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121-1065: (Redirected from Nhu ) NHU , Nhu or Như may refer to People [ edit ] Ngô Đình Nhu (1910–1963), chief political advisor to his brother, Ngô Đình Diệm , president of South Vietnam Madame Nhu (1924–2011), wife to Ngô Đình Nhu , born Trần Lệ Xuân Như Loan (born 1980), Vietnamese singer, born Lê Thị Như Loan Như Quỳnh (actress) (born 1954), Vietnamese actress, born Nguyễn Như Quỳnh Như Quỳnh (singer) (born 1970), Vietnamese singer, born Lê Lâm Quỳnh Như Places [ edit ] Nanhua University (founded 1996, Chinese: 南華大學 ), Taiwanese university Như Cố , commune and village in Bắc Kạn Province, northern Vietnam Như Thanh District , district of Thanh Hóa Province, central Vietnam Như Xuân District , district of Thanh Hóa Province, central Vietnam Other [ edit ] BBC Natural History Unit , factual programming department of

242-691: A socialist state and ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany . It was closely aligned with communist Russia and the Soviet Union . It had secret police, commonly referred to as the Stasi , which made use of an extensive network of civilian informers. From the 1970's, the main form of political, cultural and religious repression practiced by the Stasi, was a form of 'silent repression' called Zersetzung ("Decomposition"). This involved

363-465: A Catholic convert from Buddhism and the de facto first lady (due to Diệm's bachelor life), inflamed the situation by mockingly applauding the suicides of Thích Quảng Đức and others, referring to them as "barbecues", while Nhu stated "if the Buddhists want to have another barbecue, I will be glad to supply the gasoline". 7 July was the ninth anniversary of Diệm's 1954 ascension to Prime Minister of

484-625: A Unity Congress, a forum of various anti-communist nationalists such as Nguyễn Tôn Hoàn 's Nationalist Party of Greater Vietnam , various Catholic groups and activists, as well as the Hòa Hảo and Cao Đài religious sects, and the Bình Xuyên organised crime syndicate. Nhu's real objective was to gain publicity for Diệm, especially while Bảo Đại was overseas and unable to respond effectively. The conference turned into chaos, but Nhu achieved his objective of gaining publicity for his brother; additionally,

605-601: A blind eye to regime loyalists. Nhu was an opium addict and Adolf Hitler admirer. He modeled the Cần Lao secret party apparatus on those designed by the Nazi Party decades earlier. Nhu and his wife amassed a fortune by running numbers and lottery rackets, manipulating currency and extorting money from Saigon businesses. In 1956, Diệm created a rubber stamp unicameral legislature, the National Assembly. Nhu won

726-806: A diplomatic reception at Gia Long Palace , Roger Lalouette , the French ambassador to South Vietnam and Ramchundur Goburdhun , the Indian Chief Commissioner of the International Control Commission (ICC), introduced Nhu to Mieczysław Maneli , the Polish Commissioner to the ICC. Lalouette had promoting a peace plan calling for a federation of the two Vietnams. During a visit to Hanoi, Maneli had met with Ho Chi Minh and Phạm Văn Đồng and been asked to take

847-414: A direct phone line to the palace, so the coup generals believed that the brothers were still besieged inside Gia Long. Neither the rebels nor the loyalist Presidential Guard had any idea that at 21:00 they were about to fight for an empty building, leading to futile deaths. Diệm and Nhu refused to surrender, so the 5th Division of Colonel Nguyễn Văn Thiệu besieged the palace and captured it by dawn. In

968-480: A group of ARVN generals and colonels were planning a coup, but didn't know Tôn Thất Đính was among them. Nhu ordered Đính and Tung to plan a fake coup against the Ngô family. One of Nhu's objectives was to trick dissidents into joining the false uprising so that they could be identified and eliminated. Another objective of the stunt was to give a false impression of the strength of the regime. Codenamed Operation Bravo ,

1089-537: A message to Nhu to discuss the peace offer. On 2 September 1963, Maneli followed up his first meeting with Nhu with another at Nhu's office in the Gia Long Palace. Nhu spoke at much length to Maneli about his wish to achieve a synthesis of Catholicism and Marxism as he maintained that his real enemy was not Communism, but capitalism. Shortly afterwards, Nhu met with the American columnist Joseph Alsop who

1210-695: A network of informants known as the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (or CDR) to monitor government opponents. Secret state police have operated in secret among CDR groups, and most adult Cubans are officially members. CDR are tasked with informing on other Cubans and monitoring activity in their neighborhoods. During the Truman Doctrine , Mexican president Miguel Alemán Valdés created DFS to combat communist opposition. The agency

1331-420: A network of provincial and local State Security Bureaus, integrated with local Public Security Bureaus which make up part of the policing system of China. State security agents are People's Police officers with the dual function of law enforcement and repressing political dissent. State security bureaus and public security bureaus are functionally co-located within the same buildings as each other. The MSS and

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1452-456: A personalist-driven social revolution to strengthen the society and country. Nhu was known for making long, abstract and difficult-to-understand speeches, something which many Vietnamese resented. Although Nhu was known for his pretensions as an intellectual and political philosopher, he was to become quite effective as a political organizer. Around 1950, Nhu started the forerunner of what would become Cần Lao (Personalist Labor Party), forming

1573-468: A role in the assassination attempt. The relationship between the two countries became strained thereafter, and Cambodia gave refuge to Vietnamese military personnel involved in attempts to overthrow Diệm. Colonel Nguyễn Chánh Thi and Lieutenant Colonel Vương Văn Đông were given immediate refuge after a failed coup in November 1960 , and Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilot Lieutenant Nguyễn Văn Cử

