December 29, 1990

A longtime Vietnamese Communist who personally accepted the surrender of Saigon in 1975 has shown up in the West and, surprisingly, has begun broadcasting statements over the BBC calling on his compatriots to abandon the rigid Marxist-Leninist economic system, political repression and enmity with the United States and other adversaries. The Vietnamese, Col. Bui Tin, a deputy editor of the party daily Nhan Dan, said in a telephone interview from Paris today that he had decided to take advantage of a stay in France to beam his appeals back to his country over the BBC because he would not have been allowed to publish or broadcast them at home.

Economic Index Fell 1.2% Last Month The Government's index of leading indicators, its main gauge for predicting the economy, fell in November for the fifth straight month. The decline suggested there would be no end soon to the contraction that now lacks only formal designation as the nation's ninth postwar recession. Page 29. Farewell to Nancy Cruzan A once-vivacious young woman who became a national symbol for the right to die was buried in a country cemetery in Missouri. Page 8. Advice on Direct Deposits Direct deposits of salaries and other funds are convenient, but problems can arise. What to do if things go awry. Consumer's World, page 46.

If the First Congress of People's Deputies, a year and a half ago, was a baptism of infant democracy and an exorcism of Stalinist demons, the fourth Congress, which ended on Thursday night, was a wake. With desperate noise and little cheer, it marked not only the passing of this year of sunken spirits, but in the minds of many participants, the end of the period of great advances.

The possibility that Turkey could become a second front against Iraq if war should break out in the Persian Gulf has further increased tensions between the Middle Eastern neighbors, Western and Middle Eastern diplomats here say. This week, for the first time, Iraq publicly protested a violation of its airspace by two unidentified planes that crossed into Iraq from Turkey, although diplomats say such incursions by both sides are relatively common.

Nine-year-old Irwin Mueses of the Bronx had practically given up. "I told my friends, 'It's never going to snow,' " Irwin said yesterday. "They said on the news that it was going to snow on Dec. 1. On Dec. 1 I put on my gloves and hat and went outside and I saw there was no snow. Then, Christmas, I woke up -- I thought there would be snow. I prayed it would snow." At 8:30 A.M. yesterday Irwin ran out of his apartment on Tryon Avenue, in the Norwood section of the Bronx and threw himself headlong into the season's first real snow (just a few flurries fell at the beginning of the month). "I can't believe this snow right now," Irwin declared. Tough for Grown-Ups It was a good day to be a child in the Bronx. The borough got eight inches of snow, nearly an inch more than was measured in Central Park.