Ngo Dinh Diem had solid credentials as a public servant. He was known for his honesty, zealousness, conservatism and devotion to Vietnamese independence. He worked his way up as a mandarin and came to court under the guidance of Nguyen HuuBai. He refused to be part of a puppet government and had resigned from the cabinet of Bao Dai and had refused to work with him subsequently. It was a difficult position for Ngo Dinh Diem, whose family had served the Nguyen Dynasty for a long time and who was a devoted monarchist. However, he viewed Bao Dai as unworthy and ineffective. When he finally consented to be Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam under Bao Dai many people noted the stark contrast between the two men dubbed the puritan and the playboy. As much as the former emperor was known for his womanizing and hedonism, Diem was known for his asceticism and devout Catholic faith. He attended mass daily, prayed for two hours a day and spent his free time secluded in monasteries. He had considered taking holy orders but did not, leaving that to his elder brother Ngo DinhThuc who became Archbishop of Hue.
As the Prime Minister, Diem was determined to fulfill the promise he made to the former Emperor to clean up South Vietnamese government and society and he did this even when it meant tearing down those criminal elements Bao Dai had ties with. Ngo Din Diem started by dismissing troublesome officials and practically declaring war on the BinhXuyen gang which ran the gambling houses, opium dens and brothels in Saigon and who sent a percentage to the former Emperor and the French for turning a blind eye to their activities. In a direct provocation Diem held a symbolic mass burning of opium pipes to show his contempt for this racket of sin. It finally came down to violence and in a head to head fight in the streets of Saigon; Diem defeated the Bin Xuyen and their leader Le Van Vien. Similarly, Diem went against the armed cults of the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai. The campaign was successful but these actions also sent pleas to the former Emperor in France who had formerly looked the other way to their actions though most did not support him or the French anyway. Bao Dai then attempted to dismiss Ngo Dinh Diem who, especially after uncovering all of these activities, decided that the nominal position of the former Emperor had to go.
In 1955 Ngo Dinh Diem held a referendum in which the choice was put to the people to retain the former Emperor in France or to have a republic with Diem as president. After changing camps so many times and being appointed to his position by the French, Bao Dai had practically no support in South Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem easily won becoming the first President of the new Republic of Vietnam. It was a difficult step for someone like Diem to take, but he viewed it as the only way and now he was free to put his ideas about government into effect, all of which were influenced by his Catholic morality. As a side note, Emperor Bao Dai eventually calmed down somewhat, married a French woman (who he had always been more fond of anyway) and himself eventually converted to the Catholic faith of his late wife and children, meaning that had things gone differently early on Vietnam might have had a Catholic Emperor today as so many had long hoped for.
However, this was not too different from what existed in South Vietnam under President Ngo Dinh Diem. Cut from the old cloth, many commented that Diem behaved more like a monarch than a politician. He instituted many sweeping reforms and programs to encourage patriotism, anti-communism and public morality. With internal corruption still being a problem for the regime in Saigon he was forced to rely heavily on his family, particularly his brother Ngo DinhNhu, head of the Can Lao personalist party and his wife, known as Madame Nhu, who took on the role of unofficial First Lady of South Vietnam. In the Geneva agreement that ended the French war in Vietnam it was decided that after a certain period of time elections would be held throughout North and South Vietnam to determine which government would unite the country. President Diem, wisely, refused to go along with this since Ho Chi Minh had established a Communist dictatorship in the north and had long been sending political agents south and would certainly get 100% of the vote in all the areas he controlled. Communist agents would αssαssιnαtҽ village leaders and torture local officials to frighten the peasants into either joining them or at least remaining neutral and not supporting Ngo Dinh Diem.
Because of this, President Diem launched a nationwide campaign in South Vietnam to eliminate the Communist threat. He built up his army and police forces who for a time managed to succeed and all but destroy the Communist presence in the south. However, Ho Chi Minh was not willing to give up on his goal of ruling all of Vietnam and he began to send Communist agents and later Communist weapons and soldiers into South Vietnam where they formed a terrorist organization known as the Viet Cong which had the goal of overthrowing President Diem and making South Vietnam Communist. They carried out terrorist attacks such as bombings and assassinations and threatened to undo all that Diem had accomplished. As a result, the United States, now under her first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy, sent more American aid and military advisors to South Vietnam to assist Ngo Dinh Diem. There was also a massive migration of Vietnamese Catholics escaping from the Communist north and coming south. Whole parish communities were transplanted and these faithful Catholics were to be the most reliable base of support for President Diem and his anti-Communist crusade.