1694-589: A seat in the body, ostensibly as an independent, but never bothered to attend a single session of debate or vote, but this made no difference as Diệm's policies were overwhelmingly approved in any formal show of numbers. In June 1958, the ARVN were involved in border clashes with Cambodia and made gains in the northeastern Cambodian province of Stung Treng . This provoked a war of words between Diệm and Sihanouk. On 31 August 1959, Nhu failed in an attempt to assassinate Sihanouk. He ordered his agents to send parcel bombs to

1815-482: A secret police agency which acted extra-judicially and was involved in such activities as kidnapping a presidential candidate and the assassination of Park Chung-hee , among other things. In Taiwan, the National Security Bureau , established in 1954, is the regime's main intelligence agency. The Taiwan Garrison Command acted as a secret police/national security body which existed as a branch of

1936-408: A statement blaming Nhu for the pagoda raids and absolving the army of culpability. Lodge believed Nhu's influence had risen to unprecedented levels and that Nhu's divide and conquer tactics had split the military into three power groups. At the same time as Buddhist crisis was raging, a French diplomatic initiative known to the historians as the "Maneli affair" was taking place. On 25 August 1963, at

2057-464: A sudden change saw an upsurge of condemnation against Bảo Đại's policies of coexistence with France. Nhu's brother Diệm had been appointed Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam by Bảo Đại after the French had been defeated at Điện Biên Phủ . At the start of 1955, French Indochina was dissolved, leaving Diệm in temporary control of the south. A referendum was scheduled for 23 October 1955 to determine

2178-656: A wooded area in a nearby park, where they were picked up and taken to a supporter's house in the Chinese merchant district of Cholon . Nhu was reported to have suggested to Diệm that the brothers split up, arguing that this would enhance their chances of survival. Nhu proposed that one travel to join Cao's IV Corps, while the other would go to the II Corps of General Nguyễn Khánh in the Central Highlands. Nhu believed

2299-533: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ng%C3%B4 %C4%90%C3%ACnh Nhu Ngô Đình Nhu ( listen ; 7 October 1910 – 2 November 1963; baptismal name James (Vietnamese: Giacôbê) was a Vietnamese archivist and politician. He was the younger brother and State Counsellor of South Vietnam 's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm . Although he held no formal executive position, he wielded immense unofficial power, exercising personal command of both

2420-693: Is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in sex life scandles [sic] and plain blackmail when they should be catching criminals. They also have a habit of sneering at local law enforcement officers. Yet in spite of these sentiments, Truman took no action to try to abolish the FBI, or even more modest reforms. Beginning a decade later in 1956, Hoover's FBI began the COINTELPRO project, aimed at suppressing domestic political opponents. Among other targets, this included Martin Luther King Jr. During

2541-694: The ARVN Special Forces (a paramilitary unit which served as the Ngô family's de facto private army ) and the Cần Lao political apparatus (also known as the Personalist Labor Party) which served as the regime's de facto secret police . In his early years, Nhu was a quiet and bookish individual who showed little inclination towards the political path taken by his elder brothers. While training as an archivist in France, Nhu adopted

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2662-688: The Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) was the secret police of President Robert Mugabe who is responsible for detaining, torturing, mass beating, raping and starving thousands of civilians on the orders of Mugabe. In East Asia , the Embroidered Uniform Guard ( Chinese : 錦衣衞 ; pinyin : Jǐnyīwèi ) of the Ming dynasty was founded in the 1360s by the Hongwu Emperor and served as

2783-725: The Communist Party of Cuba , the Ministry of the Interior has served a number of secret policing functions. As recently as 1999, the Human Rights Watch reported that repression of dissidents was routine, albeit harsher after heightened periods of opposition activity. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor under the US State Department reported that Cuba's Ministry of the Interior utilizes

2904-572: The Diệu Đế Pagoda in Huế. As troops attempted to erect a barricade across the bridge leading to the pagoda, the crowd fought back, and the military finally took control after five hours, leaving an estimated 30 dead and 200 wounded. Some 500 people were arrested in the city, and 17 of the 47 professors at Huế University , who had resigned earlier in the week in protest against the family's policies, were arrested. The raids were repeated in cities and towns across

3025-569: The Double Seven Day scuffle . Browne took photos of Arnett's bloodied face, and while the police smashed his camera, the film survived. Photos of Arnett's bloodied face were circulated in US newspapers and caused further embarrassment for Diệm and Nhu. The Saigon press corps officially protest Nhu's "open physical intimidation to prevent the covering of news which we feel Americans have a right to know". There were persistent reports that Nhu

3146-566: The Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police, Gestapo ) and Geheime Feldpolizei (Secret Field Police, GFP) were a secret police organization used to identify and eliminate opposition, including suspected organized resistance. Its claimed main duty, according to a 1936 law, was "to investigate and suppress all anti-State tendencies". One method used to spy on citizens was to intercept letters or telephone calls. They encouraged ordinary Germans to inform on each other. As part of

3267-788: The Getúlio Vargas dictatorship , between 1930 and 1946, the Department of Political and Social Order (DOPS) was the government's secret police. During the military dictatorship in Brazil , DOPS was employed by the military regime along with the Department of Information Operations - Center for Internal Defense Operations (or DOI-CODI) and the National Intelligence Service (or SNI), and engaged in kidnappings, torture, and attacks against theaters and bookstores. The National Intelligence Directorate , or DINA,

3388-707: The Imperial Japanese Navy known as the Tokkeitai . However, their civilian counterpart known as the Tokkō was formed in 1911. Its task consisted of controlling political groups and ideologies in Imperial Japan , resembling closer the other secret police agencies of the time period. For this it earned the nickname "the Thought Police". The Korean Central Intelligence Agency or KCIA was

3509-1058: The Italian Social Republic (RSI), OVRA were a fascist Italian secret police organization. Ivan the Terrible implemented Oprichnina in Russia between 1565 and 1572. In the Russian Empire , the secret police forces were the Third Section of the Imperial Chancery and then the Okhrana . Agents of the Okhrana were vital in identifying and suppressing opponents of the Tsar. The Okhrana engaged in torture and infiltration of opponents. They infiltrated labor unions, political parties, and newspapers. After

