president ho chi minh answers president lb johnson

Upload: marxbert

Post on 14-Apr-2018

218 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    1/36

    PRESIDENTo[ I NA SWERSPRESI NT. . J N

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    2/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    3/36

    President HO CHI MINHan swe r s

    President L. B. JOHNSON

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    4/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    5/36

    PRESIDENT

    HO CHI MINHANSWERSPRESIDENT

    l. B.JOHNSON

    F O l ~ E I G N LANGUAGES PUBLISHING I-lOUSEHANOI - 1 967

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    6/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    7/36

    CONTENTS

    Publisher's .Ya le

    President ]-\0 Chi Minh's R eply t o C .S .President Lyndon B. John sonLetter to P resi de n t H o Chi Minh by

    Dr Xguye n HU l l ThoA Com men ta rv

    AppendixU.S. President Lyn don B . J ohn son 's

    Xlessagc to Presiden t E o Chi ;, Iinh

    Pa ge

    1319

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    8/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    9/36

    PUBLISHER'S ~ O T E

    I II early F ebruary J96 7, a repr esentative oj th e U ni ted Statesill JJoscow ask ed jar a me eting w ith a representative oj th e Dentocrat ic R epublic oj Vi etnam to whom he handed over a letter[rout President L. B. [ohnson to President H o Chi JVIinh.'"

    On Febr ua ry 15, H)67, th e rep resentati ve oj th e D emo crat icRepublic oj V ietna m handed over Pr esid ent Ho Chi M inh'srep ly to the repr esentat iue oj th e U nited Stat es.

    H erei n we publish P resident H o Ch i M inh 's reply al on gu-ith ou r commentary and a leit er t o th e Pres id ent oj th e Democratic R ep ublic 0/ V ietlla m [rom Dr N guy en HUll Tho ,President oj th e P res id iu m o] the So u th Vi etnam Xot ional Fr ontfor Liberation.The presen t bookl et , we believe, will help the reader to betterunderstand the view point oj th e I' ietnamese p eopl e and that ojthe aggressor ag ains t whom they ar e fighti ng jar th eir i ndependence and ja r peace.

    FOHE IGX LA. GGAGES PCRLISHL 'G HOUSE - HA1TOI

    '" Sec Appendix

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    10/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    11/36

    President HO CHI MINH 'S Replyto U.S. President LYNDON B. JOHNSON

    TO HIS E'{CELLJ7.XO" J iN L) 'SDOX H. jOHX50X,] 'RI :SIDE.\'T,UX IT ED STATES OF A J JJ:RJCA

    Your Exce llency,On February 10, 1967, I received your message.

    Th is is my reply.Vietnam is thousands of miles away from the

    Un .tcd States. Th e Vietnamese people have neverdon e any harm to the United Sta tes . Bu t cont ra ryto th e pledges made by its repr esen tat ive at t he195-1- Geneva Conference, th e C .S. Government hasceaselessly inte rvened in Vietnam, it has unl eashedand inte nsi fied th e war of aggressi on in South Vietnam with a v.ew to pro long ing t he parti t ion ofVietnam and turni ng South Vietnam in to a nco-colony2 . President

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    12/36

    and a military base of the United States. Forover two years now, the U.S. Goverment has, withits air and naval forces, carried the war to theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam, an independentand sovereign country.

    The U.S. Government has committed war crimes,crimes against peace and against mankind. In SouthVietnam, half a million U.S. and satellite troopshave resorted to the most inhuman weapons andthe most barbarous methods of warfare, such asnapalm, toxic chemicals and gases, to massacre ourcompatriots, destroy crops, and raze villages to theground. In North Vietnam, thousands of U.S. air-craft have dropped hundreds of thousands of tonsof bombs, destroying towns, villages, factories, roads,bridges, dykes, dams, and even churches, pagodas,hospitals, schools. In your message, you apparentlydeplored the sufferings and destructions in Viet-nam. May I ask you: Who has perpetrated thesemonstrous crimes? I t is the U.S. and satellitetroops. The U.S. Government is entirely respon-sible for the extremely serious situation in Vietnam.

    The U.S. war of aggression against the Vietnamesepeople constitutes a challenge to the countries ofthe socialist camp, a threat to the national indepen-dence movement, and a serious danger to peace inAsia and the world.

