MILITANT BUDDHISTS MAY REGAIN INFLUENCE

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31112, 15 July 1966, Page 13

MILITANT BUDDHISTS MAY REGAIN INFLUENCE

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

SAIGON, July 14.

The moderate head of Saigon’s Buddhist Institute announced today he was taking a two-month leave, possibly to avoid a stand on the forthcoming General Elections.

The absence of the Venerable Tam Chau from the ruling body of the Unified Buddhist Church opened the way to influence of militant monks demanding a boycott of the September 11 vote, the Associated Press said.

Tam Chau made his view known in a letter to the council, which criticised him for absence from recent meetings.

He emphasised that he remains as the institute’s head

and warned the monks that he can veto any decision taken in his absence. AGAINST KY At the same time, he reiterated his opposition to the Ky regime “in the spirit of non-violence and discipline.” The new development affecting the Buddhist opposition movement came at a time of increased political agitation led by radical elements of some major political and religious groups. It is likely to presage a stronger coalition of forces opposing the Ky militarycivilian junta and its plan to stage nation-wide elections for a constituent assembly. Informed Buddhist sources said that Tam Chau, a slight, bespectacled monk, feared assassination.

His action came as a surprise, particularly after his assurances that eight out of 10 council members supported

chinery and talking of victory over the Viet Cong by 1966's end. But Vietnam is used to

his views for a compromise with the Government.

“The radical spirit is returning,” one Buddhist source said. This spirit is demonstrated by the once-influential monk, the Venerable Tri Quang, now in the thirty-fifth day of his protest fast against the Government. Weak and bed-ridden in Saigon’s Duy Tan clinic, Tri Quang apparently continued consultations with monks favouring his no-compromise theory. The next few weeks are bound to show whether Tri Quang’s influence has been definitely eliminated or whether militant Buddhist forces will again threaten the regime. So far, the Government has been acting with confidence, preparing the electoral ma-

sudden reversals, and the sight of rioting Buddhists in the streets of the capital would not come as a surprise to anybody.