3630-811: The Middle East , located in Baghdad. Shurta was one of the most both powerful intelligence and secret police organizations of the Abbasid era which was led by the Abbasids in the 8th and 9th centuries during the Golden Age of Islam . In Japan, the Kenpeitai existed from 1881 to 1945 and were described as secret police by the Australian War Memorial . It had an equivalent branch in

3751-707: The Ministry of Public Security control the overall national police network of China and the two agencies share resources and closely coordinate with each other. In British Hong Kong , the Special Branch was established in 1934 originally as an anti-communist squad under MI5 with assistance from MI6 . The branch later joined the Crime Department of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force in 1946 and focused on preventing pro-KMT rightists and pro-CCP leftists from infiltrating

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3872-705: The Reich Security Main Office , it was also a key organizer of the Holocaust . Although the Gestapo had a relatively small number of personnel (32,000 in 1944), "it maximized these small resources through informants and a large number of denunciations from the local population". After the defeat of the Nazis in World War II , Germany was split into West and East Germany . East Germany became

3993-494: The Roman Catholic ideology of personalism , although critics claimed that he misused that philosophy. Upon returning to Vietnam, he helped his brother in his quest for political power, and Nhu proved an astute and ruthless tactician and strategist, helping Diệm to gain more leverage and outwit rivals. During this time, he formed and handpicked the members of the secret Cần Lao Party, which swore its personal allegiance to

4114-635: The Russian Revolution , the Soviet Union established the Cheka , OGPU , NKVD , NKGB , and MVD . Cheka, as an authorized secret police force under the rule of the Bolsheviks, suppressed political opponents during the Red Terror . It also enacted counterintelligence operations such as Operation Trust , in which it set up a fake anti-Bolshevik organization to identify opponents. It was

4235-618: The State of Vietnam , an associated state of the French Union became increasingly unpopular as the citizens became increasingly impatient with his strategy of allying with the French against the communists in return for gradually increased autonomy and eventual independence. Many felt that the Bảo Đại's policies would never deliver meaningful self-determination. In late-1953, Nhu began to try to foment and exploit anti-Bảo Đại sentiment. He organised

4356-597: The Viet Cong but in Saigon to maintain the authoritarian rule of his family. Tortures and killings of "communist suspects" were committed on a daily basis, and extended beyond communists to anti-communist dissidents and anti-corruption whistleblowers. His agents infiltrated labor unions and social organizations, and he expanded the police forces from 20 to 32 officers. They conducted arrests without warrants and selective suppression of criminal activity and graft while turning

4477-419: The rule of law . People apprehended by the secret police are often arbitrarily arrested and detained without due process. While in detention, arrestees may be tortured or subjected to inhumane treatment. Suspects may not receive a public trial , and instead may be convicted in a kangaroo court -style show trial , or by a secret tribunal. Secret police known to have used these approaches in history included

4598-481: The 1960 coup attempt. Nhu and Tung remained unaware of Đình's switch in loyalties. Đình told them fresh troops were needed in the capital, opining that "If we move reserves into the city, the Americans will be angry. They'll complain that we're not fighting the war. So we must camouflage our plan by sending the special forces out to the country. That will deceive them." Nhu had no idea that Đình's real intention

4719-572: The American officials onto the army. In doing so, he intended to dent the public and American confidence in the senior army officers, who were plotting against him. Nhu hoped the Buddhist majority and the Americans would blame the army for the raids and become less inclined to support a coup by the generals. In the past, Nhu's Machiavellian tactics in playing the generals against one another had kept conspirators off-balance and thwarted coup attempts. Squads of Special Forces and combat police flattened

4840-696: The BBC Cuong Nhu (founded 1965, Vietnamese: Cương Nhu ), martial arts school founded by Ngô Đồng Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title NHU . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NHU&oldid=1256741441 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Vietnamese-language text Articles containing Chinese-language text Short description

4961-489: The Buddhist majority to stage widespread demonstrations against Diệm, who discriminated in favour of Catholics, for religious equality. The movement threatened the stability of the family's rule. Nhu was known to favor a stronger line against the Buddhists. He had made statements calling for the suppression of the protests through his English-language newspaper, the Times of Vietnam . During this time, his wife Madame Nhu, herself

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5082-595: The Cambodian leader. Two suitcases were delivered to the Sihanouks' palace, one addressed to the head of state, and the other to Prince Vakrivan, his head of protocol. The deliveries were labeled as originating from an American engineer who had previously worked in Cambodia and purported to contain gifts from Hong Kong. Sihanouk's package contained a bomb, but the other did not; however, Vakrivan opened both on behalf of

5203-458: The Cần Lao was used to mobilize support for Diệm's political campaign. Around 1953, Nhu began an alliance with Trần Quốc Bửu, a trade unionist who headed the Vietnamese Confederation of Christian Workers. Nhu and his supporters began publishing a Saigon journal called Xa Hoi ( Society ), which endorsed Bửu's movement and trade unionism in general. At the time, opportunities for opposition politicians began to open up. Bảo Đại , head of state of

5324-408: The French colonialists jockeyed for political control. Nhu became more politically active, especially in helping his brothers to establish a political base among Vietnamese Catholics. By this time, Khôi had been assassinated by the communists, so Diệm became the leading political figure in the family. Diệm had little success in the late 1940s and went into exile in 1950 to campaign from abroad after

5445-463: The French colonisation. After the French deposed the emperor on the pretext of insanity, Khả retired in protest and became a farmer. Nhu was the fourth of six sons, born in 1910. In his early years, Nhu was aloof from politics and was regarded as a bookish and quiet personality who preferred academic pursuits. By the 1920s, his three elder brothers Ngô Đình Khôi , Ngô Đình Thục and Ngô Đình Diệm were becoming prominent figures in Vietnam. Thục became

