FBIS Concatenated Dallyf 1
Classification! STAT ]
Report Nuaben 0 UDC Number>
Beadllnei Article Vlewe POV Issue, Effect. Tiea
Bourea Llnei ong Kong AFP in2 GKTul
PULL TEXT OP ARTICLE]
(By Jaan-Clauda Chapon]
[Text] Banol, JulyAPP)-The recent publicationhotograph of. pilot! aleelng line* the Vietnam Uar threeteni to revive animosity over an ieeue that hat blocked the resumption of ties batvaen Hanoi and Washington for more thaneere.
Washington la Insistingolution to toe problesi. servlceswo Bluing ln action (KXA) alnca the Vietnam Warracondition to the normalisation of bilateral relatlona, vhlch hava been nonexistent since the war ended
The prlaoner of var (POV) issue la re-emerglng as Washington's other main prerequisite for normalisation-the settlement of the Cambodian conflict-has made surprising progress in racant weeks vith the warring factions reaching agreements that pave the way for peace.
3. . Government has not confirmed the authenticity of the photograph, which could have been taken0 and shows three men identified by their families as pilots shot down over Indochlne9
The Vietnamese Government reaffirmed Thursday that it was not holding. prisoners of war and offered to cooperate fully over the HIA and POV Issues.
According to theotal. servicemen disappeared in Indochina,f them lnn Uos,n Caibodia and six in Chinees territorial waters.
I. Hanoi has Insisted it handed beck. prisoners, but has suggested some deserters nay be living in remote, Inaccessible regions.
9. Cambodia has made similar declarations, which are credible in. prisoners would have been unlikely to survive the xenophobic, fanatical Khmer Rouge regime thet governed the country5 to
MARIS*
Approved tor Release) ^
UNCLASSIFIED
PBIS Concatenated Dallyf 2
aos raised the possibility that iom of theatlll being held In zones outside tha central government's
control.
Vlatnaa aald Saturday that one of the aarvlcaaan depicted, Colonel John L. Robertson, wae dead and that hia raaalns had bain handed back. The Pentagon streaaed however thst experts could not identify the remains.
If the photograph proves to be authentic, it would be the first piece of tangible evidence. servicemen stay atill be being held Vietnam.
Host Western diplomats here ware sceptical however.
"It doaan't nake aenae to detain prisonersne Western diplomat said. "One only holds prisoners deliberately to exchange then later for southing else."
Another Western diploma suggested the Vietnamese had kept those prisoners whose physical or mental condition wae ao bad that they were not presentable.
"But in that case it la difficult to Imagine that they would have aurvived thise said.
The diplomats said that if Vletnaa had held. prisoners, it should have to pay an exorbitant penalty.
IB. "That would cast doubt on Hanoi policy in recent years of normalising relations with the United States to obtain the lifting of the economic embargo imposed by Washington since the end of the
ne diplomat said.
. reaction would be very negative, but ao would that from other Westernne diplomat from Western Europe said, adding that this wouldajor setback to the country's econooic development.
Vietnam, currentlyrave economic crista as Soviet aid la cut back, is seeking aid from the West and international financial organisations, which has long been blocked by. econoalc embargo.
The HIA issue aust be treatedumanitarian question, tha Vietnamese Government has always maintained, stressing that it is ensitive to the feelings of the servicemen's fanilies.
UNCLASSIFIED
FBIS Concatenated Dallyf
By contraat, tha Vletnaneae people appear Indifferent. "The French too have their KIAa, wa have ours and one lan'tig laauo ofeople often raapond vhan queetloned on the aubject.
The Vlatnanase often dlaalaa HIA Investigations ae, ataata of tiae and, atretext proaoted by antl-ViBtnasieaee defectors in the United States to alov normalisation.
unclassified
Original document.
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: