Vietnam Free Speech Campaign

The Campaign is now entering its closing stages and every effort will be needed to gain maximum support during the next week. A further application has been made to the Home Office for visas for members of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam to visit this country and take part in Teach-In's on Vietnam at Oxford, Cambridge and London University, (Imperial College). Arrangements for these meetings are already underway and if the visas are refused in spite of the pressure brought to bear through this petition then it is planned to use them as broadly-based platforms of protest at the British Government's attitude. The provisional closing date for the return of petition forms is March 17 - forms received after this date will be used in a second advertisement, Support received from Members of Parliament so far has been very encouraging, but I feel sure that support from this section will increase considerably during the coming week. A question to Roy Jenkins on.N,I.F. visas has been tabled by Frank Allaun for thursday March 9, Signatures received from M.P.'s so far include:- Frank Allaun, Donald Anderson, Ronald Atkins, James Bennett, Syd Bidwell, Albert Booth, Robert Davies, James Dickéns, Bob Edwards, Andrew Faulds, Ted Fletcher, Gerry Fowler, Eric Heffer, Peter Jackson, Hugh Jenkins, Anne Kerr, David Kerr, Russell Kerr, Arthur Lewis, Stan Newens, Eric Ogden, Stan Orme, Marcus Lipton, W.J. Owen, William Molloy,Brian Parkyn, Ernest Perry, John Rankin, Ben Whitaker, William Wilson and G. Roberts. Petitions have been sent to all Labour and Liberal M.P.'s as well as to a number of Conservatives. Signatures from academics are also coming in at an increased rate. This Ralph Miliband (L.S.E), Joseph Needham (Cambridge), Raymond Williams (Cambridge) and John Westergaard (L.S.E.). Those who have signed include Sean Gervasi (Oxford), C.A. Coulson (Oxford), J.D. Bernal (Birkbeck) A.C. Offord (London), and Jean Robinson (Cambridge). Universities represented so far include:- Birmingham, Aberdeen, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, London - Imperial College, Birkbeck, Bedford, Institute of Education, L.S.E. Middlesex Hospital, School of Oriental & African Studies and University College, Bradford, Exeter, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton, Surrey, Sussex, A section of the Free Speech Campaign is now underway to gain the support of Constituency Labour Party Officers throughout the country. In the first week of this section we have already received support from Darwen, Dumfries, Bute & Nth. Ayrshire, Haltenprice, Hornchurch, Newbury, Oldbury & Halesowen, Sutton Coldfield , Thirsk & Malton, Thornhill, ee Rotherham, Wandsworth Central, Wokingham and Woodside. Among the increased Trade Union support received in the last week has been £1 donation towards the Campaign from the David Brown Tractors Limited Shop Stewards Committee (Huddersfield) and a £10 donation from the South Wales area N.U.M. A large number of A.E.U. and T.G.W.U. branches have signed the petition. Leeds, Ealing and Nottingham & Dist. Trades Council, have also given their support.