. . . And Recognises North Vietnam

Announcements in the weekend from Mr. Kirk in New York, and Mr. Freer in Wellington stated that New Zealand has entered into diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

This welcome decision indicates that the Government has, at long last, begun to recognise the realities of the political situation in Indochina. Contact with the DRV Government (which has been established since 1945) should help to counteract the stream of lies and deception from the White House which has formed the basis for New Zealand's policy towards Vietnam for years.

One of the reports of Kirk's talks with Nixon mentioned that the New Zealand Prime Minister had stated his support for the Paris Peace Agreement as the only way to end the conflict in Vietnam. (Interestingly, this report did not say that Nixon agreed with this view.) If Mr. Kirk examines that agreement closely he will note that there is a third government in Vietnam, along with the two this country already recognises, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam. And if the Labour Government is thorough-going in its support for the Vietnam Peace Agreement it will recognise the PRG. As the PRG's representative in Paris, Le Van Sau, suggested in a recent interview in the Australian 'Nation Review', recognition of all three governments in Vietnam is the one effective way countries like Australia and New Zealand can help get the Paris Peace Agreement implemented.