SAIGON POLICY SAID TO SANCTION PRESS BEATINGS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000200410097-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 1999
• Sequence Number: 97
• Publication Date: October 6, 1963
• Content Type: NSPR

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.. BEATINGS
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1960 Directive ; Citea
as Allowing a Little
Roughing Up
iatilor.-Atnet1c6 dfklda'-44t
Saigon probably will be recall
di
In a shake-up of personnel under
Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge.
Reporting this today. Wormed
.said Richardson is being
Pzback to Washington "for
ponetdtttion," but, Lodge has
p.;ked fora permanent rep:ace-.
ment.
The orders who may be re
Placed *Pre not named. It was.
said that lodge, who took over
as ambassador in late August,
feels that changes are needed
for a more effective perform.'
ants.
One major difficulty has been
dealing with the authoritarian
regime of President Ngo Dinh
Diem. At one point Washington
hoped that Dirm would get rid)
,f his irifluenual brother. Ngo
' inh tihu, who is regarded as a
werful adv,rcate of tugh tac-1
ics against the regime's Bud_'
thist opponents.
With Washington trying but
ailing to get Nhu out or tot
hange his policies, it was felt
ere that United States officials
it Saigon who had worked close-
y with Nhu are now In a posi-
on of decreased influence.
Reports of Conflict
Also, there have been reports
of conflict among United States
Central Intelligence Agency men
South Viet Nam over whether
here should be changes in the
aigon government.
Richardson's job Is said to
have tiequired him to work close-
with Nhu, head of the South
Viet Namese special forces and
ecret police.
Richardson is not publicly list-
as CIA chief in Saigon. Intel-
ligence personnel abroad nor-
mally operate under some other
csignation.
The official roster lists John H.
Richardson as a first secretary
and a special assistant to the
Ambassador, assigned to Saigon
April 2S. 1962,
The Stag Department's bra
raphical register says Riehard-
on was born of American par-.
nti in Burma in 1913, wao edu-'
aired In California, served in the
Ahoy in World War 11, and en-
tared Foreign Service work in'
By RICHARD DUDMAN
A Washington Correspondent of
the Post-Do.patch
ing up American ncv',paper re-
porters has been standard oper-
ating procedure by the South
Viet Namese government, a for-
mer government press officer
told the Pos-Dispatch today.
(The writer, who reported on
the situation in Viet Nam artrr
a visit to that country a year
ago, has been refused a visa for
a return visit. He was declared
persona non gratta by the gov-
ernment or President Ngo Dinh
Diem because of his rrfxtns.)
The Viet Namese former offi-
cial, now in voluntary exile hdre,
said the Ministry of information
in Saigon issued a drrttlar in
1960 informine- various paiioe'
agencies that it %%as permissible i
to rough up American reporters
a little if necessary,
If there was any ttoubte, the
Viet Namese embassy in Wash-
ington would smor:th it over with
the help of public relations can-
sultant, the fo;~tter' tf cial.
quotedthe instruction sheet :Ci
saying.
He said Tian, t'hanh Thairli,
minister of inform-:ion ?i. 4 he
lime and now Viet Narnett?f Am-
bassador to Tuni. ia, exptalned
the policy by pointing rot that
American reporters era barred
entirely from North Viet Nam..
"So It won't do tins' harm if
*e beat them up a ',irtle hit from
time to time," the informant
quoted him as sa?img.
55Yue.wcturrt r,,..
The [irrit+sd Srrtc ~nteMiaeriew
chief in South %',CI 'Vam, John
H. Richardson, and arras other
Athena and Manila before
in Saigoe.
CPYRGHT.
25X1A9a
Approved For Release 1999/09/07 : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000200410097-5