Students told truth about Vietnam by Riddiford

By Tony Jaques

"I Am not interested in sending any more troops to Vietnam than are necessary," said Mr. Riddiford (National MP Wellington Central), "I think that this is a just war and now we know what the people of South Vietnam think we should support them."

Referring to the South Vietnamese elections Mr. Riddiford told a recent meeting of students "83 per cent of the registered voters cast a vote, in the government controlled areas. This proves to the mind of any candid person that the people of South Vietnam prefer a democratic form of government to Communist domination."

"In New Zealand it doesn't cost you anything to vote." he said, "but the people who went to the polls in South Vietnam risked their lives.

"They went around in pedi-cars putting up posters printed at their own expense to encourage people to go to the polls. That in my mind is the beginning of democracy."

Mr. Riddiford has just returned from a visit to South Vietnam where he had led a party of New Zealand parliamentarians.

"We had nine days there and got a fairly good idea of the whole country." he said. "We were in Saigon, where the bulk of the population is, and we went up to the north and down to the Mekong Delta in the south.

"I went there with the object of learning as much as I could. Not with the object of reinforcing any viewpoint, but to learn the important facts about the war.

"However. I did have two beliefs which I had expressed during the election: firstly that New Zealand was morally right to be there, and secondly that New Zealand would not be morally right to withdraw her troops, even if the Americans withdrew."

Speaking on the subject "Is the war in Vietnam being won?" he said, "the Viet Cong are at the present in very large numbers in the areas they control.

"The war is being tackled in a purposeful way by the Americans." he said. "When they arrived they only had one seaport and one airport. They now have four seaports and eight airports, so there is a massive effort being made by the Americans.

"The South Vietnamese army has been reorganised and they are in full control of that area which contains the bulk of the population— the Mekong Delta."

Mr. Riddiford spoke also of war victims in New Zealand staffed hospitals and of their injuries caused both by American bombs and Viet Cong booby-traps.

"I am an eye-witness in that I was speaking to these people." he said. "I was speaking through an interpreter of course, but by gosh I know interpreters. I can tell when they're not interpreting right."

"In South Vietnam there are about 500 correspondents." he said, "and they fall by the wayside at the rate of about a hundred every year, not as victims to the north or to the South, but because their stories are not dramatic enough.

"Their editors don't think there is much news in the fact that a Vietnamese rice crop is producing two grains of rice where previously there was only one."

Asked if he thought the use of napalm and anti-personnel bombs was justified he replied. "I think napalm is justified for clearing away the jungle.

The stories about the use of napalm have been exaggerated. "Yes, oh yes."

"We are fulfilling our treaty obligations under the Seato by being in Vietnam," said Mr. Riddiford, "and we are morally right to be there, and I think we would be wrong to withdraw our troops."

Also present at the meeting was Mr. Young. MP who said "If we were right to put troops in to hold the line in Korea and in Malaya, we are right to put them into South Vietnam. It is as simple as that."

As support speaker for Mr. Riddiford on the subject of whether the war is being won the member for Miramar said, "We spoke to General West-moreland for about an hour and a half and he said 'We are winning this war'."