Vũng Tàu Charter

The Vũng Tàu Charter (Hiến chương Vũng Tàu) was a provisional new constitution for South Vietnam which was introduced on the 16 August 1964 by General Nguyễn Khánh.^[1] It was known as the Vũng Tàu Charter from Khanh's preferred coastal residence in Vũng Tàu.^[2]

The constitution led to the Buddhist crisis, large scale protests in the country led by Buddhist groups, as the constitution reduced civilian representation in the government, gave Khanh the President's role and would have allowed press censorship.^[3] This led President Johnson to state that South Vietnam would have to show signs of political cohesion and stability before there would be military intervention against the North.

References

1. Rufus Phillips Why Vietnam matters: an eyewitness account of lessons not learned 2008 -"Later, at a meeting with Ambassador Taylor in Vung Tau, Khanh discussed his proposed new constitution. ... to Saigon and proclaimed the new constitution, popularly known as the "Vung Tau Charter," with himself as president."
2. Ken Post Revolution, Socialism, and Nationalism in Viet Nam 1989 "... that the constitution (known as the Vung Tau Charter from Khanh's preferred coastal residence) was only provisional and ... Doubtless one of his reasons for preferring to be in Vung Tau, whence he could easily escape, on the 24th was the report that the Great Viet leaders had planned a coup for that day working through General Khiem, the Minister of Defence."
3. Nghia M. Vo Saigon: A History - Page 146 2011 "The Buddhists demonstrated and demanded the revocation of the Vũng Tàu charter. Under pressure, Khánh gave in to Buddhists' demands. To appease the Buddhists, he had the army remove all its Catholic chaplains. Buddhist Trí Quang pressured Khánh to give Đặng Sỹ, the Catholic officer who had confronted the Buddhists in Huế, a life sentence. He demanded that Cẩn, Diệm's brother, be put to death, which Khánh did.7 Street demonstrations continued unabated in September and October, forcing markets, stores, and schools to close and disrupting civilian life."