Word: viet
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...pity and concern, representatives of 50 nations met last week in Geneva for a two-day United Nations conference on Indochina's refugees. To underline the importance that Washington gives to this ever growing tragedy, the U.S. delegation was led by Vice President Walter Mondale. He condemned Viet Nam as the sole cause of the Indochina exodus, and reinforced President Carter's promise that the U.S. would begin naval and air operations to pick up thousands of "boat people" who have fled Viet Nam in overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels. One ranking U.S. official estimates that since last...
...guarantee the conference's success, there was a prior agreement that it would concentrate on humanitarian solutions and avoid, as much as possible, political recriminations. This was done primarily to ensure the presence of Viet Nam, whose policies of brutal repression and wholesale expulsions have been responsible for the flood of refugees. Arriving in Geneva, Viet Nam's unctuous Deputy Foreign Minister Phan Hien pledged his country's "full cooperation" at the conference, provided that "our national sovereignty will be respected and financial help extended...
Malaysia and Thailand were surprisingly subdued in their criticism of Viet Nam, though as the principal countries of "first asylum," they have already absorbed more than half of the 380,000 refugees now scattered throughout Southeast Asia. But U.S. diplomats estimate that at least 1 million more people may soon be joining the exodus, principally from Viet Nam. That massive an outpouring would completely swamp the already overtaxed resources of the two countries. It was Thailand's forced repatriation of refugees from Cambodia last month and Malaysia's refusal to accept any more boat people that prompted...
...Viet Nam is the focal point of these regional tensions. Its foreign ventures have cost Hanoi dearly. Contrary to their expectations, Vietnamese military commanders have seen their Cambodian campaign extend well into the rainy season, and there is no end in sight. Viet Nam's own economy is in bad shape, in part because of the Cambodia war, but also because of several bad crop years compounded by gross mismanagement. Viet Nam suffered enormous damage to its northern provinces during its fierce one-month war with China. Factories, schools, office buildings and other structures were demolished. Though...
...Pressure on Viet Nam is the only way we can improve the situation," says one Western ambassador in Bangkok. But who can apply that pressure? The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Hanoi-a fact that some observers believe pushed Viet Nam even further into Moscow's orbit. China, of course, has just fought a war with Viet Nam, while Moscow openly supports Hanoi's attempt to subdue Cambodia, The worldwide outcry over the refugees has only just begun to have an effect on Hanoi-but as for getting out of Cambodia, the Vietnamese so far have...