Why Recognise the P.R.G.?

The current demand in New Zealand and Australia for the two Labour Governments to recognise the P.R.G. must be seen in the context of the provisions of the Paris Agreement about the political future of South Vietnam. The political future of South Vietnam will only be worked out peacefully through the cooperation of the two South Vietnamese administrations. Attempts by foreigners, such as Mr Kirk and Mr Whitlam, to support only one of these administrations are in fact no more than attempts to hinder the implementation of the Peace Agreement. As Senator John Wheeldon, Labour Party representative from Western Australia and Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Foreign Affairs and Defence, said at a rally in Sydney on Monday, May 14: "It is necessary that there should be a campaign waged at all levels in Australia to see that we fully carry out the principles of the Agreement by establishing full diplomatic relations between this country and the Provisional Revolutionary Government."