5566-440: The Joint General Staff headquarters, Diệm sat silently, but Nhu and the captain [Nhung] began to insult each other. I don't know who started it. The name-calling grew passionate. The captain had hated Nhu before. Now he was charged with emotion." Nghia said that "[Nhung] lunged at Nhu with a bayonet and stabbed him again and again, maybe fifteen or twenty times. Still in a rage, he turned to Diệm, took out his revolver and shot him in

5687-540: The Kennedy administration sent Cable 243 to Lodge in Saigon, marking a change in American policy. The message advised Lodge to seek the removal of the Nhus from power, and to look for alternative leadership options if Diệm refused to remove them. As the probability of Diệm doing so was seen as highly unlikely, the message effectively meant the fomenting of a coup. Lodge replied that there was no hope of Diệm removing Nhu, and began to make contact with possible coup plotters through CIA agents. The Voice of America broadcast

5808-414: The Ngô family by this time. The generals played on Nhu's prejudices by saying that the pagodas were infiltrated with communists and that they needed to be dispersed. Hearing this, the brothers agreed to declare martial law effective on the next day, without consulting the cabinet. The real purpose of the generals' request was to maneuver troops in readiness for a coup, and they had no concrete plans to use

5929-413: The Ngô family, provided their power base and eventually became their secret police force. Nhu remained as its head until his own assassination. In 1955, Nhu's supporters helped intimidate the public and rig the 1955 State of Vietnam referendum that ensconced his elder brother, Diệm, in power. Nhu used the Cần Lao, which he organised into cells, to infiltrate every part of society to root out opposition to

6050-411: The Ngô family. In 1959, he organized a failed assassination attempt via mail bomb on Prince Sihanouk , the prime minister of neighbouring Cambodia , with whom relations had become strained. Nhu publicly extolled his own intellectual abilities. He was known for making such public statements as promising to demolish the Xá Lợi Pagoda and vowing to kill his estranged father-in-law, Trần Văn Chương , who

6171-405: The Presidential Guard hopelessly outnumbered, Diệm and Nhu hurriedly packed and escaped the palace, with two loyalists: Cao Xuân Vỹ, head of Nhu's Republican Youth, and Air Force Captain Đỗ Thọ, Diệm's aide-de-camp. Thọ's uncle was Colonel Đỗ Mậu , the director of military security and a participant in the coup plot. The brothers were believed to have escaped through a secret tunnel, and emerged in

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6292-553: The Republic of China Armed Forces. The agency was established at the end of World War II and operated throughout the Cold War. It was disbanded on 1 August 1992. It was responsible for suppressing activities viewed as promoting democracy and Taiwan independence. Secret police organizations originated in 18th-century Europe after the French Revolution and the Congress of Vienna . Such operations were established in an effort to detect any possible conspiracies or revolutionary subversion. The peak of secret-police operations in most of Europe

6413-471: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Huế in 1960. In 1932, Diệm became the interior minister but resigned within a few months after realising that he would not be given any real power. Nhu showed little interest in following in their footsteps. Nhu completed a bachelor's degree in literature in Paris and then studied paleography and librarianship, graduating from the École Nationale des Chartes , an archivists' school in Paris. He returned to Vietnam from France at

6534-473: The State Security and declared the new National Security Agency would replace it and be responsible for its internal security and counter-terrorist duties. In Uganda , the State Research Bureau (SRB) was a secret police organisation for President Idi Amin . The Bureau tortured many Ugandans, operating on behalf of a regime responsible for more than five hundred thousand violent deaths. The SRB attempted to infiltrate every area of Ugandan life. In Zimbabwe,

6655-459: The State of Vietnam. American pressmen had been alerted to a Buddhist demonstration to coincide with Double Seven Day at the Chanatareansey Pagoda in northern Saigon. When the Buddhists filed out of the pagoda into an adjacent alley, they were blocked by Nhu's secret police. When Peter Arnett and Malcolm Browne began taking photos, the police punched Arnett in the nose, floored him, threw rocks and broke his camera. This incident became known as

6776-412: The United States and used to interrogate them using torture. After the 2011 revolution , demonstrators demanded that the service be dissolved and several buildings (including the headquarters in Nasr City) were stormed by protesters that gathered evidence of torture tools, secret cells and documents showing surveillance on citizens. On March 15 2011, Egypt's Minister of Interior announced the dissolution of

6897-654: The Venezuelan government. From 1951 until 1953, it operated a prison camp on Guasina Island  [ es ] , which was effectively a forced labour camp . The Seguridad Nacional was abolished following the overthrow of Pérez Jiménez on 23 January 1958. During the crisis in Venezuela and Venezuelan protests , Vice Presidents Tareck El Aissami and Delcy Rodríguez have been accused of using SEBIN to oppress political demonstrations. SEBIN director and general Manuel Cristopher Figuera reported that SEBIN would torture political demonstrators during interrogation sessions. Ilan Berman and J. Michael Waller describe

7018-409: The additional control of the 7th Division based in Mỹ Tho , south of the capital, which was previously assigned to Diệm loyalist General Huỳnh Văn Cao , who was in charge of the IV Corps in the Mekong Delta . The reassignment of the 7th Division to Đính gave his III Corps complete encirclement of Saigon. The encirclement would prevent Cao from storming the capital to save Diệm as he had done during

7139-440: The colony. The National Security Department in the current HKSAR is a secret police agency created after the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law . The NSD has accused and arrested dissenting voices in Hong Kong for "endangering" the national security, including pro-democracy politicians, protestors, and journalists. Some websites were also reportedly banned by the department, including Hong Kong Watch . In

7260-402: The communists sentenced him to death in absentia. Up to this point, Nhu had kept a relatively low-key profile. However, he appeared to imbue personalist ideas into his elder brother, who used the philosophy's terminology in his speeches. Diệm and Nhu thought that personalism went well with their "Third Force" anti-communist and anti-colonial ideology. After 1950, Nhu became a leading figure in