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    13/36

    The Viet namese peopl e deeply love indepenclence,freedom and peace. But in th e face of th e U.S.aggression, they have risen up, united as one man,fearless of sacrifices and hard sh ips; th ey ar e determined to carry on the ir Resist ance until they havewon genuine inde pende nce and freedom and tru epeace. Our ju st ca use enjoys strong sympathy andsupport from the peopl es of th e whol e world inclu ding broa d sec tions of th e American peopl e.

    The U.s. Governm ent has unl eashed th e war ofaggression in Vie tnam. I t must cease th is aggression.That is t he only way to th e restoration of peace.The U.S . Gove rnment mu st st op definiti vely andunconditiona lly it s bomb ing raids and all oth er act sof wa r aga ins t th e Democrati c R epublic of Vietn am,withd raw from South Vietn am all U.S. and sa te llit etroops, recog nize th e South Vietn am National Frontfor Liberation , and let the Vietn amese peopl esett le themselves their own affairs. Such is th ebasic con tent of th e four-point stand of th e Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietn am ,which embodies th e esse ntia l principles and provisions of th e 1954 Geneva Agreement s on Vietnam . It is th e basis of a correct political solutionto the Vietn am problem.

    In your message, you suggested direct talksbetween th e Democratic Republic of Vietnam

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    14/36

    and the United States. I f the U.S. Governmentreally wants these talks, it must first of all stopunconditionally its bombing raids and all otheracts of war against the Democratic Republic ofVietnam. I t is only after the unconditional cessa-tion of the U.S. bombing raids and all otheracts of war against the Democratic Republicof Vietnam that the Democratic Republic ofVietnam and the United States could enter intotalks and discuss questions concerning the twosides.The Vietnamese people will submit to

    force: they will never accept talks under thethreat of bombs.Our cause is absolutely just. I t is to be hoped

    that the U.S. Government will act in accordancewith reason.

    Sincerely,HO CHI l \ l I ~ I - 1

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    15/36

    letter to President HO CHI MINHby Dr NGUYENHUU THOPresident, Central Committee Presidium,South Vietnam National Front for Liberation

    Esteemed Pr esident,On behalf of th e fourteen million South Vietnameseand the Sout h Vietnam Xational Front for Lib eration,

    I wou ld like to express to you and our . .or the m kithand kin the deep emotion of th e South Vietn amesearmed forces and people on hear ing your reply to U.S .President Johnson.

    Your lett er voices th e deep hatred of our entire peo-ple for the aggressors . I t br ings in full relief th e juststand for inde pendence and peace as well as th e indo-mitable spiri t of our whole nat ion: it is a ste rn replyto the insole nt atti t ude of th e U.S. chief aggress or who

    13

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    16/36

    has gone th e length of laying down condit ions to ourpeople. Your lett er is a hammer blow at th e U.S.warm ongers , foiling th eir "peace " swindle, causingbewilderm ent and embarrassment to th em whil e inspiring our people throughout th e country and winningmor e suppor t for our just cau se from th e world peoples.

    Th e South Vietn amese armed forces and people ,h ighly sati sfied and enthusiastic , wish to express to youand th eir brothers and siste rs in th e _.orth th eir absolut e confidence, th eir profound gratitude and iron-l ikedet ermination to respond to th e call of th e Fatherland -p u sh forward our sacred war against U.S. aggression for national sa lvat ion till complete victory.

    Th e U.S. imperialists have been sus ta ining repeat edand heavy defeat s in both part s of our country andare severe ly condemn ed by worl d publi c opinion. Neverth eless, belli cose and obdurat e by nature, th ey do notwant to give up th eir dark design of aggress ion.

    In South Vietnam th ey are throwing all t he American, pupp et and satellite troops into terr or ist raids,massacring our countrymen in rur al and ur ban areas,in the hills and th e plains, even in th e demilitar izedzone, piling up th eir crimes agains t our people.

    In the Korth, th ey have st epped up war escalationto an ever mor e seriou s degr ee, int ensified att acks onvarious indu strial centres, towns and oth er populated

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    17/36

    areas, dropped mines into riv ers and canals, and usednaval and ground art ille ry to fire at th e th e territoryof th e Democr ati c Republic of Vietnam.Johnson and h is associates hav e just held a confer-ence in Guam to devise mea sures for the int ensifica-

    t ion and expansion of th eir aggr essive war again st ourcountry. Yet, th ey con tinue reiterating their protesta-t ions of " peace " in an attempt to deceive publicopinion. But how can th ey conceal th eir dark designof stepp ing up th eir aggression in the South, intensiy-ing th e war of destruction in the North to cow ourpeople into submission, and realize th eir plot tobr ing th e South under th eir domination, per-manently partition our beautiful country, andsabotage peace and secur ity in Indochina andAsia.

