Documents / FOIA release

Intelligence and Security Operations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ministry of National Defense

Central Intelligence Agency · 1979-12-01 · 120 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is a December 1979 Central Intelligence Agency study published by the Directorate of Operations Counterintelligence Staff. It describes the Enemy Proselytizing Department (Cuc Dich Van) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ministry of National Defense. The study traces the department's origins from 1941 through the French and Vietnam wars. It covers psychological warfare, fifth column penetration of ARVN and allied forces, the handling of US and allied prisoners of war, and the postwar reeducation of former ARVN personnel. It contains no material on UFOs.

  • p. 7 …supervising the activities of military POWs who cooperated with Hanoi in the preparation of psychological warfare…
  • p. 16 …POWs, ARVN as well as US, who cooperated with their captors. The’ CDV exploitation of POWs…
  • p. 22 …Those considered to have the same potential but whorefused to cooperate. ~ Category C: Those whose continued…
  • p. 23 …other techniques used to coerce them to cooperate. After a POW was initially categorized, CDV and…
  • p. 24 …Interrogations were aimed at gaining the complete cooperation of a POW for use in antiwar propaganda…
  • p. 25 …preparation of handwritten POW statements from selected cooperative and "progressive" POWs; and supervised “progressive” POWs who…
  • p. 41 …to join the revolution and not to cooperate with the Royal Lao Government. The section also…
  • p. 52 …and investigation of released ARVNi POWs who cooperated with the MSS. The ARVN MSS estimate did…
  • p. 54 …The national police were special targets for recruitment because of the cooperation they offered in processing…
  • p. 67 …in size) on short rations until they cooperated with their indoctrinators/interrogators. It soon became apparent…
  • p. 68 …over arms depots intact, and who had cooperated with the liberation armed forces. Several hundred Category…
  • p. 94 …who had been appointed Prime Minister, to cooperate with the revolution in establishing a coalition government…
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camps were distinguished from one another by their distinctive letter/ numberprefix and suffix designations. BNV camps had either an “A” letter prefix oran “NV” letter suffix designation, while CDV camps had an "L" or “T” letterprefix designation.
According to the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City press, the reeducationprocess consisted of many phases, ranging from registration and reporting,interrogation, and control and the organization of study programs, to theorganization of internees in productive labor and social activities. The lune1975 issue of the People’s Armed Forces Journal (Tapv Chi Quan D01‘ NhanDoi) emphasized- the importance of:
. . closely combining management and education with interrogation.The management process is a process of continuing interrogation, Theremust be good interrogation so that "management can be tighter. Coedinterrogation will correctly distinguish between truthful and lying persons,so that management and education of each category can be moreappropriate. Interrogation and control must be comprehensive and mustinclude both thoughts and acts, both past and present, etc. Along with the
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security forces and other forces in the locality, the military organs must alsocontribute to guiding and organizing the good implementation of timely andclose interrogation and control of each person."
Enlisted personnel and NCOs were the first to be called for reeducation.Officer personnel were called next. Many senior ARVN officers wereimmediately sent to North Vietnam for incarceration and intelligenceexploitation. On 15 August 1975, Colonel General Tran Van Tra, Chairman ofthe Hoi Chi Minh City Military Management Committee, issued acommunique on reform study which stipulated the following for ARVNpersonnel: -
~ "ARVN officers of major rank and above, particularly those assigned tovarious branches of the puppet administration in Hoi Chi Minh City orthose who came to Hoi Chi*Minh City from other regions and provinces,who had reported and registered but had not yet had reform study,must gather at the Truong Vinh Ky High School, 235 Cong Hoa Street,on 17 and 18 August.
~ “Puppet Catholic, Buddhist and Protestant chaplain officers of allranks . . . must gather at Phu Tho University, Nguyen Van Thoai Street,on 17 and 18 August.
- “Aspirants of psychological warfare organs and units . . . must gather atthe Marie Curie High School, 159 Cong Ly Street, Saigon 3, on 17 and18 August.
~ “Puppet aspirants and master, sergeants of the riverine police andmilitary police. . . must gather at the*Chu Van An High School, MingMang Street, Saigon 5, on 17 and 18 August.
~ “Aspirants and NCOs of the puppet military security branch . . . mustgather at Phu Tho University, Nguyen Van Thoi Street,-on 19 and 20August.
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 120 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.