7381-411: The conspirators, such as the titular but relatively powerless Vice President Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ , CIA officer Lucien Conein , who was on assignment in Vietnam as a military adviser, and Lodge. These would then be blamed on "neutralist and pro-communist elements". Tung would then announce the formation of a "revolutionary government" consisting of opposition activists who had not consented to being named in

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7502-572: The country. The total number of dead and disappeared was never confirmed, but estimates range up to several hundred. At least 1,400 were arrested. No further mass Buddhist protests occurred during the remainder of Diệm's rule, which would amount to little more than two more months, in any event. Government sources claimed that at the Xá Lợi, Ấn Quang and other pagodas, soldiers had found machine guns, ammunition, plastic explosives, homemade mines, daggers, and Viet Cong documents; these had been planted by Nhu's men. A few days later, Madame Nhu said that

7623-478: The dynasty's secret police until the collapse of Ming rule in 1644. Originally, their main functions were to serve as the emperor's bodyguard and to spy on his subjects and report any plots of rebellion or regicide directly to the emperor. Over time, the organization took on law enforcement and judicial functions and grew to be immensely powerful, with the power to overrule ordinary judicial rulings and to investigate, interrogate, and punish anyone, including members of

7744-403: The early morning of 2 November, Diệm and Nhu agreed to surrender. The ARVN officers had promised the Ngô brothers safe exile and an "honorable retirement". The U.S. did not want Diệm or Nhu near Vietnam "because of the plots they will mount to try to regain power". When Dương Văn Minh found the palace empty, he was angered, but was soon informed of the Ngô brothers' location. Nhu and Diệm fled to

7865-414: The embassy and stage it as a riot provoked by communists and other enemies of the United States. Another notable instance of religious warfare was perpetrated by Nhu's right-hand man in 1963. A hugely oversized carp was found swimming in a small pond near Đà Nẵng . Local Buddhists began to believe that the fish was a reincarnation of one of Gautama Buddha's disciples. As more people made pilgrimages to

7986-418: The evening of 18 August, a group of senior ARVN generals met to discuss the Buddhist crisis and decided that the imposition of martial law was needed to disperse the monks who had gathered in Saigon and other regional cities and return them to their original pagodas in the rural areas. On 20 August they met Nhu for consultations and made their request. Most of the group were already involved in plotting against

8107-405: The fall of a totalitarian regime. Arbitrary detention , abduction and forced disappearance , torture , and assassination are all tools wielded by secret police "to prevent, investigate, or punish (real or imagined) opposition." Because secret police typically act with great discretionary powers "to decide what is a crime" and are a tool used to target political opponents, they operate outside

8228-537: The first stage of the scheme would involve some of Tung's loyalist soldiers, disguised as insurgents led by apparently renegade junior officers, faking a coup and vandalising the capital. During the orchestrated chaos of the first coup, the disguised loyalists would riot and in the ensuing mayhem, kill the leading coup plotters, such as Generals Dương Văn Minh , Trần Văn Đôn , Lê Văn Kim and junior officers assisting them. The loyalists and some of Nhu's underworld connections were also to kill some figures who were assisting

8349-469: The future direction of the south. It was contested by Bảo Đại, who advocated for the restoration of the monarchy, while Diệm ran on a "republican" platform. The elections were held, with Nhu and the family's Cần Lao political apparatus, which supplied Diệm's electoral base, as well as organising and supervising elections. Campaigning for Bảo Đại was prohibited, and the result was rigged, with Bảo Đại supporters attacked by Nhu's workers. Diệm recorded 98.2% of

8470-551: The gates of the Xá Lợi Pagoda and smashed their way in at around 00:20, 21 August 1963. Nhu's men were armed with pistols, submachine guns, carbines, shotguns, grenades and tear gas. The red bereted Special Forces were joined by truckloads of steel-helmeted combat police in army camouflage uniforms. Two of Nhu's senior aides were seen outside Xá Lợi directing the operation. Monks and nuns were attacked with rifle butts and bayonets, and overpowered by automatic weapons fire, grenades and battering rams. It took around two hours to complete

8591-401: The government, while Diệm and Nhu would pretend to be on the run and move to Vũng Tàu . A fake "counter-coup" was to follow, whereupon Tung's men, having left Saigon on the pretext of fighting communists, as well as Đình's forces, would triumphantly re-enter Saigon to reaffirm the Diệm regime. Nhu would then round up opposition figures. Đình was put in charge of the fake coup and was allowed

8712-716: The grounds of the JGS headquarters at Tan Son Nhut ; there are also reports of cremation. The two brothers are reburied in a cemetery in Lai Thieu, around 20–30 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. Their tombstones are written in Vietnamese simply as "Huynh" meaning Elder Brother, and "Đệ" meaning Younger Brother. Secret police Egypt is home to Africa's and the Middle East's first internal security service: The State Security Investigations Service . Initially it

8833-535: The head. Then he looked back at Nhu, who was lying on the floor, twitching. He put a bullet into his head too. Neither Diệm nor Nhu ever defended themselves. Their hands were tied." According to historian Howard Jones, the fact "that the killings failed to make the brothers into martyrs constituted a vivid testimonial to the depth of popular hatred they had aroused." Some months later, Minh reportedly confided to an American source that "We had no alternative. They had to be killed. Diệm could not be allowed to live because he

8954-621: The headquarters for the Arrow Cross Party , which killed hundreds of Jews in its basement, among other targets considered "enemies of the race-based state". The same building was used by the State Protection Authority (or ÁVH) secret police. The Soviet-aligned ÁVH moved into the former fascist police headquarters and used it to torture and execute state opponents. In the Fascist Italy (1922-1943) and