    Th e whole armed forces and people of South Viet-nam, bo iling with hatred for th e U.S. aggressors, ar eof one mind with th eir compatriot s in th e Xorth. Th eyare resolute to translate your words into brilliantdeeds and to mak e th e John son cliqu e und erstandth at th e use of armed force to subdue such a heroicpeople as ours will bring them nowhere.

    Th ere is only one way for th em to avoid ignominiousfailure, that is, to stop aggr ession, end their air raidsand all other acts of war against the DemocraticRepublic of Vietnam, withdraw all American and

    15

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    18/36

    sate llite troops from South Vietn am, recogn ize theSouth Vietnam Xat ional Front for L iberat ion as th eonly genuine representative of th e South Vietn amesepeople and let th e Vietnamese peop le set t le t hem-se lves their own affairs.

    Th e South Vietnamese arm ed forces and people,who are en joy ing wholeheart ed assistance from th eircou nt rymen in th e Xorth and sympathy and supportfrom the peop le a ll over the world, have been record-ing great victories, dealing repeated hammer blowsat th e U.S. aggres sors and th eir henchm en. In th eirirr esistible mar ch toward final vict ory , th e armedfor ces and people of South Vietn am will sure ly meteout still heavier pun ishment to th e U.S. aggressorsfor eac h step of th eir war esca la t ion. Th ey arc readyto foil all th e new plans of th e U.S. aggres sors andwill dri ve th em out of our country .

    We prom ise to you and our compatriot s in theXor th tha t , how ever frenz ied t he C.S . imperialistsmay be , and whatever brutal means th ey may usc,th e armed forces and people of South Viet nam,un der th e leader ship of th e ~ a t i o n a Fr ont forL ibera tion, will fulf il th eir pledge never to shrinkbefore difficulties and sacrifi ces , and will fightshoulder to shou lder with th eir Nort hern br othersand sis ters through to th e end with th e determina-tion to accomplish as best th ey can t he sacred task16

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    19/36

    of liberating the South defending the :\orth, inadvance toward national reunification.

    Please accept the most respectfllI greetings fromthe entire people and liberation armed forces ofSouth Vietnam.

    17

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    20/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    21/36

    Right in the first lin esof his letter to Pr esidentHo Chi Minh, President L.B. Jobnson delib erat elyerased the 1ine bet ween th e aggr essor an d th evictim of aggressi on. He brazenly said th at " weboth have a heavy obliga t ion" , and pretended tosorrow at the war calamities in Vietn am. Th ewhole world knows that it is the Unit ed St at esadministration, it is J ohn son him self, who) in vio-lation of the solemn pledge mad e by th e UnitedStates delegate at t he 1954 Conference on Indo-china, have sent American and satell ite troops toSouth Vietnam, and ord ered American air craftand warships to attack ~ o r t h Vietnam, perp etrat -ing monstrous crimes aga inst th e peopl e in bothparts of our country . Th e American people ar ealso aware that it is J ohnson, who has push ed

    19

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    22/36

    tens of thousands of Amer ican you th s on to thepath of death to carry out th e sin iste r aggressivedesigns of the Unit ed St at es adm inistration. Andhe, who se hand s ar e sta ined with blood, spoke ofhumanity!The truth is as clear as daylight. Th e UnitedSt at es has dispatched it s troops to invade Vietnamand used bombs, bull et s and toxic chemicals tosow destructions on th e Vietname se soil daily andhourly. As President Ho Chi Minh has point ed out," t ile U. S . Governm ent lias committed war crimes ,cr imes again st peace and a gain st mankind " , and' r ilie [ T.S. Couer nment is ent irely respon s i ble jarth e ex tremely ser ious situation i n V ietnam ".

