Toward the 'Ho Chi Minh Era'

"The government will guide the people in making Saigon an advanced city, civilized, strong and happy." That, last week, was the extravagant promise of Giai Phong (Liberation), the only newspaper permitted to publish in Saigon as the new Communist military administration continued to consolidate its rule. The new leaders were using an adroit combination of authoritarianism and restraint that--thus far--has marked the most velvety transition of power ever effected by a Communist government.

The big event last week was a three-day celebration of both the Communist victory and the birthday of Ho Chi Minh. All schools, hospitals and families displayed pictures of Ho as well as flags of the Provisional Revolutionary Government and North Viet Nam. Hanoi dispatched a prestigious delegation to take part in the festivities, including Politburo Member Le Due Tho and North Vietnamese President Ton Due Thang. Also making their first appearances in Saigon since the Communist victory were civilian leaders like non-Communist Nguyen Huu Tho, chairman of the P.R.G. Advisory Council.

New Duties. While Saigon celebrated, the administration was busily extending its political grip over the country. Liberation Radio announced that the new regime was trying to find work for 1 million unemployed Vietnamese, 3 million civil servants, who were described as "parasites," and 100,000 street urchins and prostitutes. It also announced that armed security units had been set up in each village and district. In Saigon, some 1,700 youths at tended four-day courses on their "new duties" at the Youth Voluntary Training Center to prepare for what Giai Phong is calling the "Ho Chi Minh era."

The paper also claimed that 24 generals, including two former Defense Ministers, 500 colonels and 1,000 majors had registered with the authorities as ordered. There was no indication that they were under arrest; Giai Phong simply announced that even those who had committed "crimes against the people" would be pardoned--presumably after a suitable period of reeducation. Only those who resisted the new regime would be dealt with harshly.

In Saigon, the posters and painted slogans of the defunct Thieu regime had disappeared, swept away by a massive cleanup campaign. Other remnants of capitalism, like advertising posters and bright neon signs, were expected to go next. The cloud of exhaust smoke that customarily hovered over Saigon was gone, a result of the city's gasoline shortage. There were far more bicycles on the street than before, even though their price had quadrupled. Black pajamas, the customary clothing of the Viet Cong guerrillas, doubled in price.

Always a city of soldiers, Saigon was as usual crowded with men in uniform, though they were now the rumpled greens, devoid of all insignia, worn by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops. The soldiers, scrupulously polite and well-behaved, were mostly simple country boys obviously astounded by the sights of sophisticated Saigon. They posed for photos in front of prominent buildings and statues and, until the authorities banned bargaining, haggled with shopkeepers over the prices of Japanese transistor radios and watches.

Striking a conciliatory tone, the new government announced its willingness to establish diplomatic relations with all countries, including the U.S. It also dispatched a note to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Washington, demanding that the U.S. turn over to the P.R.G. all files and assets of the former South Vietnamese embassy there. At week's end a South Vietnamese delegation was enthusiastically welcomed in Bangkok for talks with the Thai government in the P.R.G.'s first official contact with a non-Communist government since the fall of Saigon.

Joyful Noises. One power that the South Vietnamese Communists have not yet dealt with is the most important in the region: China. While making appropriately joyful noises about the Communist victory in South Viet Nam, Peking is probably far from delighted by the pro-Moscow leanings of Hanoi. There were reports last week that the Soviets have already asked for use of the vast naval base at Cam Ranh Bay--an arrangement that an alarmed Peking will certainly try to head off.

Already China has moved to strengthen its ties with Europe. It has agreed to establish formal relations with the Common Market, and last week sent Vice Premier Teng Hsiao-ping, the third most powerful man in Peking after Mao Tse-tung and Chou Enlai, to Paris for talks with French leaders. Peking will probably also try to strengthen its ties with Japan and the U.S. Ironically, the Communist triumph in South Viet Nam could push China into a closer relationship with the West and Japan in an effort to offset growing Soviet influence in Southeast Asia.

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