January 23
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The US president, Richard Nixon, has appeared on national television to announce "peace with honour" in Vietnam. Statements issued simultaneously in Washington and Hanoi confirmed the peace deal was signed in Paris at 1230 local time, bringing to an end America's longest war. The ceasefire will begin at midnight Hanoi time on Saturday, 27 January, monitored by an international force made up of troops from Canada, Poland, Hungary and Indonesia. President Nixon's speech from the Oval office at the White House was broadcast on national radio and television. He said: "Throughout the years of negotiations, we have insisted on peace with honour, I set forth the goals that we considered essential for peace with honour. "In the settlement that has now been agreed to, all the conditions that I laid down then have been met." The conditions include the release of prisoners of war within 60 days and all American forces to be withdrawn within the same time period. An international conference will be held within 30 days, probably in Vienna, to guarantee the peace. American forces have been involved in the conflict in Vietnam for more than a decade. In 1967, there were 500,000 American troops deployed in Vietnam. For the people of South Vietnam, the president had this message: "By your courage, by your sacrifice, you have won the precious right to determine your own future and you have developed the strength to defend that right. "We look forward to working with you in future, friends in peace as we have been allies in war." To the leaders of North Vietnam, the president said: "As we have ended the war through negotiations, let us now build a peace ofreconciliation. "For our part, we are prepared to make a major effort to help achieve that goal, but just as reciprocity was needed to end the war, so, too, will it be needed to build and strengthen the peace." Theepicentreof the latest quake affected an area about 19 miles (30km) from the capital, Dushanbe, in the early hours of the morning. Early reports say one village of clay homes was buried under a 50ft (17m) landslide, triggered by the earth tremors. All 600 inhabitants of Sharora are believed to have died. The official Soviet news agency, Tass, says, 1,000 people may have been killed. The earthquake measured six magnitude, seven on the Soviet scale, which is less powerful than the earthquake which hit Armenia six weeks ago. Thousands of cattle have been killed and thousands of acres of farmland are now covered with a thick layer of sand and clay. Georgy Koshlakov, the republic's deputy prime minister, said the quake lasted 40 seconds. He said: "The earthquake caused a burst of mud from the foothills which poured down on the villages. It was up to five miles wide and one-and-a-half miles long." Soviet resources are already badly stretched following the Armenian earthquake. The Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev, is said to be considering drafting in Afghan troops to help the rescue operation. |