    Th e Vietnamese people do not enc roach upon aninch of th e United States territory. Th ey ar e onlywaging a se lf-defence st ru ggle on th eir own land.Th ey ar e resolved to defeat th e American aggr essors for t he sake of their own ex iste nce . Th eyth ereby also d isch arge th eir responsibiliti es towardth e national l iber ation movement of th e oppressedpeopl es, toward t he defence of th e socialist cam pof which their countr y is a memb er, and th e safe gua rdi ng of peace in Southeas t Asia and the world.J ohnson 's conte nt ion th at (( we both have a heavyobligat ion " mea ns tha t he wan ts to pu t t heaggressor and th e vict im of aggress ion on the samefoot ing in order to defe nd his gangster's viewpointin the sett lement of th e Vietnam prob lem.Johnson also clai med tha t he had made ((efforts"

    over th e past several yea rs to a ttain a (( peaceful set t le rncn t " of the Vietn am issue , and tha t (( these

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    23/36

    efforts had not achieved any results. " Bu t what isthe truth? The t ruth is th at in th e last tw o years[ohnson has constant ly paid lip service to "peace"

    ~ h i l e escalat ing very quickly and franticall y. Since hebegan his" pea ce negotiat ions " hoax in hi s Bal timorespeech in Apri l 1965 , the United States administration has raised the strengt h of its expedi tionary forcein South Viet nam from 50 , 000 to over 42 0 ,000 men(more than eightfo ld), and esca lated its a ir war fromthe 17th para llel to a ll pa rts of North Vietnam , at tacking bridges, vi llages, pagodas, churc hes , hospitals,dam s, industria l centres, and major cities includingHanoi - cap ital of t he Democra tic Republi c of Viet-Every time J ohn son pr epared for new esca lation

    steps, he inva ria bly talked of "peace " to cover uphis and the United States adm inistrat ion 's cr imes andfool public opinion.

    Right after sendi ng h is letter to Pr esident Ho ChiMinh, he made t hree new success ive esca lation stepsby lau nchi ng large-sca le military operations in SouthVietnam, and res uming the bombing of North Vietnameven before t he Lunar l 'ew Year cease-fire ord ered bythe South Vie t nam National Front for L iberationcame to an end ; second ly, by using artiller y basedsouth of t he demilitarized zone and on Americanwarships to shell 1\orth Vietnam and dropping min esinto its rivers and cana ls : and thirdly, by in tensifyingand expanding at t acks on industr ial centres of th eDemocratic Rep ub lrc of Vietnam, such as Vietri, Th ainguyen, Hongai, Haiphong and bombing pl aces alongthe Red River inside Hanoi.

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    24/36

    A few days back, Johnson summoned his associatesand Saigon henchmen to Guam for a "war council ..meeting to speed up the aggression against Vietnam.Th e Western press has disclosed that the UnitedStates would" step up military pressure on the Korth","add more targets to those already under attack inKorth Vietnam". "bring in another 40,000-jO,OOOmen apart from 470 ,000 planned for 1967 " , " introducetroops into the Mekong delta" "give Westmorelandmore responsibilities and an enlarged staff" J etc. Acommunique was issued, claiming however that Washington would continue the earnest search for peace inVietnam!

    Washington responsible representatives have againand again repeated the word" peace" but theirs is asham peace. Because while doing so they go on ,Htacking the Democratic Republic of Vietnam withgreater intensity. Because far from withdrawing American and satellite troops from South Vietnam, theykeep increasing them. Because they persist in refusingto recognize the South Vietnam National Front forLiberation - their opponent - who has inflicted uponthem heavy defeats on the battlefield, and is the realmaster of the situation in South Vietnam. Because theycontinue trampling upon the sacred national rights ofthe Vietnamese people, refusing to let them settlethemselves their internal affairs.

    I t is crystal-clear that the path being followed bythe U.S. administration is that of war and aggression.

    In his letter President Ho Chi Minh has clearlyshown the only way to peace in Vietnam. He said,

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    25/36

    "Th e U.S . Govemment has unleashed the war 01 agression in Vietnam, I t niusi cease th is aggression. Thatis the onl y W:1Y to the restorat ion 01 peace. Th e U .S .Government must stop defi nitively and un conditionallyits bombing raids and all othe r acts 01 war agai nst th eDemocratic Republic 01 Viet nani, wi thd raw from SouthVie tnam all American and satellite tr oops, recogn ize theSouth Vietnam National Fr ont lor L iberati on, let th eVietu:l 'nese people settle themse lve s the ir own aliairs. Suc his th e basic content oj the lour-poi nt st and 01 th e Government 01 the Demo cratic R epublic oj V iet nam, which embodies the essential prin cip les and provis ions oj the1954- Geneva Agreelltt;uts on Vie t nam . It is the basis 01a correct political solution to th e Vietnam problem. "

