University of Virginia Library

New 'Tiger Cages' To Be Built
By Americans, With U.S. Money

SAIGON (DNSI) -
Construction of three new
blocks of isolation cells is
scheduled to begin this month
on the penal island of Con Son
by an American firm. Each of
the three blocks will contain
96 cells. The new construction
will allow Con Son officials to
drastically increase the number
of prisoners held under "tiger
cage" conditions, one
American who is familiar with
the project claims.

The New "tiger cages" will
be built by the firm of
Raymond, Morrison, Knudsen.
Brown, Root and Jones
(RMK-BRJ) under a $400,000
contract. The funds will be
provided by MACCORDS
(Military Assistance Command
Civil Operations for
Revolutionary Development
Support), the American
paramilitary economic aid
program here.

'Top Ten'

The isolation compound
will be a "Top Ten Project,"
one person familiar with
RMK-BRJ priorities said. As
such, it will receive priority in
the routing of supplies and
assignment of personnel.

The Vietnamese authorities
already have one cell block
under construction. A January
7 memo describing the job to
be done at Con Son states that
the new construction is to be
"similar to the isolation cell
block currently under
construction as a self-help
project".

Prison Labor

Prison labor will be used in
the construction. Skilled prison
labor will be paid 200 piasters
(72 cents) per week and
unskilled labor will receive 150
piasters (55 cents) a week.
There is some concern that the
prisoners will not be in good
enough physical condition to
do a "full day's work."
Discussion is under way about
the possibility of providing
special extra rations for those
who work on the project.

Con Son prison was in the
news last July when two
American congressmen found
the "tiger cages" which had
been kept secret for years by
the Vietnamese government.
The "tiger cages" visited by
Congressmen William Anderson
(Dem., Tenn.) and Augustus
Hawkins (Dem., Calif.) were
built by prison labor in 1939
under the direction of the
French.

Savage Mistreatment

Congressman Anderson
wrote to President Nixon
following the visit: "The Tiger
Cage imprisonment of human
beings and the savage
mistreatment of these prisoners
are outrageous contradictions
to the minimal standards of
political decency we, as a free
American people, should
establish as a condition of our
aid and friendship to any
nation."

The January 7 memo, which
describes what the RMK-BRJ firm
will build, states: "The Scope of
Work is the completion of three cell
blocks, each partitioned into 96
isolation cells; an outer compound
wall of concrete block; a barbed
wire perimeter fence with security
gates; kitchen; and dispensary."

Porta-Kamps

Ten Porta-Kamp air-conditioned
trailers were sent by barge to Con
Son on February 6 to provide living
quarters for nine Americans, one
French employee, eight Vietnamese
specialist and cooks and helpers.
Mr. Ray Simmons has been named
Project Superintendent.

A concerted effort has been made
by both RMK-BRJ and the U.S.
government to keep the project a
secret.

"Anyone who even takes a
camera to Con Son will be
terminated immediately," the
RMK-BRJ project manager is
reported to have said.

RMK-BRJ began work in Viet
Nam in 1962. Its projects have
included construction of roads,
airports, military compounds for
the South Vietnamese government,
radar sites, etc. "It is," said one of
its employees, "the largest
construction consortium in the
world." It is best known in Viet
Nam for thy construction at Cam
Ranh Bay. RMK-BRJ headquarters
are in San Bruno, California.

In October, Vietnam's largest
daily newspaper, Tin Sang (Morning
News) reported a riot involving 300
prisoners demanding better living
conditions. As a result of this
uprising, Tin Sang wrote, 6000
prisoners were put into a maximum
security area "no different from the
Tiger Cages."

—Ed.)