WHO
WON THE WAR?
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It
has been 27 years since the Vietnamese Communist army overran Saigon and all
South Vietnam after a long bloody war. Every year on April 30, more than two
million Vietnamese exiles in America, Canada, Australia, France and other
European countries hold ceremonies in memory of the fallen republic and
demonstrations to protest the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP) regime for its
dictatorship, as well as demanding Human Rights and Democracy for the
Vietnamese people.
More
than a week before the day this year, there have been rallies of overseas
Vietnamese in hundreds of towns and cities around the world where they are
living to memorize the event that is the most important in the history of
Vietnam – and certainly of the United States. This year, the Vietnamese exiles
are taking stronger protests against the VCP and its Hanoi government on the
broader aspect.
The
April 30, referred to as “Black April” by many South Vietnamese, is still a
controversial event that keeps the larger issue fresh and alive as if it were
happening just a month ago. The
confusing issue is the defeat of the American armed forces and its ally, the
Republic of (South) Vietnam with sophisticate weapon by an enemy much less
equipped and far lower civilized.
There
have been so many books and materials dealing with the matter, but there were
many factors, possibly decisive factors that have been neglected or
underestimated. However the South Vietnamese as direct victims of the war have
their own answers.
First
of all, the Communist regime relies on the two principal weapons to survive and
to win the war: terrorism and propaganda. The two weapons supported and
maintained all other clandestine activities and military operations of the
Communist Party military arm. Until now, many Westerners do not easily accept
the notion that propaganda has been so effective in war, especially those who
don’t speak Vietnamese and don’t have the basic knowledge of the Vietnamese
society.
Repeated
slanderous propaganda has its incredible impact on human attitude. Besides, RVN
and U.S. forces could not fight their unfriendly friends in the mass media on
the American home front where military victories were converted to defeats on
the small screen after only a few minutes of editing.
On
the other hand, terrorism was skillfully exerted by the Communist Party. The
terror produced by the 1953-56 Land Reform which resulted in execution of many
tens of thousands of prospective opponents and successive political security
policies have been frightening common people for the last four decades. In
combination with propaganda and with the strict control on the population, on
sources of food and food distribution, the Fear Machine had forced millions
young North Vietnamese to go south to fight and die there whether they were
willing to fight or not.
In
South Vietnam, barbaric terrorism was providing endless support to Communist
operation in intelligence, supply of food and financial resources, and
frightening people into obedience.
The
South Vietnamese military and its American ally were not organized and trained
to fight a guerrilla warfare that required combat units to operate at squad
size and high mobility. So huge firepower of the allies did not achieve its
highest outcome of a conventional warfare. Meanwhile they were the worst
propagandists and were not supported by a systematic terrorist network. All of
those mentioned above have denied the allied forces a final victory.
As
responsibility is concerned, many South Vietnamese still blame the U.S. government
for the collapse of the South Vietnamese republic. Others admit that the South
Vietnamese political and military leaders were bearing the greater
responsibility. It seems that both arguments are correct.
Another
fact that should be taken into consideration
is the huge support Hanoi received from
Moscow and Beijing during the war. It
is believed that military aids from China to Hanoi might have reached a
large amount, equal to or probably more
than Washington total expenditures in the Vietnam War if the figures are based
proportionally to true values of each country’s gross national product.
On
the other side of the Black April stories is about the Communist regime in
Vietnam. The most accurate comment came from former Singapore Prime Minister
Lee Kwan Yew about six years ago. According to him, the Vietnam Communist
Party’s victory had pushed South Vietnam back 20 years. Many observers
agreed
with him.
Since
1975, the VCP policies concerning economy, trade, natural resources,
environment, education, health care, social security, social evils, poverty,
administrative and judicial systems... all failed to reach their humblest
objectives.
The
economic reforms, adopted since 1986, really succeeded in raising growth rate
to over 7 percent before slowing down since 1999. High rate could be achieved
again in the next few years, but the life of more than 70 million peasants may
be unchanged – or changed to the worse. In particular, life of farmers in the
Mekong Delta is worse than in the pre-75 era. The gap between rich and poor is
widening every day. All are caused by very high expenditures for political
security and for operating the Communist Party.
The
economic reforms are not carried out at a rate that Hanoi has promised. The VCP
still clings to the Communist teaching about the strong state sector to lead
the whole national economy. VCP leaders are reluctant to reform their state-run
enterprises including those on the brink of bankruptcy.
Visitors
to Vietnam could appraise the changing appearance of the cities, especially
Hanoi and Saigon. New colorful private homes, imposing office buildings,
highways and bridges have been constructed in the last ten years and give the
country a look of modernity and prosperity. People recognize that the Communist
authorities are successful in public works, such as widening streets at chronic
bottlenecks, dismantling hovels at slum areas and resettling the dwellers in
more decent apartments, cleaning streets and doing the best to make cities look
better. Those tasks wouldn’t have been performed so smoothly under the
nationalist government in Saigon before 1975.