    The United Sta tes administra tion, however, isstubbornly opposi ng th e ju st sta nd of the Government of the Democ ra t ic Republic of Vietn am. Th every condition laid down by Johnson for an endto the bombi ng of th e Democrat ic Republic ofVietnam shows his u tter obdur acy and impu dence.Without calling it by name - and everyone

    understands why - Johnson demand ed reciprocity,claiming that in return for an "order " on hispart of "a cessa tion of th e bombing agai ns t yourcountry and the stopping of further augmenta t ionof U.S. forces in South Vietnam" th e people inNorth Viet nam should not support th eir Southerncompatriots in resis ting U.S. aggr ession.

    That is indeed utter absurd ity . Th e Un ited Stateshas no right what soever to bomb the DemocraticRepublic of Vietn am - an independent and sovereign country - and consequent ly , ha s no right to

    23

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    26/36

    put any cond ition whatsoever to it s bomb ing. I t hasno r ight to send an expeditionary force to commitaggressi on again st South Vietnam, and mu st bringit hom e uncond iti onally. Wash ington , how ever, doesnot only refu se to withdraw it s troops, but cynical1y lay s down conditions for th e " stopping offurther augmentat ion of U.S. forces in South Viet-nam" . To accep t th e reciprocity proposed byJohnson would amount to a llowing him freely touse a tremendous war mach ine comprising morethan one million Ameri can, puppet and sat ellitetroops to ma ssacre our coun t rymen in th e Southwhile their brothers and sist ers in the Northshould st and by with folded arm s, refrain ingfrom help ing th em in th eir self-defence struggle.That is a gang ster's logic.

    In fact, th e Un ited St at es administration' s claimfor re cipro city con stitu tes th e condense d and mostbraz en express ion of th eir aggr essive stand anddeceitful" peace" man eeuvre. I t is also a perf idiou str ick aimed at cover ing up new acts of warescalation.

    On th e other hand, Wash ington spread rumoursabout "existing contact s " between it and Hanoito gen erate th e bel ief that actual talks took pla cewhil e Ameri can aircraft con ti nued bomb ing Xort hV ietnam. Obviously, this was int end ed to placateand misl ead public op inion , th ereby creating favourabl e conditions for th e United States to makefurther escalation steps in it s attempt to force theVietnamese people into accepting it s own terms bymean s of bomb s and bullets.

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    27/36

    lIIoreo\'er, Johnson posed condi ti ons to th e " ex tension of the Tet truce" on the occasion of th e Lun ar:'\ew Year Festi\"a l and set a tim e-limit for aresponse from Hanoi. Th is is obviously an ultimatum. Our peop le who und er bombs and bull etsdo not submit to th e aggresso r will not be intimidated by such a threa t.

    For the Viet namese people as well as for th epeace- and just ice- loving peopl es all ever th eworld, the only sensible reciprocity in th e Vietnam problem is tha t th e United Sta tes who hasstarted aggressio n must stop it. I t stands toreason that they have to fight resolutely againstthe invaders un til th ey driv e them out of th eircountry. That is our response to Wa shington'sultimatum .

    President Ho Chi Minh has clearly sta ted : " TheVietnamese people deeply love inde pendence, freedomand peace. But in the lace of the U.S . aggressio n.they have risen Itp, united as one man, fearless ofsacrifices and hard SrI ips; they are determined tocarryon their Resistance until they have won genui neindependence and freedom and {rile peace ."

    The Vietnamese people will resolu tely materializethese words and are firmly con fiden t th at theyshall defeat the America n aggressors milit ar ily andbreak their will of aggressio n. They are confiden t -as their own experience has amply testified - thatthe longer they figh t the greater successes theywill achieve, and that final victo ry will be theirs.

    25

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    28/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    29/36

    APPENDIX

    U.s. Presiden t LYNDON B. JOHNSON 'SMe ssage

    to Pres ident HO CHI MINH

    HIS EXCELLEJ.,CY HO CHI M J.VH ,PRESIDEST,DE1HOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIE TNAAI

    Dear :'IIr. President,I am writing to you in the hope th a t th e conflict in Viet

    nam can be brough t to an en d. Th e confl ict ha s a lreadytaken a heavy toll - in lives los t , in wou nds inflicted, inproperty destroyed, and in simp le human mi sery. I f we fai lto find a just and peaceful so lu tion, his t or y will jud ge usharshly.

