Buddhist Riot of 1963
INTRODUCTION
Vietnam and the 20th Century Experience
The Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam which led a series of repressive acts by South Vietnamese government. The crisis was precipitated by the shooting of nine unarmed civilians who were protesting a ban of the Buddhist flag in the city of Hue. According to Moss 2010, “thousands of Buddhists took to the streets to protest the shootings and to demand religious freedom. Diem responded by rejecting their demand and jailing the Buddhist leaders.” This however, had led to the turning point in the Vietnamese Buddhist history, because everyone was surprise of what took place next.
The Buddhist community was determined to override Diem’s policy. It was a time when only the most dramatic measures could have had an effect on the world, but they desperately needed the attention of the world in support of their cause, so they sought the appropriate news media to capture the moment. “The Buddhist revolt reached a new dimension on June 11th, Thich Quang Duc immolated himself in front of a large crowd at a busy intersection in downtown Saigon.” (Moss, p. 104) The self-immolation was the start of a change that would led to the impossible of the overthrown of Diem government policy. Thousands of people who did not think much of the Buddhist had now supported their cause and had joined in their protest. Diem however, did not try to conciliate the problem among the Buddhist community; instead Diem and his brother perpetrated a series of actions they imposed curfew.
Even though the U.S was a big supporter of Diem anti-communist leadership style, they became upset about the Buddhist riots and didn’t want to be a part of such behaviors but assess whether a croup would be anticipated if Diem did not change his tactics towards the Buddha’s community. Washington sent Lodge to advise Diem “that because of the Buddhist crisis, American would turn against him, if he did not get his
Vietnam and the 20th Century Experience
The Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam which led a series of repressive acts by South Vietnamese government. The crisis was precipitated by the shooting of nine unarmed civilians who were protesting a ban of the Buddhist flag in the city of Hue. According to Moss 2010, “thousands of Buddhists took to the streets to protest the shootings and to demand religious freedom. Diem responded by rejecting their demand and jailing the Buddhist leaders.” This however, had led to the turning point in the Vietnamese Buddhist history, because everyone was surprise of what took place next.
The Buddhist community was determined to override Diem’s policy. It was a time when only the most dramatic measures could have had an effect on the world, but they desperately needed the attention of the world in support of their cause, so they sought the appropriate news media to capture the moment. “The Buddhist revolt reached a new dimension on June 11th, Thich Quang Duc immolated himself in front of a large crowd at a busy intersection in downtown Saigon.” (Moss, p. 104) The self-immolation was the start of a change that would led to the impossible of the overthrown of Diem government policy. Thousands of people who did not think much of the Buddhist had now supported their cause and had joined in their protest. Diem however, did not try to conciliate the problem among the Buddhist community; instead Diem and his brother perpetrated a series of actions they imposed curfew.
Even though the U.S was a big supporter of Diem anti-communist leadership style, they became upset about the Buddhist riots and didn’t want to be a part of such behaviors but assess whether a croup would be anticipated if Diem did not change his tactics towards the Buddha’s community. Washington sent Lodge to advise Diem “that because of the Buddhist crisis, American would turn against him, if he did not get his