Evening star., 1946-08-04
France Faces Crisis
On Indo-Chinu Issue
Native Delegates to Conference
Hope for Communist Aid

Native Delegates to Conference
Hope for Communist Aid
By Pertinar.
PARIS, Aug. (By Wireless) A long
expected crisis has broken out in the
conference being held at Fontainebleau
by delegates Of the Wet Nam govern
ment (the native government which
rules Tonkin and Northern Annam) and
representatives of the French govern
ment to fix the status Of Indo- China.
French authority now is being asserted
with some vigor in the greater part of
1ndo-China. Therefore the Wet Nam
delegates realized some time ago that
they would have to concede to the
claims OF the French government much
more than they had planned when they
left their native land. They have made
up their minds now, however to break
away from the conference in hopes that
Premier Georges Bidault and his col
leagues may be intimidat9d.
In the French delegation to the Fon-
tainebleau Conference is to be found a
sembly who belongs to the Communist
| party. That man is reported to have
been all along in close contact and CO.
| operation with the Wet Nam represent
| atives. The latter are likely to enter
| tain the belief that French Communist
| Ministers will raise the whole question
of Indo-China in the French Cabinet
TnyIfNai1 $rN, 70
revise Frances policy.
Bidault had foreseen the Communists
might cause that kind of trouble and at
first he had refused to include members
of the French Parliament in the Fon-
tainebleau delegation However, under
pressure by Paul Rivet well-known an
thropologist and member of the Con-
stituent Assembly who Is afaliated with
the Communist party, Bidault had to
give way.
On paper, fairly satisfactory pat
tern has been worked out at Fontaine-
bleau for an Indo-Chinese federation,
and by today it is nearly complete The
1ndo-Chinese federation Is to consist
of five autonomous states, If not more.
Federal authority will be slight; it won't
mean much more than financial and
economic ordination.
The supreme authority in military
and diplomatic matters and others per-
tanning thereto Is to be vested in high
commissioner appointed neither by the
1ndo-Chinese Federation nor by the
government of metropolitan France, but
by all members of the French Empire
or of French union, to use the new ap-
pellation that is being employed.
In practice, Of course, the government
OF metropolitan France can hardly fail
to call the tune. But the above solution
is academic. 1t only takes account of
externals. The real issue can be stated
as follows:
Will Cochin China, by far the wealthies
part of Indo-China and French colony
since 1852 (all other regions Of Indo,
China being protectorates), be merged
with Tonkin and AMMAN into a single
autonomous state within the Indo-
Chinese federation? Or will Cochin
China enter the Indo-C Chinese federation
as distinct unit?
Were Cochin China, Tonkin and An
nam to be constituted as single state,
the Indo-Chinese federation would be
farce. Cambodia and Laos, the two
other members of the federation, could
not match their big partner in material,
power and influence.
The Wet Nam government, possessing
Cochin China as we'll as Tonkin-plus
South and North Annam-would treat
them as mere dependencies. French
power would not have the least chance
to survive under any form.
Contrariwise, If Cochin China man
ages to remain itself and, within the
federation, is placed on a footing of
equality with Tonkin and AMMAN, all
odds are that the French Empire in the
Far East will win new lease on life,
Bolstered by retention of Cochin China,
French authority most likely would
prove the dominant factor in Indo-
China.
Last March the handful Of French
military officers and officials who first
returned to Indo-China had to struggle
against heavy odds. No French troops
were at hand and Chinese troops were
everywhere. Wet Nam leaders exacted
from these officials a promise of a
referendum in Cochin China to ascer-
tain whether that country wished to
join Wet Nam or preferred to have a
government of its own. Out Of that
beginning arises the controversy which
today has all but wrecked the Fontaine-
leau Conference.
Admiral Thierry D'Argenlieu, French
high commissioner to Indo- China, has
appointed a provisional government
for Cochin China which natives out
number the French-to take charge Of
public affairs in the interim period.
D'Argenlieu acted within Frances
rights, since Cochin China is a French
colony.
Today, D'Argenlieu and his advisers
held conference in Dallat with dele
gates Of Cochin China, Laos and Cam
bodia-a conference where the status
OF Indo-China was to be discussed in
the same way as at Fontainebleau.
Wet Nam leaders had been given their