VIETNAM, NEWS ANALYSIS

Hanoi shows apparent concern about President Clinton' visit scheduled for 17, November, 2000. In an official statement, Hanoi's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said, "Vietnam welcomes US president's coming visit." However, Hanoi also raises some issues that might be highly controversial.

Praising Clinton in the process of improving relationship between Washington and Hanoi, Ms. Thanh added, "President Bill Clinton has made important contributions to boost the development of the two countries' relations." She also says "Vietnam... hopes that the first trip to the country by a US president would further promote bilateral ties and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world, conforming with interest and desire of the two peoples."

At the same time, responding to a correspondent from the South China Morning Post about war "reparations" for damages caused by the US during the Vietnam War, Ms. Thanh alleged that "the Vietnamese people continue to suffer from the grave sorrows and losses caused by the US aggression against Vietnam." According to the Vietnam Communist Party's Nhan Dan Newspaper, Ms. Thanh characterized the need for attention to consequences of war, including the effects of Agent Orange, as an urgent humanitarian issue.

It should be noted that in statements smack of propaganda targeted on Vietnamese people, Hanoi has often said the American government had to make "war reparations." However, in official statements aimed at people outside Vietnam, Hanoi officials used other words instead, such as contribution or help, or assistance, or compensation...

"We believed that the US should fulfil its responsibilities spiritually and ethically, thus making specific contributions to solving the consequences of war," Ms Thanh said.

Vietnam News Agency quoted Ms. Thanh as saying, "With humanitarian and friendly traditions, Vietnam aims to continue co-operating and promoting mutual understanding in its relations with the US as well as other former enemy countries, further developing the Vietnam-US relationship," adding that this policy also aims to resolve consequences left by the past.

It's apparent that Hanoi raises the issue of Agent Orange and other war consequences as a counter-attack at the intended pressure from the American side for better human rights record during coming talks between Hanoi leaders and Clinton. Hanoi leaders seem to rely on this type of issue as a tactic to ward off the human rights spear hurled at them. But the tactic looks more like a guerrilla's sniper fire than an infantry operation. The sniper fire aims at the five American senators, who sent the letter to President Bill Clinton, suggesting that he raise the issue of human rights - political prisoners, freedoms of speech, of religion, of the press, arbitrary detention... - when he talks with Hanoi leaders, in close door if not publicly.

In the letter, the senators Feinstein, D-Ca, Boxer, D-Ca, Robb, D-Va, McCain, R-Ariz, Akaka, D- Hawaii, express major concern about Hanoi's record on human rights: "Basic rights of free expression and freedom of association are restricted. Certain religious organizations, democratic activists, and those who call for greater pluralism and an end to corruption all continue to be subject to imprisonment, surveillance, intimidation and house arrest. The silencing of government critics is a sad testimony of the ongoing repression in Vietnam today."

As usual, Hanoi reiterates that it doesn't hold any political or religious prisoners. Hanoi says those the American senators called prisoners of conscience are common criminals who have violated the Vietnamese laws.

In fact, it is the very Criminal Law enacted by the Communist regime that violates its people's human rights. One of its articles (205a) provides that "anyone who makes ill use of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the right of assembly and association or other rights to freedom and democracy in order to infringe on the interests of the state, of a social organization or of a citizen, shall be reprimanded, re-educated without detention up to two years, or sentenced to imprisonment from three months to two years ."

The ambiguous, ill-defined provision allows Public Security services to charge dissidents with abusing freedom and democracy and to send them to prison as common criminals.

The five senators' letter also suggests that "It would be appropriate to provide technical assistance to help reform Vietnam's criminal, press and national security laws." The suggestion comes from the goodwill of the five senators, but such assistance might be squandered by Hanoi with little success, something like water on the duck's back.

Though most of VCP leaders have very low formal education, they are still able to understand that articles of a law should be clear, specific, foolproof. Actually, they deliberately put the article in that ambiguity context to have wider room to move in dealing with the dissidents. Five Hoa Hao Buddhists were sentenced to imprisonment last month under the same article only because they had submitted lawful complaints about local authorities' abuse of power that violated freedom of religion.

The most serious problem in Vietnam today is that the VCP and its government don't want to reform their laws that might restrict their ruling power. So supports for this purpose could be welcomed by Hanoi only as financial profits. For decades, Communist leaders' main concern is for their party's interests, not for the better criminal, press and national security laws .

Meanwhile, the issue of Agent Orange might be an annoyance to President Clinton during his visit.

Hanoi has never officially brought up the issue of American assistance to deal with the consequences of the defoliant used by the American and South Vietnamese forces during the war. This is the for the first time Hanoi demands American help in "alleviating suffering caused by Agent Orange."

Ms. Thanh said, "The sorrow and losses caused by the aggressive American war which has been borne by the Vietnamese people are heavy and huge... To solve the consequences left by the war, including those o Agent Orange, is an urging humanitarian issue. We think the United States should carry out its spiritual and moral duty and make a real contribution to solving war consequences."

As an indication of inferior complex that take root in every VCP leader, Hanoi always utilizes every opportunity to prove that they hold national sovereignty and are playing the key role in dealing with other countries, particularly with the world powers, not acting because of foreign pressure. They would spare nothing, even vanities to save face and of course, to assure their aged, conservative comrades that the party will not sink deep into American influence as they are afraid of.

Top Communist leaders might have expected something unfavorable caused by Clinton's visit. In recent years, Hanoi used to say that the war and the past should be put aside to look towards future. But four weeks before Clinton arrives, a campaign of propaganda offensive has been launched against the Americans. That Nguyen Nam Khanh, a lieutenant-general of the VCP army, severely attacked the "imperialist (American) aggressors" who committed war crimes and were the direct cause of Vietnam's undeveloped economy, is a part of the campaign.

President Clinton should be prepared for unpredictable sly tricks played by the Communists, either for their saving face or for propaganda purpose. (See our suggestions regarding President Clinton's trip in our News Analysis, Sept 23, 2000).

On Friday, Oct 27, the Cong An Nhan Dan (People's Public Security) newspaper angrily rejected a call for President Clinton to meet dissidents when he visits Vietnam as unreasonable and irrelevant. The call had been made by the overseas Vietnamese newspaper Ngay Nay (Today), published in Texas. Not unlike Ms. Thanh, the Cong An Nhan Dan asserts that all those in jail or under surveillance in Vietnam had been charged and convicted according to the law.

We are certain that President Clinton will, in any situation during the visit, act accordingly to defend the dignity of the United States, the great honor of the US Armed Forces as its Commander-in-Chief, the noble sacrifice of the 58 thousand American KIA's and MIA'S. We also believe that President Clinton always holds due respect to the sacrifice of the 250 thousand ARVN soldiers who fell on the soil where he will set foot on during the visit, and tens of thousands of refugees who lost their lives on their way fleeing the Vietnamese Communist regime.

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