal and disengagement from South Viet Nam. At the same time, they hope to persuade the Communists to stop shooting and negotiate with them for the formation of a "peace"-probably meaning coalition-government that would replace the Thieu regime. Since Buddhism commands at least the nominal allegiance of the vast majority of people in South Viet Nam, the Lotus Blossom politicians feel that they could outmaneuver the Communists in a coalition government...
...Thieu remained aloof from the election, thus being able to claim victory no matter which three of the 16 slates won. The election, in fact, was expected to strengthen the President's hold on the Senate, which in the past has been the only source of effective legal opposition to his regime...
Even the participation of a slate backed by the antigovernment An Quang Pagoda Buddhist faction was expected to work in Thieu's favor. One of the faction's leaders is Thich Tri Quang, who helped overthrow the Diem regime in 1963. The militant group had previously scorned participation in the present government. The fact that they fielded a slate of candidates on the ballot, with the lotus blossom for their symbol, was regarded in Saigon as a return to the legitimate fold. It would support Thieu's claim that electoral democracy is becoming a reality in South...