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L _i
Galwell again
calls Ivy a
little butcher
MELBOURNE, Tuesday. — The Federal Opposition
Leader, Mr Calwell, tonight defended his outspoken critic
ism of the forthcoming visit to Australia by the South
Vietnamese Prime Minister, Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky.
In another blunt statement, Mr Calwell said that while he had
used strong terms to express his opposition to Marsha] Ky's visit, his
language had been justified and truthful.
"If anything, it played
down the truth about this
miserable little butcher",
Mr Cahvell said.
"In any case. I will never
'• remain silent while Austra
lia is used as a parade
ground for any dictator,
European or Asian".
Mr Calwcll's statement
said that to treat Marshal
Ky as an honoured guest to
Australia was a terrible be
trayal of the 90,000 Austra
lians dead in two world
' wars that were waged to de
fend democracy.
"Ky, whose army has a
mounting total of deserters
and is no longer regarded
. as a competent fighting force
by the Americans, docs not
want a negotiated pcace in
Vietnam, becanse that
would put an end to his
power and influence.
Head #f a
dictatorship
"He wants an escalation
oJ> thc war and an early in
vasion of North Vietnam".
For the first time in Par
liamentary history an Aus
tralian Prime Minister had
not only been talked into is
suing an invitation to a
military dictator, but had
then been belittled by his
guest whose aides ^divulged
the main details of the visit
before any official Austra
lian announcement.
The Prime Minister, Mr|
Holt, would be glad if
Marshal Ky did not visit
Australia, Mr Calwcll said.
He was visiting Aus
tralia "becausc he enter
tained Harold Holt in
Saigon and Mr Holt finds it
difficult not to return the
hospitality.
"Marshal Ky will use the
visit to depict himself as a
statesman with popular
support, when in fact he is
the head of a dictatorship,
and a brutal one at that".
"The Americans don't
want him. Why should
we?
"The Americans regard
the South Vietnamese as
useless in the fighting
sense.
"The Americans are
going to win the war with
the help of the Australians,
the Koreans and some
other people".
Mr Calwcll said he had
made no definite plans for
demonstrations against Mar
shal Ky.
"I don't want to con
script anybody. I'll de
monstrate even if I have to
do it alone".
Mr Calwcll will need
police permission before he
can lead any street demon
strations against Marshal
Ky.
The commissioner of
ACT police, Mr R. Wilson,
said in Canberra today that
any group intending to hold
demonstrations of any kind
was required first to apply
to the police for permis
sion.
SYDNEY, Tuesday. —
Fifteen trade unions and
peace organisations are be
hind a committee formed to
protest against Marshal
Ky's visit.
The organisation, called
the Project Vietnam Com
mittee, regards the visit as
"an affront to Australian
democracy".
President of the Associa
tion for International Co
operation and Disarmament
(NSW), Dr A. G. H. Lawes,
urged today that the invita
tion to Marshal Ky to be
withdrawn.
MANILA, Tuesday
(AAP-Reuter).-— The Philip
pine Foreign Secretary, Mr
Narciso Ramos, said today
he believed the United
States "will use the atomic
bomb in the most extreme
of cases only".
He was commenting on
Mr Calwell's prediction that
the US would drop an atom
bomb on North Vietnam
and China unless the Viet
nam war was won or ended
before the 1968 US presi
dential elections.
$