272   1609pt 04-10
 POWs-Psychological 400
By FRANK CAREY
AP Science Writer
    WASHImerican Psychological Association (APA)
said Tuesday one of its boards has been blocked by the Pentagon
in efforts ''to find out the kinds of psychological treatment
being received by returning prisoners of war.''
    ''To date,'' said the APA in a statement, ''they (members of the
board) have been stymied in their efforts to obtain any information
which would put to rest the fears of psychological manipulation or
psychological mistreatment.''
    And the organization quoted a member of the investigating board,
Dr. Hbert Kelman, as saying ''there can be little doubt that the
POWs are being used for the political manipulation of the
American public'' by the Nixon administration.
    The APA released excerpts of an editorial, written by Kelman,
and planned for publication in the APA's official newspaper,
the APA Monitor.
    Kelman, a member of APA's Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility
for Psychology, says in part:
    ''It is clear that the puomecoming (of the
POWs) is primarily based on political and public-relations
considerations.
    ''The POWs have been assigned the role of heroes in a war that has
no heroes-the central role in an elaborate drama staged to provide
justification of the President's policy, to create the illusion of
victory, and to arouse a sense of patriotic fervor.
    ''There can be little doubt that the POWs are being used for the
political manipulation of the American public. Whether this use is
likely to be directly detrimental to their psychological well-being
is a matter of judgment and speculation.''
    He adds:
    ''From all indications, the public context of the homecoming
deviated from the procedures recommended by psychologists working
on Operation Homecoming and adopted by the Prisoner of
War-Missing in Action Task Force in the Department of Defense 
itself, which envisaged a quiet, private homecoming, without
fanfare and crowds, in order to insure that the returnees would
not be psychologically overwhelmed.
    ''It seems the procedures that the psychological consultants and
the Task Force considered to be in the best interests of the men
were overruled by the political and public-relations objectives
of higher political and military authorities.''
    The APA, in releasing the excerpts, said:
    ''The hesitancy of the Department of Defense to reveal medical and
psychological care procedures for the POWs has prompted the
board to continue in its investigation.''
    
kb718pes apr 10


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