INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO U.S. WAR CRIMES IN INDOCHINA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01720R000700090029-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 2004
• Sequence Number: 29
• Content Type: REPORT

25X1 ,
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SUBJECT: International Commission of Inquiry into U.S.
War Crimes in Indochina
AKA: International Commission of Enquiry into
U.S. War Crimes in Indochina
The International Commission of Inquiry (ICI) into U.S.
War Crimes in Indochina was established at the Soviet-sup-
ported Fifth Stockholm Conference in March 1970. The major
force behind the ICI is its Secretary General, Hans Goran
FRANCK, a former member of the Swedish Communist Party and
anti-American lawyer who, at one time, was active in legal
aid programs for American deserters in Sweden. FRANCK has
a history of close collaboration with Soviet-backed inter-
national front organizations, such as the World Peace Council
and of periodic direct consultations with the Soviet Peace
Committee in Moscow.
The ICI has attracted a number of noted personalities
who have lent their name, as well as talents, to the organi-
zation including Gunnar MYRDAL, the Swedish sociologist,
and Dorothy Crowfoot HODGKIN, 2ritish Nobel Prize winner.
The ICI has convened two major public sessions. The
first was held in Stockholm, Sweden, 22-25 October 1970.
According to FRANCK, the purpose of the session was to dis-
cuss not only U.S. war crimes in Indochina in the strict
meaning of the word, but also U.S. aggression, genocide,
and crimes against humanity.
The American delegation, which presented testimony at
the session, consisted of Mark LANE, an author/lawyer active
in the GI movement; Michael UHL and Danny AMIGONE, Vietnam
veterans affiliated with a U.S. group called the Citizens
Commission of Inquiry into U.S. War Crimes.
The second session was held in Oslo, Norway, 20-26
June 1971. In an attempt to get prestigious figures sitting
on the Tribunal to pass judgment on U.S. war crimes, Lev
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SMIRNOV, who had been involved in the Nuremberg trials and
was then a member of the Soviet Supreme Court, was desig-
nated as one of the presiding officers. Norwegian newspapers
quickly picked up the fact that SMIRNOV was also the judge
who sentenced dissident Soviet writers DANIEL and SINYAVSKY
to long terms in labor camps, which did much to detract from
any impact the session hoped to have.
As in the first session, a number of Americans attended,
including Donald LUCE, who had resided in South Vietnam and
was responsible for the exposure of the Con Son "Tiger Cages";
Fred BRANFMAN, a former reporter in Laos, who is currently
head of the antiwar research group - Project Air War; and
Arthur WESTING, an "expert" in ecological effects of chemi-
cal and biological warfare who had previously traveled to
North Vietnam. There was also a delegation from the U.S.
organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) who
testified about alleged atrocities that they had seen or
committed. The VVAW group spoke throughout Europe following
the war crimes session.
The International Commission of Inquiry planned to con-
duct a "Hearing of Experts on the Effects of Modern Weapons
on the Environment of Indochina" to be held concurrently
with the United Nations Confer:.flce on Human Environment in
June 1972. Although the hearing was not a formal session
of the Commission, as were the two previous meetings, there
was some testimony and other "evidence" presented, culminat-
ing in a press conference.
A third session of the Commission is being planned for
10-16 October 1972 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Commission has sent "fact finding" missions to North
Vietnam prior to each major session. These "fact finding"
missions have been used to provide part of the "information"
basis for the ensuing ICI sessions. A similar role is
envisaged for the current Third Mission. Members of each
"fact finding" mission are listed below:
First Mission (June-July 1970)
Hans Goran FRANCK - Secretary General of
the ICI
Arkady POLTORAK - Soviet lawyer
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Second Mission CMay-June 1971)
Dorothy FORMAN - American representative
of Women Strike for Peace
Martin ROSSDALE - Great Britain
Jostein NYHAII IAR - Norway
Sven EKBERG - Sweden
Viktor MAYEVSKIY U.S.S.R.
The following persons have been reported to be among
the participants of the Third Mission (July-August 1972):
Hans Goran FRANCK
Ramsey CLARK - Independent Observer
Frode JAKOBSEN - Member of Danish Parliament
Sean MAC BRIDE - Former Secretary General
of Amnesty International
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