Ultra Catholic Madame Nhu, Dragon Lady of South Vietnam and Burning Buddhist Monks Delight
Diem and the Nhus were Catholic. Most Vietnamese were Buddhists. No political opposition parties were allowed in South Vietnam. As opposition to the government increased, more Vietnamese became attracted to Buddhism. Ngo Dinh Thuc, brother of President Diem, was the Catholic Archbishop of Hue, the center of Buddhism in Vietnam. In early 1963 there was a celebration in Hue to commemorate Thuc’s twenty-five years as bishop. Both Vietnamese and Roman Catholic flags were flown, which violated a law which permitted only the Vietnamese flag be flown in public. This event was followed by Buddha’s 2,587th birthday, and the Buddhists in Hue wanted to fly their flag. When the Diem government prohibited this, thousands of Buddhists demonstrated in protest. Nine were killed when government troops fired into the demonstrators. U. S. Ambassador William Trueheart urged Diem to make peace with the Buddhists by admitting fault, paying indemnity, and issuing a public apology for the incident. Instead