1962 South Vietnamese Independence Palace bombing

The 1962 South Vietnamese Independence Palace bombing in Saigon was an aerial attack on 27 February 1962 by two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots. The pilots targeted the official residence of the President of South Vietnam, with the aim of assassinating the president and his immediate family. One bomb penetrated a room in the western wing where Diệm was reading but failed to detonate, leading the president to claim that he had ‘divine protection’ The pilots later said they attempted the assassination in response to Di Vietnamese’s autocratic rule, in which he focused more on remaining in power than on confronting the Vietcong guerilla army.

About 1962 South Vietnamese Independence Palace bombing in brief

The 1962 South Vietnamese Independence Palace bombing in Saigon was an aerial attack on 27 February 1962 by two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots. The pilots targeted the Independence Palace, the official residence of the President of South Vietnam, with the aim of assassinating the president and his immediate family. One bomb penetrated a room in the western wing where Diệm was reading but failed to detonate, leading the president to claim that he had ‘divine protection’ The pilots later said they attempted the assassination in response to Di Vietnamese’s autocratic rule, in which he focused more on remaining in power than on confronting the Vietcong guerilla army. Afterwards, Cử escaped to Cambodia, but Quốc was arrested and imprisoned. In the wake of the airstrike, Di Vietnamese became hostile towards the American presence in South Vietnam. The media speculated that the United States would use the incident to justify the deployment of combat troops to South Vietnam; in the event the U.S. remained circumspect. The incident was reported to have increased plotting against Di Vietnamese by his officers, and led to the formation of the VNQDD, an anti-Di Vietnamese political party. In 1960, Di Vietnam had jailed Nguyễn Văn Lực for one month for engaging in ‘anti-government activities’ and had jailed his brother-in-law for a month as well.

In 1962, the president banned press freedom and political association, and introduced new restrictions on press freedom. Di Vietnamese also banned the use of the term ‘coup d’état’ to refer to political opponents, and banned the publication of articles critical of the Di Vietnamese regime. In 1963, the VQDD was banned from using the word ‘c Coup d’etat’ and was replaced by the term ‘coup de la guerre’ in reference to political opposition to the Di Vietnam regime. The VNZDD was later banned from being used as a political rallying point for political opponents in the Vietnam War, and became known as the ‘Vietnam National Liberation Front’ (VNLF). In 1966, Di�m banned the VLF from using this term and replaced it with the ‘Anti-Vietnamese League (VNL), a political party that opposed the Di�nh regime. Di�቉n became the first Vietnamese president to be ousted from office by a popular vote, and he was forced to step down in 1969. In 1973, the NLF was banned by Di Vietnamese, and in 1974, he was replaced as president by Ngô Đình Di�ʼnm, who was supported by the majority of the people of the country. In 1975, the National League for Democracy (NLD) was outlawed by the South Vietnamese government, and the National Assembly was abolished. The NLD was also banned in 1978 by the Supreme Court.

Related posts:

Coup d’état 1960 South Vietnamese coup attempt December 1964 South Vietnamese coup September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt