Buddhist Uprising - Victory For Ky

Victory For Ky

By the end of May, the marines under Premier Ky's command finally broken the remaining pockets of rebel soldiers and Buddhist militants in Da Nang, the Buddhist fighters managed to hold out for four hours against government ground assaults at Tan Ninh Pagoda.

On May 26, a large pro-Buddhist crowd attended the funeral of the rebel ARVN lieutenant who was killed after shooting at General Cao’s departing helicopter. Afterward, the protestors rioted and burned down the US Information Service Library. Over the next week, three Buddhist clergy self-immolated in protest at US policies. The Buddhist activist leader Thich Tri Quang, went on a hunger strike, denouncing American support for the Ky-Thieu junta, which he viewed as inappropriate interference in domestic affairs.

The ARVN 1st Division sent guards to protect the US Consulate in Hue, but they fled when an anti-Ky mob rioted and overran the mission, setting it ablaze. With the assistance of the Americans, Ky sent Vietnamese marine and airborne battalions to the army base at Phu Bai. By June 19, the old imperial capital was under government control. US Ambassador Lodge publicly praised Ky regime for suppressing the Struggle Movement, calling it "a solid political victory".

In mid June, the Saigon-based Buddhist leader Thich Tam Chau, regarded as being more moderate than Thich Tri Quang, called for passive resistance instead of rioting, and denounced any peace talks with the communists as a "surrender”. However, he then called for the resignations of Ky and Thieu within 48 hours, threatening that all Buddhist monks would otherwise nominate for "voluntary imprisonment".

Thich Tri Quang responded to the situation by calling on Buddhists in Hue to place their altars onto the street to block the junta’s troops. Thousands complied, and the police did not stop them. For two days, the altars stopped all road traffic and prevented convoys from travelling north of the city for a military buildup. He later relented and allowed a few hours a day for such traffic. He then penned a letter accusing the US of "imperialism" and went on a hunger strike. Ky ignored the Buddhist protests and sent 400 combat police to secure the city. They entered unopposed, arrested dissident policemen and removed the altars.

Around 150 Vietnamese from each faction were killed in the uprising; another 700 were wounded. The Americans suffered 23 wounded, 18 of them marines.

Thich Tri Quang was arrested and taken to a local military hospital. He was later taken to Saigon and permanently put under house arrest. The collapse of the Buddhist Uprising effectively ended the Buddhists as a political force.