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POWs in Exile

By VVAW

The return of the POWs has captured the headlines of newspapers across the country. They focus on the healthy returnees and their statement, "God Bless America and the Commander-in-Chief." Pictures flash at us of families being reunited with the pilots detained in Vietnam for their part in the terror bombing of Vietnam. They are being given new Fords and Florida vacations as rewards for saving the 'honor' of the American government.

There is another group of POWs that has not yet returned home, nor are they likely to do so in the near future. These are the draft resisters and the self-retired veterans. It is Nixon's position that these exiles have deserted the country and that to give amnesty to them is to dishonor the POWs, the veterans of Vietnam, and most of all, to dishonor the memory of the American soldiers who died in Indochina. Once again, the administration is playing on our sympathies for American dead to defend its position on amnesty, and in the process, thereby justify the war.

To understand whether or not war resisters should be given amnesty is to look at the history of the US military in Indochina. The introduction of American servicemen and material into Vietnam has been by Presidential decree only. Presidents Johnson and Nixon have conducted the war in Southeast Asia without the consent of Congress; a violation of the US Constitution. Therefore, the US has been illegally conducting a war in Indochina.

In addition to illegal entry, the US has violated the Geneva accords of 1954 and 1962, the International Rules of War, and the Nuremburg principles that were set by the US government after World War II when it tried Nazi policy makers. In truth, the US government is guilty of flagrant violations of both US and international law in Indochina.

The war resisters correctly came to the conclusion that they could not take part in the genocidal war in Indochina. This decision now finds them in exile. They do not number, as Nixon would have us believe, only a few hundred. There are some 60-100,000 exiles in Canada, an estimated 200,000 in jails or underground in the US, and several thousand in Europe. There are also over 500,000 Vietnam-era veterans who have received less than honorable discharges as a result of their anti-war sentiment or because of the racist, oppressive conditions that are part of the military.

It became imperative to put the policy of the US government towards amnesty in its proper perspective. A conference was called for Feb. 18-21 in Paris. It would bring together exiles, veterans and GIs is to discuss and recommend a program to inform Americans of the nature of the Vietnam war and its relation to war resisters. The results of this meeting would have marked the beginning of an international effort by Americans to work for unconditional amnesty for war resisters.

Obviously, the US government found that this conference would pose a threat to their policy on amnesty. Accordingly the US formally 'advised' the French Interior Ministry "that their policy of neutrality should include forbidding manifestations of this sort." Three groups were particularly banned from conducting any political activity pertaining to this conference: AMEX, SCEF, and VVAW were threatened with up to one year in jail or deportation. In spite of this ban, VVAW did meet with the exiles. A series of informal gatherings were held in which we drew up a statement not unlike one that would have been written had the conference taken place.

The statement calls for universal, unconditional amnesty for all draft resisters in exile or underground in the US; for all people who are or have been in civilian and military prisons, or who are sought for prosecution because of their opposition to the war; and for the more than 500,000 veterans with less than honorable discharges.

There have been indications that the administration may at some point offer amnesty with alternative service for draft resisters. This is totally unacceptable. Offering this type of amnesty would place the draft resisters in the position of submitting themselves to the Nixon position that they are guilty of a crime, although no crime has been committed. We also have to recognize that in general, draft resisters tend to come from a more privileged background than do military resisters. Social conditions in America make the military seem a haven from government that is unresponsive to the needs of poor and Third World people. Whether to serve in the military or not is generally a priviledge of men who have options open to them. This does not in any way downgrade the decisions of those who chose to resist the draft, but rather points out the alternatives open to them that are not readily available to people who chose to resist in the military. By offering partial amnesty, the government would succeed in creating a split between draft and military resisters that cannot be allowed to develop.

We as a veterans organization must be heard in order that the Nixon myth of dishonor to the Vietnam veterans be cast aside. We, who were used by the military, who were victims of US policy in Vietnam, recognize that we went to Vietnam and blindly obeyed, never questioning the motives of our government. But when we returned home and realized what we had done, we were horrorfied and we came to recognize that the policies of the President were criminal.

Some recognized the criminality of the war in Indochina, and left the military understanding the consequences of their acts. These are the American war heros, and yet they will not recieve the Fords and vacations. They are not even allowed to come back to this country. They acted in conscience whereas Nixon has acted in a manner not unlike the leaders of Nazi Germany, who were prosecuted by the US. Johnson, Nixon and their lieutenants, are as guilty of war crimes as the Nazis in Germany or Gen. Yamashita in the Philippines.

Nixon said during his Feb. 1st press conference, "Amnesty means forgiveness. We cannot provide forgiveness... Those who deserted must pay the price... The price is a criminal penalty for disobeying the laws of the United States." In this we fully concur. But the criminals are not the war resisters. They broke no laws. The laws were broken by the policy makers who are now breaking the agreements on ending the War in Vietnam, and who continue to bomb in Laos and Cambodia.

We as an organization of veterans must join with the war resisters in condemning the policies of the United States in Indochina and call for universal, unconditional amnesty for all war resisters. VVAW and war resisters must work together to expose the lies of the Nixon policy on Indochina and amnesty. The government used us once - it will never do so again!