ANOTHER LETTER FROM TRAN DO (II)
Currently the Party is practicing "absolute leadership," actually a dictatorship, against democracy. The party feels that its regime is not democratic, so it has pronounced the policy of democratization at infra-structure level, as if there were no democracy only at this level.
Years ago during the war of liberation, the Party and its members represented the willing to fight and to suffer hardships as required by the fighting. Therefore, the Party was the belief and the light of the people. Now in time of peace and reconstruction, life requires intellect, expertise, equity and honesty. But the party, with its political system controlling all power, looks different. The more the party shows that it is of the people, for the people, the more actual life proves that it is not.
More and more the Party proves that it does not represent intellect, equity and honesty. Actually, the Party had to concern itself about its undemocratic regime. So its theoretical fundamentalists had to hold a conference with the topic "Will there be democracy under the one-party rule?" Such topic shows that the Party feels its lack of democracy and anti-democratic regime, so it has to seek for a theory to prove that there could still be democracy under the rule of only one party.
The one-party rule has the following hindrances and risks:
1- Objectiveness, volitionism, mandarinism in determining standpoints and lines.
2- The party would easily impose its volition on the government and society, employing its members in state and social organizations, placing itself above the state and the laws, taking over the tasks of the government but disclaiming all legal responsibility for the consequences.
3- Social associations tend to flatter the Party, performing their tasks only before the Party, instead of fulfilling the duties of representing the aspirations and interests of their members.
4- Party members holding good jobs and power become greedy for special authority and interests, corrupt, authoritarian, causing troubles to the people.
5- Citizens are difficult to control and survey the ruling bodies, all of whose officials are party members.
6. Breaking social democracy excessively will topple all, the party and the government.
Actually those are painful realities that indicate an anti-democratic regime, not a danger. But breaking down is a real danger.
The "theorists" argue that there could be democracy under the one-party rule on conditions that seem ambiguous and abstract, for example:
- The party must be genuinely revolutionary.
- Democracy within the Party.
- Intellect, capability, mettle.
- Proper method of organization and leadership.
Suggesting such conditions, the Party might claim that it meets all of them to maintain its dictatorship, who know?
In war, the Party typified sacrifice and fighting spirit and has enjoyed the glorious victory. In the world today, it could be said that the Party's 3 million members is only 1/25 of the whole national population. It couldn't gather all national intellect and is not recognized by all the people.
In a conference, a veteran party member posed three questions:
1. Does the VCP bring together and typify the intellect of all the people?
2. Does the central committee bring together and typify the intellect of all the party?
3. Does the Politburo bring together and typify the intellect of all the central committee?
Currently, one third of the party members are at old age while there are several million intellects, old and new in our nation.
Freedom of press must be assured. It is necessary that laws regarding the press and publication, criminal laws, anti-corruption law must be amended to guarantee information about anti-corruption activities to reach the people.
Government officials must not consider themselves above the people, or impose compulsion upon the people, but they must negotiate with the people. Officials doing paperwork services in offices must be polite towards the people. Government must regard the people as if they were God.
In fact, government cadres, public security officers, are regarded higher, with more authority and more fearful, whereas common people are considered lower. The state officials, the "mandarins," are free to abuse their authority. The people are free to suffer, without any power or means to check such abuse, that begets corruption.
Only with a democracy that creates a social atmosphere in which the people are the true masters, could anti-corruption measures be effective. Otherwise, slogans promoting ethics in the career of medicine, education and journalism will be only jokes, hollow words and tricks.
Another strategy is to review all regulations for party and national elections to establish election laws that really assure freedom of candidature and freedom to vote. It is necessary to annihilate artifices of coercion by the Fatherland Front, which actually compels acceptance of party's directives at all levels. The tricks discourage a large number of youth and the intellects, throwing many talents and budding geniuses into obscurity.
In short, there is a simple truth: Only in a true democracy would the society be sound and corruption be eliminated. But there are those who are concerned that with the general low degree of knowledge, the people would not know how to exercise their democratic rights and they would use them wrongly.
So when will democratic rights be handed over to the people? Without handling them over to the people, when will they know how to use them? And when the rights are given to the people if before that, they have been threatened with imprisonment?
Some are concerned with the enemy taking advantages of democracy. Who are the enemy? It is because our regime is not democratic that the good and bad people in the world all are treating us scornfully, unwilling to cooperate and invest.
Our people should not be underestimated. They have high political comprehension and do not want instability, but they must be allowed to exercise their mastership. Those who have power are always afraid of losing it. They are not able to fight corruption. They only tolerate it.
Dear readers,
I've been pondering over how to fight corruption for months and years. Now I couldn't help writing it down. I'm under much influence of emotion, unable to ignore the responsibility of a man who has been fighting all his life for the country and the people, and also most of his life serving as a Communist Party member. I have been proud of the history of the Party.
Several times, however, I have been feeling painful and shameful because of the Party, especially when I'm facing with the misfortune of the people and of the victims. So I cannot say otherwise about the party.
Reading again this article I think it is too long and somehow confusing. But I can't cross out any part of it without regrets.
Thank you,
April, 2000
The Third Moon, Year of the Dragon
TRAN DO.
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