DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | United Campus Ministry papers, 1970-1972 | 1971-09-01 Daily Iowan Article: 'Report U.S. funds go for 'tiger cages''

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United Campus Ministry papers, 1970-1972

1971-09-01 Daily Iowan Article: 'Report U.S. funds go for 'tiger cages''

THE DAILY IOWAN - Iowa City, Ia.-Wed., Sept. 1, 1971-

Report U.S. funds go for ?tiger cages'
Special to The Daily Iowan
An executive interview with one-time News Dispatch International reporter Don Luce, now expelled from South Vietnam by the Thieu government, reveals that State Department funds are being used to build 368 new “tiger cages” for Vietnamese political prisioners.
Luce told Ted Sherritt of WAMC radio in Albany, N.Y. a $400,000 contract has been awarded to the construction firm of Raymond, Morris and Kuntson, Brown, Root and Jones to build the isolation cages.  
The cages will be two square feet smaller than those Luce and two Congressmen originally discovered in a Vietnamese prison camp over a year ago. That discovery lead to a full-scale investigation of the Vietnamese prison system.
The original cells were 5 by 10 feet, and were used to hold 180 prisoners, several to a cell. The South Vietnamese government had previously promised the Congressmen the use of the “tiger cages” would be phased out
In a letter to Rev. Roger Simpson, an Iowa City campus minister, Skerritt said, “he (Luce) did not imply the story was being ignored or squelched nationally, but only that he had not been aware of any national coverage.”
Skerritt, in a telephone interview with The Daily Iowan, said Luce told him, "the U.S. is now spending $30 million for this year in the Vietnamese police and prision system."
This compares to $20.9 million spent last year, Luce said. He attributed funding directly to the CORDS operation - Civil Operation for Revolutionary Development Support - "regular funds for which are appopriated by the U.S. Congress."

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THE DAILY IOWAN - Iowa City, Ia.-Wed., Sept. 1, 1971- Report U.S. funds go for ?tiger cages' Special to The Daily Iowan An executive interview with one-time News Dispatch International reporter Don Luce, now expelled from South Vietnam by the Thieu government, reveals that State Department funds are being used to build 368 new “tiger cages” for Vietnamese political prisioners. Luce told Ted Sherritt of WAMC radio in Albany, N.Y. a $400,000 contract has been awarded to the construction firm of Raymond, Morris and Kuntson, Brown, Root and Jones to build the isolation cages. The cages will be two square feet smaller than those Luce and two Congressmen originally discovered in a Vietnamese prison camp over a year ago. That discovery lead to a full-scale investigation of the Vietnamese prison system. The original cells were 5 by 10 feet, and were used to hold 180 prisoners, several to a cell. The South Vietnamese government had previously promised the Congressmen the use of the “tiger cages” would be phased out In a letter to Rev. Roger Simpson, an Iowa City campus minister, Skerritt said, “he (Luce) did not imply the story was being ignored or squelched nationally, but only that he had not been aware of any national coverage.” Skerritt, in a telephone interview with The Daily Iowan, said Luce told him, "the U.S. is now spending $30 million for this year in the Vietnamese police and prision system." This compares to $20.9 million spent last year, Luce said. He attributed funding directly to the CORDS operation - Civil Operation for Revolutionary Development Support - "regular funds for which are appopriated by the U.S. Congress."