Sunday, May 14, 1972
N. Viet Asks More Moscow, Peking Support
(AP) --Communist countries criticized Friday America's latest Vietnam war moves, and North Vietnam called for more support from China and the Soviet Union to continue the war.India said it opposed reconvening the Geneva conference on Vietnam until a cease-fire is in effect. In Australia, war protesters demonstrated at the U.S. Embassy and consulates."Dangerous steps undertaken by the United States aiming at a blockade of North Vietnam, mean not only an escalation of warfare in that region but also a violation of international freedom of the seas," said a Polish government communiqué.It added that three Polish freighters are in Haiphong unloading "wares destined for peaceful purposes," and that the United States was responsible for any "consequences" to shipping there.Czechoslovakia said in a government statement it "resolutely condemned" the mining's and stepped-up bombings and promised to continue "full assistance" to North Vietnam.The Soviet government's Thursday statement demanding an end to the U.S. efforts to cut off shipping to North Vietnam was published on the front pages of all major Soviet newspapers, but there was no accompanying editorial or inflammatory article as would mark a major anti-American press campaign. Other Vietnam articles appeared on inside pages, a sign of low-key treatment.Soviet leaders appeared to be taking pains to keep the conflict from upsetting plans for President Nixon's visit to Moscow 10 days from now.The North Vietnamese Foreign Ministry issued a call for Socialist countries to "support more powerfully the Vietnamese people in its battle against American aggression." The statement was interpreted as indicating some dissatisfaction with the support Hanoi is receiving from the Soviet Union and China.Indian Foreign Minister Swaran Singh told Parliament India had not received a proposal reportedly sent by Britain asking the New Delhi government to use its influence to bring about a meeting of the Geneva conference, first set up in 1954.But he said the Soviet Union, a cochairman of the conference like Britain, is not "favorably inclined" and that if the two conference leaders cannot agree then there is nothing other members can do.India is chairman of the conference's International Control Commission, established to oversee a cease-fire between the French and Viet Minh. Singh said the ICC is now "dormant.""N. Viet Asks More Moscow, Peking Support", by (AP), published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes on Sunday, May 14, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.