Motion in Saigon, Deadlock in Paris

For those who have least hope of leaving the war behind--the South Vietnamese--there was no respite from the fighting at home or the interminable diplomatic fencing abroad. Nonetheless, President Thieu finally acted last week to resolve one of the major sticking points in the Paris negotiations. The issue was whether the Communists should be permitted to participate in national elections, which they are specifically prohibited from doing under South Vietnam's constitution.

Actually, Thieu's move had been discounted in advance. He had hinted at it before, and a month ago President Nixon let it be known that Thieu "will be making an offer of his own with regard to a political settlement." The U.S. urged Thieu to act before Apollo 11's voyage to the moon dominates headlines around the world.

Tactical Point. Backing down from his insistence in April that members of the National Liberation Front would have to forswear Communism and lay down their arms before they would be allowed to vote, Thieu now stipulated only that the N.L.F. "renounce violence and pledge themselves to accept the results of the election." He promised that his government would also abide by the outcome and offered to meet with the N.L.F. for discussion of "the timetable and the modalities under which the elections will be held." Thieu did not specify which offices might be contested or how the voting would be supervised, but he invited "all political parties and groups," including the N.L.F., to take part in overseeing the elections.

The Communists have insisted that any elections held while the Thieu government is in power would inevitably be rigged against them. In Paris, North Viet Nam's chief political strategist, Le Due Tho, rejected Thieu's proposal even before it was formally offered. Nonetheless, South Viet Nam's President probably feels that he has scored a tactical point and left the ball in the Communist court for the time being.

Cinnamon? At the Paris conference table there were only new exchanges of invective. Hanoi and the N.L.F. repeated their demands for unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. and "satellite" troops in South Viet Nam, which the U.S.'s Henry Cabot Lodge bluntly rejected. But there was at least a rare moment of light relief. Thanh Le, the chief Hanoi spokesman, complained at a press briefing that Thieu and Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky want to keep U.S. troops in South Viet Nam so that they can continue to get rich on traffic in opium and cinnamon. Cinnamon? "Ah," Le explained, "South Viet Nam's cinnamon is the finest in the world, and when mixed properly is a powerful aphrodisiac. It is much in demand." It was the first appearance of sex in 14 months of negotiations.

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