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Rotary Club, Grandville, MI, October 30, 1972
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4526464
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Rotary Club, Grandville, MI, October 30, 1972
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Peace negotiations
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1972
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The original documents are located in Box D34, folder "Rotary Club, Grandville, MI,
October 30, 1972" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at
the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Moffice
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON MONDAY, OCT. 30, 1972
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the Grandville Rotary Club
The Vietnam peace agreement which is near at hand is based on a proposal made
last May 8 by President Nixon, plus an adaptation of the proposal the President
offered the North Vietnamese last Jan. 25.
The agreement to agree on peace terms became possible because of a break-
through which occurred Oct. 8 at Paris. On that date the North Vietnamese for the
first time made a proposal which made possible a speedup in the negotiations. In
fact, that proposal marked the first time the North Vietnamese had agreed to
negotiate on a concrete basis.
What happened was that the North Vietnamese agreed to concentrate on bring-
ing the fighting to an end and also agreed to some general principles for determining
the political evolution of South Vietnam. They thus came around to a position the
United States had always taken in the negotiations.
What were the specifics of the breakthrough? The North Vietnamese dropped
their demand for a coalition government and they dropped their demand that the
present Saigon government be scuttled before the political evolution could proceed.
There are those who maintain we could have obtained the same peace terms
four years ago. This is sheer fantasy. Those who utter such statements apparently
are forgetting that all negotiators Averell Harriman and Cyrus Vance were able to
get agreement on in 1968 was the shape of the Paris bargaining table. They are
forgetting that the North Vietnamese up to this point have been completely
intransigent. What they probably have in mind is that we could have obtained
peace through surrender four years ago -- the kind of peace they have been advocat-
ing right along.
By contrast with capitulation, what are the peace terms President Nixon has
succeeded in negotiating? They call for a ceasefire in place, with a total
prohibition against the reinforcement of North Vietnamese troops; a withdrawal of
U. S. forces within 60 days of the signing of an agreement; a return of all U. S.
prisoners within 60 days after the agreement comes into force; free and democratic
elections in South Vietnam under international supervision, with the two sides in
Vietnam negotiating the timing of the elections, the nature of the elections, and
the offices for which the elections would be held; and the creation of an
institution called the National Council of Reconciliation and Concord which would
promote the maintenance of the ceasefire and would supervise the elections.
Let me note that the National Council of Reconciliation and Concord somewhat
resembles the election commission the United States proposed on Jan. 25.
The proposed peace agreement provides that the disposition of Vietnamese
armed forces in the South would be settled through negotiations between the two
sides. It also provides for the future unification of Vietnam by negotiations
between the two parties, without military pressure or foreign interference and
without annexation of territory.
The agreement further provides that foreign countries would withdraw their
forces from Laos and Cambodia and that the independence and sovereignty of those
two countries would be respected in future.
I think these are the best possible terms we can negotiate, and nothing
should be allowed to block a peace settlement on those terms. As negotiator
Henry Kissinger has said, peace in Vietnam is within reach "in a matter of weeks
or less." We should move toward that goal with all prudent speed.
###
Digitized from Box D34 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Office Copy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON MONDAY, OCT. 30, 1972
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the Grandville Rotary Club
The Vietnam peace agreement which is near at hand is based on a proposal made
last May 8 by President Nixon, plus an adaptation of the proposal the President
offered the North Vietnamese last Jan. 25.
The agreement to agree on peace terms became possible because of a break-
through which occurred Oct. 8 at Paris. On that date the North Vietnamese for the
first time made a proposal which made possible a speedup in the negotiations. In
fact, that proposal marked the first time the North Vietnamese had agreed to
negotiate on a concrete basis.
What happened was that the North Vietnamese agreed to concentrate on bring-
ing the fighting to an end and also agreed to some general principles for determining
the political evolution of South Vietnam. They thus came around to a position the
United States had always taken in the negotiations.
What were the specifics of the breakthrough? The North Vietnamese dropped
their demand for a coalition government and they dropped their demand that the
present Saigon government be scuttled before the political evolution could proceed.
There are those who maintain we could have obtained the same peace terms
four years ago. This is sheer fantasy. Those who utter such statements apparently
are forgetting that all negotiators Averell Harriman and Cyrus Vance were able to
get agreement on in 1968 was the shape of the Paris bargaining table. They are
forgetting that the North Vietnamese up to this point have been completely
intransigent. What they probably have in mind is that we could have obtained
peace through surrender four years ago -- the kind of peace they have been advocat-
ing right along.
By contrast with capitulation, what are the peace terms President Nixon has
succeeded in negotiating? They call for a ceasefire in place, with a total
prohibition against the reinforcement of North Vietnamese troops; a withdrawal of
U. S. forces within 60 days of the signing of an agreement; a return of all U. S.
prisoners within 60 days after the agreement comes into force; free and democratic
elections in South Vietnam under international supervision, with the two sides in
Vietnam negotiating the timing of the elections, the nature of the elections, and
the offices for which the elections would be held; and the creation of an
institution called the National Council of Reconciliation and Concord which would
promote the maintenance of the ceasefire and would supervise the elections.
Let me note that the National Council of Reconciliation and Concord somewhat
resembles the election commission the United States proposed on Jan. 25.
The proposed peace agreement provides that the disposition of Vietnamese
armed forces in the South would be settled through negotiations between the two
sides. It also provides for the future unification of Vietnam by negotiations
between the two parties, without military pressure or foreign interference and
without annexation of territory.
The agreement further provides that foreign countries would withdraw their
forces from Laos and Cambodia and that the independence and sovereignty of those
two countries would be respected in future.
I think these are the best possible terms we can negotiate, and nothing
should be allowed to block a peace settlement on those terms. As negotiator
Henry Kissinger has said, peace in Vietnam is within reach "in a matter of weeks
or less." We should move toward that goal with all prudent speed.
###
GERALD FORD LIBRARY