9075-612: The imperial family. In 1420, a second secret police organization run by eunuchs, known as the Eastern Depot ( 東廠 ; Dōng Chǎng ), was formed to suppress suspected political opposition to the usurpation of the throne by the Yongle Emperor . Combined, these two organizations made the Ming dynasty one of the world's first police states . The Ministry of State Security ( 国家安全部 ; Guójiā Ānquán Bù ) in modern China controls

9196-696: The meeting was to blackmail the United States with the obvious message that the Diem regime would reach an understanding with the Communists if Kennedy continued his criticism of the regime, senior members of the Kennedy administration reacted with fury to what Alsop had revealed, and now began to press even more strongly for a coup. One of the recommendations of the Krulak Mendenhall mission,

9317-543: The mobilizing of his elder brother's support based among anti-communist Vietnamese. He became assertive in pushing personalism as a guiding ideology for Vietnam's social development. In April 1952, Nhu gave a talk on the topic at the newly opened Vietnamese National Military Academy in Đà Lạt. He said the Catholic concept was applicable to people from all backgrounds, especially in the fight against communist and unadulterated capitalism. He called on all Vietnamese to engage in

9438-515: The monarch and was killed instantly, as was a servant. The explosion happened adjacent to a room in the palace where Sihanouk's parents were present. At the same time, anti-Sihanouk broadcasts emanated from a secret transmitter located somewhere in South Vietnam, widely attributed to Nhu. Sihanouk quickly blamed the Ngôs and his aides made statements implying the United States might have played

9559-469: The most trusted officers and could be relied upon to defend the family against any coup. The McNamara Taylor mission resulted in the suspension of funding for Nhu's special forces until they were placed under the command of the army's Joint General Staff (JGS) and sent into battle. The report noted that one of the reasons for sending Tung's men into the field was because they "are a continuing support for Diệm". The Americans were also aware that removing

9680-565: The nearby Catholic Church of St. Francis Xavier, where they were taken into custody and put into an armoured personnel carrier , to be taken back to military headquarters. The convoy was led by General Mai Hữu Xuân and the brothers were guarded inside the APC by Major Dương Hiếu Nghĩa and Captain Nguyễn Văn Nhung , Minh's bodyguard. Before the convoy had departed for the church, Minh was reported to have gestured to Nhung with two fingers. This

9801-536: The number of communist sympathisers who were placed inside the hamlets and given identification cards. As a result, the Viet Cong were able to more effectively penetrate the villages to access supplies and personnel. In May 1963, the Buddhist crisis broke out after nine Buddhist protesters were killed in Huế while protesting a ban on the Buddhist flag on Vesak , the birthday of Gautama Buddha . This prompted

9922-464: The other groups had engaged in angry denunciations against Bảo Đại. The Emperor Bảo Đại announced that a National Congress would be opened in October. The leaders of most of the other parties agreed to participate, but Nhu and his organizations were absent. He was worried that the body might play into Bảo Đại's hands by endorsing him. This appeared to be the way the delegates were heading at first, but

10043-781: The outbreak of World War II. He was influenced by personalism , a concept he had acquired in the Latin Quarter . It had been conceived in the 1930s by Catholic progressives such as Emmanuel Mounier . Mounier's heirs in Paris, who edited the left wing Catholic review Esprit denounced Nhu as a fraud. Personalism blamed liberal capitalism for the Great Depression and individualistic greed and exploitation, and disagreed with communism due to its opposition to spirituality. Nhu worked at Hanoi 's National Library and in 1943, he married Trần Lệ Xuân, later known as " Madame Nhu ". She

10164-466: The pagoda into the grounds of the adjoining United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mission, where they were given asylum. Thich Tinh Khiet, an eighty-year-old Buddhist patriarch, was seized and taken to a military hospital on the outskirts of Saigon. Military control, press censorship and the airport closures were enacted in Saigon. The violence was worse in heavily Buddhist Huế. Pro-Buddhist civilians left their homes upon hearing of

10285-496: The peasants resented being forcibly removed from their ancestral lands and put into forts they were compelled to build, he advised Nhu it was imperative to build as many hamlets as fast as possible. The Ngôs were unaware Thảo, ostensibly a Catholic, was in fact a communist double agent acting to turn the rural populace against Saigon. Thảo helped to ruin Nhu's scheme by having strategic hamlets built in communist strongholds. This increased

10406-467: The pond, Ngô family officials mined the pond and raked it with machine gun fire, but the fish survived. Nhu's special forces grenaded the pond, finally killing the fish. This backfired, however, because it generated more publicity — newspapers across the world ran stories about the miraculous fish. ARVN helicopters began landing at the site, and paratroopers filled their bottles with water they believed to be magical. By this time, Diệm and Nhu knew that

10527-403: The power base and control mechanism of the Ngô family. A secret organization, initially, little is known of the Cần Lao's early years. The body consisted of a network of cells, and most members knew the identities of only a few colleagues. After 1954, its existence was declared, but the public knew little of its activities, which were mostly hidden from public view or oversight. In the early 1950s,

10648-415: The raids because many of the occupants had barricaded themselves inside the various rooms. Nhu's men vandalized the main altar and confiscated the intact charred heart of Thích Quảng Đức, the monk who had self-immolated in protest against the policies of the regime. However, some of the Buddhists were able to flee the pagoda with a receptacle with the remainder of his ashes. Two monks jumped the back wall of

10769-419: The raids to defend the city's pagodas. At Từ Đàm Pagoda , which was the temple of Buddhist protest leader Thích Trí Quang , government soldiers, firing M1 rifles, overran the building and demolished a statue of Gautama Buddha and looted and vandalized the building, before leveling much of the pagoda with explosives. Many Buddhists were shot or clubbed to death. The most determined resistance occurred outside

