Monday, May 29, 1972
Antiwar Monks Convicted
SAIGON (AP) --A military field court in Saigon has convicted two Buddhist monks and a 17-year-old girl of rebellion for circulating antiwar songs or leading an antigovernment demonstration, Vietnam Press said Saturday.The official government news agency said Phan Thanh Dam, a Buddhist teacher, was given a one-year suspended sentence after saying he wanted to join the army.Dam was accused of selling, through his students, booklets containing antiwar songs, entitled, "singing for Vietnam peace," the agency said.Vietnam Press said one of Dam's students, at 17, "was too young to realize her acts." The court "decided to return the convict to her parents for further education."South Vietnam's supreme court ruled more than a year ago that the military field court is unconstitutional, but it continues in session."Antiwar Monks Convicted", by (AP), published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes Monday, May 29, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.