NQ DATE
M/ 26 24 January 1973
CEASFIE IN VIET-NAM
The Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Whitlam,
made the following statement thi s afternoon welcoming President Nixon's
announcement of a ceasefire agreement in Viet-Nam.
" I am confident all Australians will rejoice at
President Nixon's historic announcement. The Australian
Government greets his statement with full approval andl
the deepest satisfaction.
I personally extend the warmest wishes to President
Nixon on an achievement which establishes him firmly in the
foremost ranks of modern statesmanship.
The conclusion of a ceasefire agreement is a
hopeful first step tovrards the goal of an eventual
reconciliation. between the contending forces in Viet-Nam.
Many months of patient and difficult negotiation will be
required before progress towards this goal can be achieved.
The divisions caused by years of hatred, bitterness and
mutual suspicion will add to the difficulties of an
already complex task.
As the fighting recedes, opportunities will
emerge for relief and reconstruction work in the devastated
areas of Viet-Nam North and South and in Indo-China as a
whole. It is in this field that the Australian Government
sees itself as making a particular contribution.
It is still too soon for detailed aid programmes
and machinery to have been worked out but as I agreed with
Mr Kirk in Wellington at the weekend, Australia, along with
New Zealand, is prepared to take part in an international
rehabilitation programme throughout Indo-China. We stand
ready to subscribe on a generous basis to international
efforts to restore and develop all the ravaged countries
of Indo-China. Indeed, it is to be hoped that, as the
energies of the people, particularly in South and North
Viet-Nam, become more and more engaged in the tasks of
peaceful reconstruction, so there will be a movement
from antagonism to reconciliation and cooperation throughout
the whole area." j