10890-891: The raids were "the happiest day in my life since we crushed the Bình Xuyên in 1955", and assailed the Buddhists as "communists". Nhu accused the Buddhists of turning their pagodas into headquarters for plotting insurrections. He claimed the Buddhist Intersect Committee operated under the control of "political speculators who exploited religion and terrorism". Nhu's actions prompted riots from university students, which were met by arrests, imprisonment, and university shutdowns. The high school students followed suit, and followed their university counterparts into jail. Thousands of students from Saigon's leading high school, most of them children of public servants and military officers, were sent to re-education camps. The result

11011-459: The rebel generals would not dare kill one of them while the other was free, in case the surviving brother were to regain power. Diệm turned down this idea. The brothers sought asylum from the embassy of the Republic of China , but were turned down and stayed in the safehouse as they appealed to ARVN loyalists and attempted to negotiate with the coup leaders. Nhu's agents had fitted the home with

11132-424: The regular army for it. However, Nhu's plan was uncovered, which intensified plots by military officers, encouraged by the Americans, who turned against the Ngô family after the pagoda attacks. Nhu was aware of the plots, but remained confident he could outmaneuver them, and began to plot a counter-coup, as well as the assassinations of US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and other American and opposition figures. Nhu

11253-429: The regular army to raid the pagodas. However, Nhu took the opportunity to discredit the army by using Tung's Special Forces and the combat police to attack the pagodas. With the approval of Diệm, Nhu used the declaration of martial law to order armed men into the Buddhist pagodas. Nhu purposely chose a time when the U.S. Embassy was leaderless. Frederick Nolting had returned to the United States and his successor Lodge

11374-519: The secret police as central to totalitarian regimes and "an indispensable device for the consolidation of power, neutralization of the opposition, and construction of a single-party state ". In addition to these activities, secret police may also be responsible for tasks not related to suppressing internal dissent, such as gathering foreign intelligence, engaging in counterintelligence, organizing border security, and guarding government buildings and officials. Secret police forces sometimes endure even after

11495-665: The secret police of East Germany (the Ministry for State Security or Stasi ) and Portuguese PIDE . A single secret service may pose a potential threat to the central political authority. Political scientist Sheena Chestnut Greitens writes that: When it comes to their security forces, autocrats face a fundamental 'coercing dilemma' between empowerment and control. ... Autocrats must empower their security forces with enough coercing capacity to enforce internal order and conduct external defense. Equally important to their survival, however, they must control that capacity, to ensure it

11616-613: The southern region of South Vietnam, commanding private armies and secret police. Along with his wife and Archbishop Thục, he lived in the Presidential Palace with Diệm. Pervaded by family corruption, Nhu competed with his brother Ngô Đình Cẩn , who ruled the northern areas, for U.S. contracts and rice trade. He controlled the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces commanded by Colonel Lê Quang Tung , not for fighting

11737-422: The special forces from Saigon would increase the chances that a coup attempt would succeed, thereby encouraging the army to overthrow the president. Diệm and Nhu were undeterred by suspension of aid, keeping Tung and his men in the capital. Nhu accused the Americans of "destroying the psychology of our country" and called the U.S. ambassador, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. , a "man of no morality". At Nhu's request, Tung

11858-506: The sustained use of covert psychological harassment methods against people, which were designed to cause mental and emotional health problems, and thereby debilitate them and cause them to become socially isolated. Directed-energy weapons are considered by some survivors and analysts to have also been used as a constituent part of Zersetzung methods, although this is not definitely proven. The House of Terror museum in Budapest displays

11979-632: The temporary forerunner to the KGB , a later secret police agency used for similar purposes. The NKVD participated in the Great Purge under Stalin. In Cuba, President Fulgencio Batista 's secret police, known as the Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities (or BRAC), suppressed political opponents such as the 26th of July Movement through methods including violent interrogations. Under

12100-518: The time the Ngô brothers realised that coup was not the fake action organised by the loyalists, Tung had been called to the Joint General Staff headquarters at the airbase , under the pretense of a routine meeting, and was seized and executed. Attempts by Diệm and Nhu to make contact with Đình were blocked by other generals, whose staff claimed that Đình was elsewhere, leading Nhu and Diệm to believe he had been captured. Around 20:00, with

12221-402: The vote, including 605,025 votes in Saigon, where only 450,000 voters were registered. Diệm's tally also exceeded the registration numbers in other districts. Nhu created a web of covert political, security, labor and other organizations, and built a structure of five-man cells to spy on dissidents and promote those loyal to Diệm's regime. Nhu held no official role in the government, but ruled

12342-570: Was 1815 to 1860, "when restrictions on voting, assembly, association, unions and the press were so severe in most European countries that opposition groups were forced into conspiratorial activities." The Geheime Staatspolizei of Austria and the Geheimpolizei of Prussia were particularly notorious during this period. After 1860, the use of secret police declined due to increasing liberalization, except in autocratic regimes such as Tsarist Russia . In Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945,

12463-569: Was a Buddhist but converted to her husband's religion. The French dismissed Nhu from his high-ranking post, due to Diệm's nationalist activities, and he moved to the Central Highlands resort town of Đà Lạt and lived comfortably, editing a newspaper. He raised orchids during his time in Đà Lạt. After the August Revolution of 1945, when Hồ Chí Minh 's communist Viet Minh declared independence, various groups as well as

12584-511: Was a further drop in morale amongst the putative defenders of the Ngô family. In a media interview, Nhu vowed to kill his father-in-law (for publicly renouncing him), saying: "I will have his head cut off. I will hang him in the center of a square and let him dangle there. My wife will make the knot on the rope because she is proud of being a Vietnamese and she is a good patriot." In the same interview, Nhu claimed to have invented helicopters and pioneered their use in military combat. On 24 August,

12705-496: Was a powerful secret police agency under the rule of Augusto Pinochet , which was charged with killings and torture related to repression of political opponents. Chilean government investigations found that over 30,000 people were tortured by the agency. During the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez , the Seguridad Nacional secret police investigated, arrested, tortured , and assassinated political opponents to