The support of the Eisenhower administration and later President Kennedy for Ngo Dinh Diem was the beginning of the American War in Vietnam, though the US did not take the lead in the war effort until after Diem was gone. As the Viet Cong stepped up their attacks, Diem launched a comprehensive campaign to elevate Vietnamese society and combat Communism. At home this included the campaign to promote morality which Madame Nhu played a part in and reflected the Catholic principles of the Presidential family. Divorce, contraception and abortion were outlawed, adultery laws were strengthened, beauty contests were banned and dance halls, fighting rings, brothels and opium dens were closed. This campaign of public decency, while undoubtedly good for society, raised opposition from the less desirable elements. The United States also expressed disapproval of the Catholic ruling family in Vietnam, especially Ngo DinhNhu and his wife. President Diem, however, relied on them and would change nothing. He would be the puppet of no foreign power and would not give in to efforts to divide his government and spread internal dissension.
For his part, Ngo DinhNhu concentrated on building up a sound political doctrine for the new nation, based on the inherent worth of the human person. He was also largely responsible for combating Communist infiltration and helped develop the idea for the Strategic Hamlet Program. This was an effort to cut the Viet Cong off from their support in the countryside by concentrating the peasants onto heavily fortified hamlets that could be easily defended. Yet, Communist infiltration continued, despite the best efforts of President Diem. They saw in him a real threat and someone with a level of tenacity to equal their own and the Viet Cong made it their number one goal to topple him. Meanwhile, criticism from the international community was growing against Diem who was accused of being too autocratic and intolerant of opposition. These critics either failed to understand or chose to ignore the fractured nature of the country he inherited. Diem had to ensure total unity and show no weakness if he was to defeat the Communists. Ho Chi Minh of course was a dictator who had eliminated all of his opposition in a succession of purges and so he was able to command a North Vietnam totally united by force and intimidation. They were using those same methods in South Vietnam and President Diem had to do whatever was possible to keep the Communists at bay and he was fully prepared to do so regardless of his popularity on the world stage.
This situation came to a peak with the Buddhist crisis in 1963. President Diem had long warned the Buddhists that they needed to do more to regulate their religion since, as it stood, anyone could shave their hair, don a yellow robe and pass as a Buddhist monk. Nothing changed and soon information came about that several Buddhist temples had been infiltrated by Communists. South Vietnamese military units responded to the threat and were faced by a skillful Communist propaganda campaign. Buddhists appeared on American television telling people that they were brutalized by government troops, forced to become Catholic and other absurdities. Protests were held across South Vietnam, especially Hue. The news media was tipped off to be on hand and signs were written in English as well as Vietnamese to play to U.S. audiences. Finally, in a horrific display a Buddhist monk burned himself alive in the street, on camera, to protest the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem.
President Diem tried to get a handle on the situation, but world opinion continued to turn against him. The Pope criticized his actions, which he feared harmed Christian - Buddhist dialogue, and President Kennedy suspended aid to South Vietnam and began to hint that American support might cease unless South Vietnam came under new leadership. Yet, as in all times past, Diem refused to give in to pressure. Madame Nhu caused a stir when she reiterated the guilt of the Buddhists involved and referred to the incident as a barbecue. She went on a tour of the United States to denounce the liberal policies of the Kennedy administration and was still in the US when word came that a group of generals in Saigon had staged a coup against President Diem. Madame Nhu said her husband and brother-in-law had suspected it for some time and predicted that America would be involved.
These words turned out to be right on both counts. American officials knew about the coup ahead of time and had given it their blessing. In the end, President Ngo Dinh Diem, Ngo DinhNhu and a priest they were traveling with were all shot by the rebel forces under the overall command of General Duong Van Minh. They were shot after having given themselves up to their enemies and being promised safe passage out of the country. Madame Nhu was understandably furious at the role America had played in the downfall and death of her family. A descendant of the Emperor Dong Khanh and a Catholic convert, she was a proud woman and when President Kennedy was αssαssιnαtҽd only three weeks later, when asked if she had anything to say to Mrs. Jackie Kennedy, Madame Nhu replied, 'Now you know what it feels like'. She went into exile in Italy where she lives to this day. Madame Nhu also predicted a dark future for Vietnam and the United States and she was to be proven all too true.
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Other notable Catholics in the Ngo family - Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc, Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan
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What a heroic family! This family is the crown Jєωel of my country.
Topic: Ngo Dinh Diem and his family (Read 2796 times)