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a a : wets te me nl 62 PEACE IN VIET! ioe 5. The Place of the National Liberation Front and the Ques of Elections, The United States has moved from a position refusal to recognize any right of the Nauonal Liberauon F to be at the negotiating table to a statement by Presicent Johr that the presence of the National Liberation Front is not an surmouptabie obstacle” and that they “would have no’ diffic being represented and having their view represented.” *! The tional Liberation Front and Hanoi, on the einer hand. have insi all along that the Front must have'an independent reve of Its | in negotiations. Any hope deriving from the ambiguity of President’s statement was probably dashed by the siatemen the Secretary of State in a television interviex in December 1 al The New York Times renorts that “Mir. Rusk: ES st peas thas amos Lats a9 42 nam through negotiations. A question also remains about what type cf South Vietnan representative the National Liberation Frost and the Noril \ mamese will accept at the conference table. Pubtic statements | indicated their unwillingness to treat wita the Saigon covernr of General Ky. The program of the National Liberation Front is Premier PI Van Dong’s third point. This has never been accepted by United States. One part of the program is the election of a widely representative National Assembly througa universal suffr The United States has indicated its willingness that free ¢ tions take place, but it has never stated that ir would accept inevitable election of National Liberation Front rerresentati including som? Communists, in the resuiiing South Vietnan government. In fact, Secretary Rusk dus said: ca If the South Vietnamese people have a chance in free election make their own choices, they will not elezt a Comments: to pow: Saigon. I do not believe that the South Vietnamese peor!s will be first people in history freely to elect a Communist regime.#3 “ President Johnson's press conference, July 23. 1985, “*AIax Frankel. Wew Fork Frones, December 3. 1753, “Max Frankel, New York Times, December 8, 1965.