But
in fact, there is the darker side. Firstly, most new modern homes belong to the
new class, dubbed as the “Red Bourgeois” or
“Red Capitalists.” Thousands of
those houses cost from ten thousand to several million dollars each, the
extremely large sum of money in Vietnam that the owners could have earned only
by corruption. Secondly, the quantity of the new luxurious homes proves that
the number of corrupt officials of the pre-75 Saigon regime is only 1/10 of the
today’s Red Capitalists, or even lower.
However,
those new buildings follow no rules of architecture, and each structure was
designed after a different style, European, American, Spanish, Gothic, Russian,
Arabian, that destroy the necessary harmony of urban scenery. This is an
indication of the undeniable incapability of the Communist leaders.
Chaotic
traffic in cities is a sign of irresponsibility of central and local
governments. Power abusing complaints filled up responsible offices drawers
without hope of being resolved. Red tape is still torturing not only the
Vietnamese but also many foreign investors, tourists, despite repeated promises
of reforms.
Health
care and education budgets are very low, actually not more than seven to ten
percent of national and local annual budget. Quality of education is
questionable, particularly when more than 20 percent of college and university
diplomats and certificates are fakes. Many thousands of university graduates,
not excluding medical doctors, are unemployed.
Though
Communist leaders label their regime socialist, beggars including the crippled
and the homeless are seen invading every city. Illegal sex trade and the
population of red-lighted districts workers and streetwalkers rose much higher
than ever, not including women smuggled to China, Thailand and Cambodia as
prostitutes. Corruption is going beyond every cure and eroding the last piece
of prestige of the Party leaders. Drug smuggling and addiction go on without
slowing down despite hundreds of death sentences given to smugglers and drug
sellers.
Laws
and law enforcement become more and more ineffective although they may be
changed overnight without a moment’s notice.
Meanwhile,
the Communist regime is always showing its obstinacy towards international
appeal for its better records on human rights and freedom. Hanoi defies every
humanitarian effort from western countries and international institutions
demanding the release of religious and political prisoners. Hanoi deserves
harsh criticism by the Human Rights activists.
On
April 15, 2002, the New York-based Human Rights Watch released a report
denouncing the Communist regime in Vietnam. The long report focuses on the
repression of the minority tribes who are persecuted and opprressed after
1975. In the early 2001, the
Montagnards as they are called, rose in protest against the Communist
authorities and demanded religious freedom. They have been cracked down brutally
since. The report with accurate details is really frightening Hanoi leaders. Of
course they deny all allegations.
Fortunately,
after the 27 years of Communist domination over the whole Vietnam, a great
number of foreign journalists, scholars and researchers have had their eyes
widely open. They have understood why
two million Vietnamese from North and South Vietnam fled their country in
defiance of imminent perils on the way to the land of freedom after April 30,
1975. They did not escape the bloody regime just for fun or for higher living
standards at the price of their own dear life and their families.
In
the last five years, there is much change. The Westminster City Council has
approved a statue of an American soldier beside his Vietnamese combat fellow,
the first time a foreign army is so honored
in
the United States.
Similarly,
the U.S Congress has passed two resolutions concerning the former Republic of
Vietnam.
One
of which is Res. 322 dated July 11, 2000 affirms that 19 June, the former
Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Day, is memorized in America, and commends the
sacrifices of the RVN military.
Most
recently on March 6, the Senate Joint Resolutions 137 and 139 of the state of
Virginia once again confirm the right cause of the former RVN. Resolution 137
designates April 30 as National Vietnamese Remembrance Day in Virginia.
Resolution 139 designates June 19, in 2002 and each succeeding year, as
Vietnamese American Freedom Fighters Day in Virginia.
On
the April-30 occasion this year, the overseas Vietnamese also celebrate the anniversary
of Kings Hung Vuong, believed as the farthest known forefathers of the
Vietnamese. Hung dynasty reigned Vietnam some 4,000 years ago. The Vietnamese
also take this chance to protest against the surreptitious concession of large
chunks of territory to China by Hanoi leaders. The concession prompted fierce
criticism from people in and out of Vietnam, while Communist leaders are unable
to hide their fear of troubles from their party members, particularly when more
and more ranking party cadres are taking side with the dissidents.
Some
people say that the overrun of Saigon on April 30, 1975 is not the final
battle. More people now realize that it was “The bad guys” who won the 1955-75
War between the Vietnamese nationalists and the Communists as Senator McCain
once said. Actually the war, in a broader sense, has not ended.
But
who will gain the very final victory?
It
is hard to foretell. But to the great majority of the Vietnamese people, it’s their conviction that Democracy and
Freedom will, one way or another.
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