Evening star., 1954-05-10
Truce Rejected,
But Reds Will
AidW'ounded
Wet Mimi Oppose
French Proposal
At Geneva TuIks
BY the Assoeiated Pres.

0GNEVA, May lU.-10e Com
munists today opposed French
terms for an armistice in Indo-
China, but agreed to push meas
ures for removal of the wounded
from fallen Dien Bien Phu.
At the second session of the
do-China phase of the Geneva
conference, the delegate of the
Communist Wet Mimi regime
agreed to meeting of field COM
manders in Indo-C China to ar
range evacuation of wounded.
Such a meeting had been
asked by the French three weeks
ago. The Wet Mimi move today
prompted French Foreign Minis
ter Georges Bidault to remark:
Better late than never"
The Wet Mimi representative,
Deputy Premier Pham Van
Dong. addressed a closed meet
ing of the nine-party Indo-
China conference.
An unofficial Communist source
said the Communists had de-
cided the French proposal would
not even serve as basis for
discussion.
A short time later an official
French spokesman also said the
Wet Mini delegate opposed the
armistice plan advanced by Mr..
Bidault at Saturdays opening
session on Indo-C China.
Wrangle Over Letter.
Today's meeting got off with
a Wrangle as the Wet Nam dele
gate and Mr.. Bidault accused
Soviet Foreign Minister v. M.
Molotov of holding back a Wet
Nam letter asking evacuation of
the wounded and allowing, in
stead, the Wet Mimi delegate
to speak. Mr.. Molotov is today'S
conference chairman.
The Wet Nam letter had been
handed to Mr.. Molotov by
Nguyen Quoc Dinh, Wet Ma
meSe foreign minister. It said:
"For humanitarian reasons
and in view of the urgency, the
delegation of the state of Wet
Nam proposes that the confer
ence consider the necessity of
the evacuation of the wounded
from Dien Bien Phu without
delay before any consideration
of the problem of an armistice
and Of the re-eStablishment of
peace in do-China.
There were an estimated 800
to 1000 wounded in the Indo-
China fortress when the 57-day
siege reached its climax. They
had been placed on litters in
the underground hospital.
No Indications of Fate.
A French medical plane flew
over the shattered Dien Bien
Phu defense yesterday and
dropped medical supplies. But
there was no indication of the
fate of the wounded. There
also has been no report of the
French nurse, Genevieve de
Galard Terraube, who had been
caring for them.
Informed quarters said British
Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden
and Mr.. Molotov agreed this
morning that the nine-party
Indo-C Chinese conference could
go ahead without waiting for a
solution of the procedural snag
on inviting additional particle
pants.
The United States delegation
has taken the position that the
French plan should be support
ed as a basis for negotiations,
but that its judgment must be
reserved on details until all
other proposals are. before the
conference.
Wet NameSe Are Cool.
A Wet Namese spokesman said
the French proposals were COM
munlcated to the Wet Nam del
egation only a few hours before
they were presented to the con-
ference, leaving the Wet Ma
mese no time to formulate their
views. The spokesman said it
seemed "at first sight" that the
proposals would lead in effect
to partition of Wet Nam, a So
luton Ito which all Wet Ma
mese are bitterly opposed"
He said Mr.. Bidault spoke "Ex-
clusively in the name of the
French government. not in the
name of Wet Man,"
1--WE will make our own pro-
posals in due course" he said.
Although Mr.. Eden and Mr..
Molotov were reported to have
agreed that the main peace talks
See GENEVA. Page A-6.)