110px|Main hall of the Xá Lợi Pagoda

The Xá Lợi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam on August 21, 1963. The raids were executed by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces and combat police, both of which took their orders directly from Ngo Dinh Nhu, the younger brother of the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem. The Xá Lợi Pagoda, the largest in the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, was the most prominent of the temples raided. Over 1,400 Buddhists were arrested, and estimates of the death toll and missing ranged up to the hundreds. At first, the Ngo family claimed that the army had carried out the raids, something their ally the United States initially believed. However, this was later debunked, and the incident prompted the US to turn against the regime and begin exploring alternative leadership options, eventually leading to Diem's overthrow in a coup. In South Vietnam itself, the raids stoked widespread anger. Several high-ranking public servants resigned, and university and high school students boycotted classes and staged riotous demonstrations, resulting in further mass incarcerations. As most of the students were from middle-class public service and military families, the arrests caused further upset among the Ngo family's power base. (more...)

Recently featured: USS Arizona – McDonnell XF-85 Goblin – Adenanthos obovatus

Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%C3%A1_L%E1%BB%A3i_Pagoda_raids

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1432:

The first battle of the Lithuanian Civil War between the forces of Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis was fought near the modern town of Ashmyany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_Civil_War_%281431%E2%80%931435%29

1854:

In his apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogmatic definition of Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was born free of original sin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception

1912:

Leaders of the German Empire held an Imperial War Council to discuss the possibility that war might break out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Imperial_War_Council_of_8_December_1912

1980:

Former Beatle John Lennon was assassinated in the entrance of the Dakota apartments in New York City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_John_Lennon

1991:

Leaders of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine signed the Belavezha Accords, agreeing to dissolve the Soviet Union and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

rescind (v): <span class="qualifier-brac">(</span><span class="qualifier-content">transitive</span><span class="qualifier-brac">)</span> To repeal, annul, or declare void; to take (something such as a rule or contract) out of effect http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rescind

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Better than a thousand hollow words

Is one word that brings peace. Better than a thousand hollow verses

Is one verse that brings peace. Better than a hundred hollow lines

Is one line of the law, bringing peace. --Gautama Buddha http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha