Entrails & Entreaties

SOUTH VIETNAM

High in the central mountains north of Saigon, Premier Ngo Dinh Diem, solemn and immaculate in a white sharkskin suit, sat on a canopied dais before representatives of 600,000 mountain tribesmen. Huge brass gongs sounded out a tribal chant. Tribesmen, some wearing only loincloths, others rigged out in bright robes and peacock feathers placed ceremonial jars of wine from each mountain village before him. Through long, curved bamboo stems, Diem took a ceremonial draught from each jar. Then village elders slipped three large gold bracelets on Diem's arm, spread the head and entrails of two sacrificed water buffaloes before him, and pledged their allegiance to his government.

Not only with sacrificial entrails, but in other useful ways, more and more Vietnamese last week gave signs of Diem's growing control in his divided country. At Hue, the ancient royal capital of Annam. the council of the royal family, asserting an ancient prerogative, read ex-Emperor Bao Dai out of the family, forbade him the use of the imperial name, and pledged support to Diem's republican government.

Farther south, Diem's young army, proving more efficient than critics expected, broke the resistance of the rebellious armed Hoa Hao sect. One of Hoa Hao's top warlords, General Lam Thanh Nguyen, slipped into Saigon to seek surrender terms. Diem received him with an ultimatum: bring all rebel troops over to the government immediately or face destruction. Within 30 minutes Lam agreed to have his 8,000 regular troops in government ranks within the week, and ordered an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 guerrilla supporters to cease all anti-government activities. Other Hoa Hao warlords, including top General Tran Van Soai, have reportedly fled across the border to Cambodia, leaving their troops behind, leaderless and trapped in a tiny circle of paddies.

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