KY TIGHTENS HIS CONTROL

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31108, 11 July 1966, Page 13

KY TIGHTENS HIS CONTROL

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

SAIGON, July 10.

Prime Minister Ky’s regime tightened its control over South Vietnam yesterday by dismissing five generals from the army and gaoling them because of their role in the recent Buddhist rebellion.

A disciplinary council of 20 generals summoned by General Ky to investigate the five generals pronounced 60-day gaol terms for all five.

The move eliminated General Ky*s one-time close friend and later chief rival for power. Lieutenant - General Nguyen Chanh Thi, a former military junta member whose ouster as Ist Army Corps commander last March trig-

gered a wave of Buddhistinspired unrest Lieutenant - General Thi openly backed the anti-Gov-ernment uprising when it gained full steam in April. But when General Ky started to crack down on the Buddhists, he withdrew to the sidelines, met the Prime Minister and announced that he was once again on the Government side.

There had been reports that he might even be rewarded for his change of tune, and the regime’s action against him on Saturday surprised some persons.

Three of the generals who succeeded Thi as commander of the northern provinces were among the five sentenced. Lieutenant - General Dinh is to be discharged from the Army and others, like, Thi, forced to retire.