12826-536: Was accorded the same treatment after he failed to kill the Ngôs in February 1962. In 1962, Nhu began work on the ambitious Strategic Hamlet Program , which was informed by his philosophy of Personalism. The problem was an attempt to build fortified villages that would provide security for rural Vietnamese. The objective was to lock the Viet Cong out so that they could not operate among the villagers. Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo supervised these efforts, and when told that

12947-433: Was fooled by the loyalist General Tôn Thất Đính , who had turned against the Ngô family. On 1 November 1963, the coup proceeded , and the Ngô brothers (Nhu and Diệm) were detained and assassinated the next day . Nhu's family originated from the central Vietnamese village of Phú Cam. His family had served as mandarins in the imperial court in Huế. His father, Ngô Đình Khả , was a counselor to Emperor Thành Thái during

13068-635: Was formed during the British occupation of Egypt as the Intelligence wing of the regular police . After the 1952 coup , the State Security apparatus was reformed and reorganized to suit the security concerns of the new socialist regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser. The SSIS was made a separate branch of the Ministry of Interior and separated from the regular police command. During the Nasser era, It

13189-533: Was intensively trained by the Soviet KGB on coercive interrogation techniques, mass surveillance, public intimidation and political suppression. The SSIS was responsible for suppressing opposition groups to Nasser and his successors (Sadat and Mubarak). Torture was a systematic practice by that repressive apparatus. During the War on Terror , The SSIS used to receive suspected terrorists that were sent to Egypt from

13310-574: Was later replaced by DISEN in 1985 after DFS agents were working for the Guadalajara Cartel . In 1989, it was replaced by CISEN . In Mississippi , the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (or "Sov-Com") was a state agency given unusual authority by the governor of Mississippi from 1956 to 1977, to investigate and police private citizens in order to uphold racial segregation . This authority

13431-662: Was not officially dissolved until 1977. The Sov-Com served as a model for the Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission and the Alabama State Sovereignty Commission . In private writings in 1945, President Harry S. Truman wrote that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (under Director J. Edgar Hoover ) was tending towards becoming a secret police force: We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. F.B.I.

13552-427: Was reported to have been planning an operation under the cover of a government-organised student demonstration outside the U.S. embassy. In this plan, Tung's men would assassinate Lodge and other key officials among the confusion. Another target was the Buddhist leader Thích Trí Quang , who had been given asylum in the embassy after being targeted in the pagoda raids. According to the plan, Tung's men would then burn down

13673-469: Was seeking to usurp real power from Diệm and would attack the Buddhists. In a media interview, Nhu said that if the Buddhist crisis was not resolved, he would stage a coup, quickly demolish the Xá Lợi Pagoda , where the Buddhists were massing to coordinate their activities, and head a new anti-Buddhist government. The news was promptly published, although the Americans were not sure if Nhu was serious. On

13794-412: Was taken to be an order to kill both brothers. An investigation by General Trần Văn Đôn later determined that Duong Hieu Nghia shot the brothers at point-blank range with a semi-automatic firearm and that Nhung sprayed them with bullets before repeatedly stabbing the bodies with a knife. Nghia gave his account of what occurred during the journey back to the military headquarters: "As we rode back to

13915-548: Was the regime's ambassador to the United States, after the elder man condemned the Ngô family's behavior and disowned his daughter, Nhu's wife, Madame Nhu . In 1963, the Ngô family's grip on power became unstuck during the Buddhist crisis , during which the nation's Buddhist majority rose up against the pro-Catholic regime. Nhu tried to break the Buddhists' opposition by using the Special Forces in raids on prominent Buddhist temples that left hundreds dead, and framing

14036-405: Was to engulf Saigon with rebel units and lock Tung's loyalists in the countryside where they could not defend the Ngô family. Tung and Nhu agreed to send all four Saigon-based special forces companies out of the capital on 29 October 1963. On 1 November 1963, the real coup went ahead, with Cao and Tung's troops isolated outside Saigon, unable to rescue Diệm and Nhu from the rebel encirclement. By

14157-594: Was to stop American funding for the Motion Picture Center, which produced hagiographic films (propaganda) about the Nhus. and to pursue covert actions aimed at dividing and discrediting Tung and Major General Tôn Thất Đính . Đính was the youngest general in ARVN history, primarily due to his loyalty to the Ngô family. He was given command of the III Corps forces surrounding the capital as he and Tung were

14278-473: Was too much respected among simple, gullible people in the countryside, especially the Catholics and the refugees. We had to kill Nhu because he was so widely feared—and he had created organizations that were the arms of his personal power." The two brothers (Nhu and Diệm) were buried by the junta in a location that remains unknown. The speculated burial places include a military prison, a local cemetery, and

14399-560: Was used to suppress and spy on the activities of civil rights workers , along with others suspected of sentiments contrary to white supremacy. Agents from the Sov-Com wiretapped and bugged citizens of Mississippi, and historians identify the agency as a secret police force. Among other things, the Sov-Com collaborated with the Ku Klux Klan and engaged in jury tampering to harass targets. The agency ceased to function in 1973, but

14520-570: Was visiting Saigon, and leaked to him the news that he had met Maneli. On 18 September 1963, Alsop revealed the Nhu-Menali meeting in his "A Matter of Fact" column in the Washington Post . Nhu told Alsop that the offer presented by Maneli was "almost an attractive offer", but he rejected it because "I could not open negotiations behind the backs of the Americans...That was of course out of the question". Through Nhu's intention in leaking

14641-419: Was yet to arrive. As the high command of the ARVN worked closely with the American advisers, Nhu used the combat police and Tung's Special Forces, who took his orders directly from Nhu. The men were dressed in regular army uniforms, such as paratrooper uniforms, in order to frame the army for the raids. Nhu's motive was to shift the responsibility for a violent operation that would anger the Vietnamese public and

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