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BEFORE THE 9th PARTY CONGRESS

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The Vietnam Communist Party is working in preparation for its 9th National Congress to be held in the early 2001.

VCP leaders are putting more efforts on strengthening diplomatic relations with many countries in Europe, Africa, the former Soviet states as well as the three Communist comrades - China, North Korea and Cuba.

First with Laos, its neighboring nation. Hanoi still holds considerable influence on this tiny satellite Communist party. In March, the VCP government had to fish its coffer for US$ 2.7 million to help Vientiane build a small-scale hydroelectric power project. At any cost, Hanoi must hold Laos under its tight military control.

From far away came President of Congo and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Denis Sassou N"Guesso also in March. Hanoi Prime Minister Phan Van Khai greatly appreciated Congo's good help for the implementation of the so-called international obligation in the Soviet era, and as both are members of the community of Francophony nations, Khai called for firm solidarity between Congo and Vietnam to mutually defend the interests of the poor nations.

Hanoi also warmly welcomed Mr. George Fernandes, Defense Minister of India at about the same time. The Indian minister's visit was said to have military purposes, probably about India selling ammunition and military equipment to Hanoi. A Hanoi's similar purchase of weapons from Poland was reported as under negotiation.

Another high ranking military official who visited Hanoi last week was Admiral Christopher Barrie, the General Chief of Staff of the Australian Armed Forces. It was said that the visit would help consolidate relations between the two countries' armed forces.

After many years of frigid relations between Hanoi and Pyongyang, the two Communist comrades and former China's underlings, are recovering their mutual friendship. For the last decade, Hanoi has consolidated its ties with South Korea as Seoul is increasing its investment in Vietnam to exploit the cheap labor there, causing North Korea's anger. In the Vietnam War, more than a hundred North Korean fighter pilots were taking a major part in dogfights intercepting American jets over the skies of North Vietnam.

Hanoi's relations with North Korea is thawing little by little in the last few years.

In March, North Korean Foreign Minister Pac Nam Sun visited Hanoi. But in speeches from Hanoi side, the VCP leaders didn't use the Communist formal terms such as "comrade" or "esteemed comrade" to refer to Kim Jung Il as they had done to the late Kim Il Sung. Apparently, Hanoi wants to forget its vow for solidarity with Pyongyang in the common anti-American front in the 1960s and 1970s.

Since April, Hanoi's newly appointed Foreign Minister Nguyen Duy Nien has made a tour visiting Southeast Asian countries. He went first to Singapore, the small but the most developed nation in the region that has provided Hanoi with generous aid, including unfavorable comments about the Communist economic management. Mr. Nien is about to make similar trips to the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei this month.

Meanwhile, Hanoi president Tran Duc Luong made a trip to Ukraine. He was believed to have discussed military equipment purchase from Ukraine including some old frigates. He also visited Mongolia and Cuba where general supports were promised without discussion of any military issue.

The two diplomatic events in April that drew the attention of foreign observers were the trips of VCP General Secretary to France and Hanoi Parliament Speaker Nong Duc Manh to Beijing.

VCP General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, on the state visit to France, was welcomed with full military protocol by President Chirac, as if he were a president. Many French big wheels strongly opposed to Chirac's decision to treat a party leader with traditional ceremony only reserved for a chief of state. Besides, Phieu's visit seemed to gain nothing more significant than just a mere formality.

Nong Duc Manh and his delegation of several parliament members departed for China on April 4. They were received by Zhiang Jemin and Li Peng to whom they once again expressed their grateful thanks to great supports from Beijing in the past. Manh and his delegation asserted Hanoi's endorsement for Beijing as the only legal government representing the Chinese people. Mr. Manh's visit could be considered as an act to counterbalance Phieu's trip to Europe at the time Hanoi was trying to walk a tight rope between China and western powers.

Hanoi's busy diplomatic activities in the last few months is indeed a part of its scheme to regain international prestige that has been lost in the last few years because of economic mismanagement, inefficient bureaucracy, incurable red tape and rampant corruption. Some Vietnamese exile media agencies even guess that the diplomatic campaign was launched to consolidate the current leaders' chance for their next terms at the Party 9th National Congress.

As internal affairs are concerned, the VCP is confronting more problems. Renowned dissidents continue to protest the VCP oppressive regime. They are calling on the VCP government to put an end to the house arrest of Ha Si Phu, a prominent dissenting intellect, and to a plot to prosecute him for violating national security law, an unfounded charge made up by the Public Security.

Human rights organizations also express their concerns on the case of Ha Si Phu, demanding that Hanoi revoke his house arrest decision and stop threatening him with criminal court trial.

In the diplomatic scandal with Canada over the surreptitiuos execution of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hiep, a Vietnamese Canadian, suspected of drug smuggling, Hanoi still keeps silent about why it broke the promise to delay the execution to review new evidence provided by Canadian authorities. The evidence might prove that Ms. Hiep and her mother had been duped into carrying the lacquer paintings in which the heroin was secretly concealed by some one without their awareness.

Last week, Hanoi agreed to turn over Ms. Hiep's remains to her husband and children but doesn't grant entry visa to foreign reporters who would come in to cover the reburial. Hanoi also promises that it will release Ms. Tran Thi Cam, Ms. Hiep's mother, who was sentenced to life in prison.

However, in order to save its face, Hanoi doesn't release her now, saying she would be freed in the annual amnesty on the occasion of the Communist National Day (September 2). She is in rather bad shape lately, so no one dares to tell her that her daughter was executed.

Hanoi also agreed to Canada's request that some Canadian police specialists be allowed to investigate the drug trafficking case in Vietnam. The Toronto police had been supposed to arrive in Vietnam last month. Probably the Canadian planned investigation frightened the Communist high ranking officials who were involved in the smuggling so much that they had to execute Ms. Hiep before the Canadians could see her.

In recent conferences, the VCP leaders admitted the internal critical situation that seems unsolvable. In the concluding conference for national cultural and ideological actvities in Hanoi on April 3, VCP top leaders confirmed the failures on the ideological front.

Meanwhile, the VCP Central Committee 9th Plenum took place from April 10 to 20 to prepare the ground for the 9th Party Congress. No information was reported, but a source from the plenum disclosed that there could be up to one-fourth of the central committee members who would retire because of their age. Besides, in the 9th Party Congress, it is anticipated that there would be nothing of big difference from that of the 8th Congress. VCP leaders still assert their political monopoly and their staunch adherence to Marxist-Leninism.

In the coming Congress, the Party top leaders would be introducing many national objectives for the next five years. The objectives will be highly praised by the party propaganda. But how to attain them will be another issue.

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