Ton That Dinh - 1966 Buddhist Protests and Senate Career

1966 Buddhist Protests and Senate Career

With the rise to power of Nguyễn Cao Kỳ — head of the Vietnam Air Force — following Khánh's departure, returned to a command role in the army. In April 1966, he was appointed to lead the I Corps, based in central Vietnam. Đính was the third commander of the corps within five weeks. This upheaval came about after the dismissal of Lieutenant General Nguyễn Chánh Thi due to his sympathies towards Buddhist activists and because Kỳ viewed him as a personal threat. In response, Buddhist protesters brought the region to a standstill with anti-American and anti-war demonstrations, some of which descended into rioting. The protests were supported by groups of rebel I Corps soldiers and the mayor of Đà Nẵng, Nguyễn Văn Man, who had been appointed by Thi. These anti-Kỳ groups formed a coalition known as the Struggle Movement. Thi's replacement, General Nguyễn Văn Chuan, refused to confront the dissidents or shut them down. He was content to allow protests provided there was no insurrection.

Prime Minister Kỳ disapproved of Chuan's approach and replaced Chuan with Đính. Prime Minister Kỳ felt Đính's aggressive attitude following the Xá Lợi pagoda raids in 1963 indicated a willingness to suppress Buddhist dissidents. Moreover, Đính was a native of central Vietnam and would have been popular with those who thought along parochial lines. Đính arrived in Huế on 15 April and, after a week, announced that he had restored Saigon's authority over the region. He proclaimed that he had regained control of the radio stations in Đà Nẵng and Huế from the dissidents, and that he had convinced the mayor of Đà Nẵng to remain loyal to Saigon. Đính announced a deal whereby the Buddhists would have regular air time in return for relinquishing control of the radio station. This move was interpreted in different ways. Some felt that Đính was attempting to gain favour with the Buddhists in anticipation of Kỳ's fall from power, while Frances FitzGerald felt it was the only sensible government action during the crisis. On 19 April, clashes erupted in Quảng Ngãi between the Buddhists and the VNQDD (Vietnamese Nationalist Party), which supported the continuation of the anti-communist war, prompting Đính to forcibly restrain the two groups.

Soon after, Kỳ made a surprise attack to assert government control over central Vietnam. He flew out to Đà Nẵng with his own units, without consulting the Americans or officials in I Corps. At this time, Đính was pursuing a policy of reconciliation Đà Nẵng and negotiation with the dissident I Corps units, and making contact with the Struggle Movement. Kỳ decided to attack and sent his forces to overrun Dinh's headquarters on 15 May, forcing the latter to abandon his post and flee to the headquarters of U.S. General Lewis Walt. Fearing Kỳ's forces would kill him, Đính asked Walt for help and was flown to Huế, where the pro-Thi and pro-Buddhist elements were still in control. Đính was then formally replaced by General Cao. Walt's assistance to Đính provoked a reaction from General William Westmoreland, the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Walt and Westmoreland were often in conflict, and the latter responded to his subordinate's evacuation of Đính by imploring Kỳ to attack Huế.

Kỳ's surprise attack led to conflict between the ARVN rebels and loyalists, with the American ground forces caught in the middle, effectively creating a civil war within a civil war. Kỳ eventually quelled the rebellion and briefly jailed Đính, who claimed he was incarcerated for refusing to back up Kỳ's account of the conflict with the Buddhists. Đính left the army and won election to the newly created Senate in 1967, serving there until the fall of Saigon in 1975, when he fled to the United States. In February 1968, while serving in the Senate, Đính founded a newspaper, Công Luan. while also serving as head of the Vietnamese Publishers Association. In 1998, Đính claimed he felt remorse for the deposal and assassinations of the Ngô brothers, and also claimed he had opposed their policies of religious discrimination against Buddhists, which had fomented national disunity and the eventual Communist victory.