Xá Lợi Pagoda raids

The Xá Lợi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on 21 August 1963. The raids were executed by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under Colonel Lê Quang Tung, and combat police. Over 1,400 Buddhists were arrested, and estimates of the death toll and missing ranged up to the hundreds. In 1963, the government banned the Buddhist flag, which led to widespread civil disobedience and protest against the Catholic-dominated Di Vietnamese government.

About Xá Lợi Pagoda raids in brief

The Xá Lợi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on 21 August 1963. The raids were executed by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under Colonel Lê Quang Tung, and combat police. Over 1,400 Buddhists were arrested, and estimates of the death toll and missing ranged up to the hundreds. In South Vietnam, where the Buddhist majority was estimated to comprise between 70 and 90 percent of the population in 1963, President Ngô Đình Diệm’s pro-Catholic policies antagonized many Buddhists. Several high-ranking public servants resigned, and university and high school students boycotted classes and staged riotous demonstrations, resulting in further mass incarcerations. The incident prompted the United States to turn against the regime and begin exploring alternative leadership options, eventually leading to Di Vietnamese’s overthrow in a coup. The Catholic Church was the landowner in the country, and the official status that was imposed by the French, which required public activities, was not repealed by Di Vietnamese. Under Di Vietnamese, the Catholic Church enjoyed special exemptions in land acquisition, and in 1959, he dedicated the Virgin Mary to the public events in Vietnam. The church was exempt from land reform, and Catholics were also de facto exempt from the corvée labor that all other citizens were obliged to perform. Some Catholic priests ran private armies, and some areas forced conversions; looting and demolition occurred.

In some areas, Buddhist villages converted en masse to avoid being forcibly resettled by Diem’s regime’s largest resettlements. In 1959, Di Vietnamese dedicated major events in South Vietnam to the Virgin Virgin Mary, which was flown at major public events. In 1960, Di Vietnam dedicated a major event in the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, to theVirgin Mary. In 1961, Dinamese Catholics were allowed to fly the flag of the Vatican at major events, including the papal visit to the U.S. Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the opening of the Winter Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Di Vietnamese was a member of the Catholic minority, and his government was biased towards Catholics in public service and military promotions, as well as in the allocation of land, business favors and tax concessions. In 1963, the government banned the Buddhist flag, which led to widespread civil disobedience and protest against the Catholic-dominated Di Vietnamese government. In August, several generals proposed the imposition of martial law, ostensibly to break up the demonstrations, but in reality to prepare for a military coup. Nhu, already looking to arrest Buddhist leaders and crush the protest movement, used the opportunity to preempt the generals and embarrass them. He disguised Tung’s Special Forces in army uniforms and used them to attack the Buddhists, thereby causing the general public to blame the army, diminishing the generals’ reputations and ability to act as future national leaders.

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