The Buddhist Crisis as a Turning Point in the Vietnam War
Anonymous
March 24, 2013

There were several events during the Vietnam War that can be considered “turning points”, which can be described as the occurrence of an event that changed the course of history. One such event was the Buddhist crisis in 1963. The Buddhists of South Vietnam had experienced decades of religious persecution during French colonialism that continued with the Catholic government, which was backed by the United States (Toong, 2008). The demonstrations, protests and self-immolations that followed as a result of this religious persecution and the media coverage it generated encouraged the Kennedy administration to back a coup d’état against Ngo Dinh Diem, the leader of South Vietnam, which was a major turning point in the war. This paper will examine why the Buddhist crisis was a turning point in the Vietnam War, as well as why the events leading up to the Buddhist riots in 1963 were essential in preparing for the turning point and what subsequent events were dependent on the action of the turning point. Buddhists in South Vietnam began gaining the world’s attention for their plight of religious persecution through the distribution of literature, as well as through hunger strikes and peaceful demonstrations (Toong, 2008). As these demonstrations became more dramatic, including acts of self-immolation, public opinion around the world began to turn against Ngo Dinh Diem, the leader of South Vietnam as well as the United States’ role in backing such leadership. The subsequent handling of the Buddhist crisis by the Diem administration and the international media coverage that followed played a major role in the Kennedy administration’s decision to overthrow the Diem government, thus changing the course of the Vietnam War. For this reason, the Buddhist Riots, or Buddhist crisis of 1963 is considered a major turning point in the Vietnam War. On May 8, 1963, unprovoked attacks by the government of South Vietnam (GVN) through the use of grenades and gunfire on peaceful Buddhist demonstrators, killing nine people, were broadcast by international media (Toong, 2008). Diem’s reaction to this event was denying responsibility and he put the blame on communists. Despite repeated encouragement from the United States government to reconcile with the Buddhists, Diem remained unyielding and asserted that there was no presence of religious persecution (Toong, 2008). The height of the Buddhist crisis was reached when Thich Quang Duc ignited himself and burned to death in as a protest in the street in front of a large crowd in Saigon (Moss, 2010). The appalling images of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc were spread throughout the world by international media coverage. Demonstrations by the Buddhists and retaliation by the GVN continued to escalate to a point where the United States could no longer support the Diem government, which despite financial assistance that amounted to over $1,000,000 per day and the support of the American military, refused to cooperate (Toong, 2008). Subsequently, and dependent on Diem’s lack of response to pressure from the United States regarding the Buddhist crisis, the Kennedy administration decided to participate in a coup to overthrow him (Toong, 2008). The final straw was the pagoda raids on August 21 and Diem’s declaration of martial law with threats to shoot and kill Americans on the street past curfew. On November 1, 1963, the coup was carried out and 21 days later, president Kennedy was assassinated (Protheroe, 2008). Diem’s lack of cooperation with the United States government on issues regarding the Buddhist crisis led to a new government for South Vietnam, and a new direction for the focus of the Vietnam War. Although the Kennedy administration believed they could no longer support Diem’s government, the United States’ support for the coup weakened the security of South Vietnam and over the next 12 years, fourteen different governments controlled South Vietnam (Moss, 2010). The Buddhist Crisis represents just one turning point of many in the Vietnam War. Preceded by religious persecution and followed by a military coup, it represents the turning point from a government that represented South Vietnam for over ten years to a period where the country was governed by over a dozen different heads of state in as many years.

References: Moss, G.D, (2010). Vietnam: An American Ordeal 6th edition, Retrieved from http://devry.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781256086260/pages/49613788
Protheroe, G. J. (2008). Limiting America's Engagement: Roger Hilsman's Vietnam War, 1961-1963. Diplomacy & Statecraft, 19(2), 263-288. doi:10.1080/09592290802096315 Toong, Z. T. (2008). Overthrown by the Press: The U.S. Media’s Role in the Fall of Diem Australasian Journal of American Studies Vol. 27, No.1