    27

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    30/36

    Th erefore, I believe th at we bath have a heavy obl igationto seek earnestly the path to pea ce. I t is in response to t ha tobligation that I am writing dir ectly to you. We have t riedov er the past several years, in a variety of ways and throug ha number of channels, to conv ey to you and your co lleaguesour desire t o achi ev e a peaceful settlement. For whateverreasons , these efforts have not achieved any results.

    I t may be that our thoughts and yours, our attitudes andyours, have been distorted or misinterpret ed as th ey passedthrough these various channels. Certainly that is a lways adanger in indirect communication.

    Th er e is one good way to overcome this problem and tomove forward in the search for a peaceful settlement. Tha tis for us to arrang e for d irect talks between trusted repre sen-tatives in a secur e set ting and away from th e glare of publicity.Such t alks should not be used as a propaganda ex ercise butshould be a ser ious effort to find a workab le and mutuallyaccept ab le sol ution .

    In th e past tw o weeks, I hav e not ed public statementsby r epr esentatives of your gov ernment sugges t ing th at youwould be pr epared to ente r in t o dir ect bilater al talks withrepresenta tiv es of th e U.S . Gove rnmen t , pr ovid ed th at weceased "unconditi ona lly " and permanen tly our b omb ing op-era t ions aga inst yo ur country and all militar y ac tions aga instit. In the last days , serious and responsible parties hav e as-sured us indirectly th a t thi s is in fact yo ur pr oposal.

    L et me f raukl y st at e th a t I see two grea t di fficultieswith t h is p ropo sal. In view of your publ ic position , suchac tio n on our part would inevitabl y prod uce worldwide spe-culat ion th at discuss ions wer e und er way and would impairt he privacy and secrecy of those d iscussions. Secondly, th er ewould inevit ably be grave con cern on our par t whe the r yourgovernment would make use of such ac t ion by us to improveit s milit ar y position.28

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    31/36

    \\"it h these prolJ lems in mind, I am pr ep ar ed to moveeven furt he r rownr rl an ending of th e hostilities th an yourgov er nmen t has pr op osed in ei ther p u b lic st a t e m e n ts orth rough p r i n . t e dip loma tic channels. I am prepared to orde ra cessation of bomb ing aga inst yo ur co u n t r y an d th e st oppingof fur th er augment;tt io n of U.S. for ces in S o u t h Vietnam a ssoon as I am ass ure d th at infilrration in to S o u th Vietnam byland an d by sea- has st opped. Th ese ac ts of restraint on bo thside wou ld, I b elieve, mak e it possible for us to conductserious and p r ivat e di scussions leading toward an earl y pe a-ce o

    I make t hi s pr opos al to you now wi th a specific sens eof ur gency a-rising from th e i m m i n e n t New Yea-r holida-ys inViet nam, I f you a re a-b le to accept this proposal I see noreason why it co uld no t take effe cts a-t th e end of the XewYear , or Tet , holidays. The proposal I h ave made would begreatl y s t ren gt hened if your mi litary a-uthorities a-nd tho seof the gove rn men t of South Vietna-m co .ild prompt l y negotiatean ex tension of th e T N truce .

    .\ s to th e si te of th e bil a-ter al dis cussions I propose, th erea re seve ra l po ssibilities. \Ve could, for example, have ou rr epr esentatives meet in l\Ioscow where c o n tacts h av e a lr ea dyoccurred . T hey cou ld m eet in som e other count ry such asBur ma. You may hav e o t h e r arrange me n ts or sites in mind,and I would tr y to meet your suggestions .

    The import a n t thing is to e nd a conflict t h a t ha s b r o u g h tb urdens to b o t h our peoples, and above a ll to the people ofSou th Vi et nam. I f you ha-ve any tho u g h ts a b o u t th e actionsI pr opose, it would b e mo st i m p o r ta n t t h a t I receive themas soon as possibl e.

    Si ncerely,LY NDON B. JOHXSON

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    32/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    33/36

    PRINT ED IN T H E DEM O C R A T IC REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    34/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    35/36

  • 7/29/2019 President Ho Chi Minh Answers President LB Johnson

    36/36