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Defector Says N, Viets Flout PactBy Edith yi. Lederer Associated Press WriterSAIGON — A junior North Vietnamese officer who defected to South Vietnam said Friday he was instructed to sabotage international peacekeeping plar.es and convoys en route to investigate alleged Communist violations.Nguyen Thanh Son. alias Manh Du. 25. said in an interview he also believes the North Vietnamese are still holding some American prisoners, in effect as hostages to ensure that all mines are removed and that Hanoi receives U.S. reconstruction money.“They want to keep U.S. prisoners because there are many problems tobe settled with the U.S. government”he said. “They want to keep prisoners in case the U.S. government launches war again. They will have some prisoners.Son refused to elaborate further.No Acts of SabotageThe tall, tough-built warrant officer said investigators from the International Commission of Control and Supervision came to Sa Huynh in Quang. Ngai province where he was stationed.’But he said there were no acts of sabotage against them, athough several battalions in his division received orders to lay. mines, institute shellings and pretend to be village people when the Commission came.Son said the coastal port of Sa Huynh. 275 mOes northeast of Saigon, was seized by the Communists before the Jan. 27 ceasefire but recaptured by government troops shortly after the peace agreement took effect.Plan Capital SiteThe Viet Cong were hoping to use Sa Huynh as one of their three points of entry for replacement of armaments — and Son said the immediate North Vietnamese plan in the northern coastal Quang Ngai region is “to try- to take Sa Huynh kas soon as possibleSon. who defected April 4. said the Viet Cong’s Provisional Revolutionary Government plans to establish its capital in South Vietnam in Ba To district of Quang Ngai province, about 20miles northwest of Sa Huynh.If this proves true, Sa Huynh would be a critical piece of real estate for the Viet Cong to capture since it also is one of the few spots along South Vietnam’s northern coast where vital Highway 1 runs within a stone's throw of the sea.Originally. Son said, the Viet Cong wanted the Central Highlands city ot Kontum as its capital but dropped the idea after the spring 1972 offensive when they failed to capture the city in weeks of heavy fighting.Son said the North Vietnamese don't plan to launch a general offensive until 1976 — before the U.S. presidential elections.“Right now. they don't want to launch an offensive. They’re afraid of the reaction of world opinion as well as President Nixon. he said.Nonetheless, he said, the North Vietnamese are infiltrating men and material “at a higher rate down the -Ho Chi Minh trail into South Vietnam.1976 General Offensive
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Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake City, Utah, US
Sat, Jun 09, 1973
Page 1
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USA 06 Feb 2019
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