Double Trouble

In Southeast Asia last week, two states that the U.S. had carefully nurtured as buffers a gainst Communist expansionism were showing alarming and increasing fragility:

South Viet Nam, since 1954 the recipient of more than $1 billion in U.S. aid, was digging itself out after a surprise revolt against autocratic President Ngo Dinh Diem by three crack paratroop battalions (TIME, Nov. 21). As firmly anti-Communist as Diem himself (most of them are refugees from Red-held North Viet Nam), the paratroopers mutinied to force a change in Diem's dictatorial ways, which they charged were costing him popular support in the fight against mounting Communist infiltration of South Viet Nam. But with the revolt safely crushed, Diem last week turned more dictatorial than ever. He reneged on mid-revolt promises of reform, declared himself in favor of "personalism" (i.e., rule by Diem alone). Pro-Diem vigilantes sacked five newspapers that had dared print news of the rebellion, helped secret police round up 75 intellectuals and politicians on flimsy charges of complicity in the uprising. The battle in Saigon had killed 400 of the country's finest fighting men, and Communist guerrillas took advantage of South Viet Nam's lowered guard to tighten their hold on the country's southern delta, plus large tracts along the Cambodian and Laotian borders. In whispers, Diem's disgruntled subjects predicted that another revolt was only a matter of time.

Laos, where Premier Prince Souvanna Phouma has lately been trying to play the neutralist game, slipped ever closer to the precipice edge. To the south, an anti-Communist army faction led by General Phoumi Nosavan has been in obdurate though mostly nonviolent revolt against Prince Souvanna since last September. On a good will tour a fortnight ago. genial Prince Souvanna awakened one morning in the small northern village of Moung Sai, his head still dizzy from ceremonial quaffing of a strong rice spirit called choum, to learn that the royal capital, Luangprabang. had gone over to General Phoumi. Last week he learned that his army commander in chief. General Ouane Ratthikoun, had also joined the rebels (as have 20 of the 59 delegates to the National Assembly).

Prince Souvanna's first reaction was to accuse the U.S. Government of plotting against him. His next move amounted to public admission that with his support on the right vanishing, he had become a virtual prisoner of the Communist Pathet Lao guerrillas--who happen to be headed by his half brother, Prince Souphanouvong. Under pretext of negotiations with Souvanna, the Pathet Lao have ringed his jittery capital of Vientiane with 2,000 to 4,000 men, and not only civilians but Souvanna's soldiers as well must now get passes from the Pathet Lao to clear the Communist check points on all roads leading out of town. Late last week Prince Souvanna flew deep into Pathet Lao country to meet his brother, there agreed to establish "good neighbor" relations with North Viet Nam and Communist China and to take Laotian Communist leaders into a coalition Cabinet. Even granting the Laotian agility at compromise, it was hard to see how a shattering civil war between pro- and anti-Communists in Laos could be avoided much longer.

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