[[[[[
The
Vietnam War Memorial in Westminster.
As
to the Vietnamese exiles, a report of the inauguration of the Vietnam War
Memorial in Westminster City, California is cheering them up. The memorial
contains the statues of two soldiers in the Vietnam War: a soldier of the
Republic of Vietnam Army standing beside his fighting fellow in the U.S. Army;
behind them are the RVN red-stripe-on-yellow flag and the Star-Spangled Banner.
The two are standing in a 1.4-acre park.
The
Communist Vietnam General Consulate in San Francisco sent official letter to
the state's officials protesting the memorial. The state officials in
California turned down the Hanoi general consulate's suggestion that the
memorial be removed, saying that the construction of the memorial is within the
competence of a city.
There
were around 10,000 people; most are Vietnamese Americans and American veterans
of the Vietnam War attending the unveiling ceremony. Most of the budget to
build the memorial came from the contribution of the Vietnamese exiles. The
bronze sculptures are artworks of sculptor Nguyen Tuan, who fled Vietnam by
foot, crossing Cambodia jungles in the early 1980's.
The
memorial in Westminster is the first of its kind that honors the warriors of an
allied nation of the United States. In Australia a memorial honoring of the
Vietnamese and Australian soldiers with two similar statues at smaller size was
unveiled a few months ago.
The
memorial is a symbol of the Americans' right cause when fighting the Vietnam
War and also a dedication to the honor of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces.
Whatever opinion ones might have, the fact that the ARVN had been an
institution of a legal republic with over one million soldiers and 20 years of
fighting asserts that they deserve being honored. Their sacrifice and their
fighting under unfavorable conditions are worth high praise.
Faint
Hope
The
Most Ven. Thich Huyen Quang (*), the top leader of the United Buddhist Church
of Vietnam, has been detained for the last 22 years only because he has refused
to join the party-controlled official Buddhist Church. In the last two decades
he has been under house arrest, isolated in a small pagoda at a remote hamlet
in Quang Ngai province.
Last
year, his health was in critical condition, but Communist authorities have
adamantly refused to let him go to Saigon for better treatment. Human rights
and religious freedom groups from many countries have strongly requested Hanoi
leaders to release the old Buddhist leader but only to confront the deaf ears.
His detention is not justified either by a court's sentence or a decision of
any official of any government law-enforcing agency. Hanoi leaders are ruling
Vietnam with countless violations of their own laws and regulations.
Last
month, Hanoi leaders unexpectedly granted Most Ven. Thich Huyen Quang
permission to go to Hanoi for treatment, instead of Saigon. When his conditions
improved enough to let him up and around, the Communist premier in Hanoi
received him. The two discussed issues related to the rights to worship Buddha
and religious services.
No
statement was released, but the official meeting between the Buddhist monk and
the Communist premier himself could be a promising step leading to official
recognition or more tolerance of the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV).
But some observers seem to be skeptical, saying that we must wait and see what
would be coming next.
In
the first week of May after medical treatment in Hanoi, Most Ven. Thich Huyen
Quang was permitted to visit with the second leader of the UBCV, the Most Ven.
Thich Quang Do, who is under house arrest at a room of Thanh Minh Thien Vien
(Buddhist Monastery) in Saigon. The visit lasted three hours. In the trip, Most
Ven. Huyen Quang met with some foreign personages; two of them were the
American Ambassador in Hanoi and the General Consul in Saigon.
The
Most Ven. Huyen Quang was ordered to stay overnight in An Quang Pagoda (the
headquarters of the anti-American and war protesters during the Vietnam War)
but not in other pagodas as he had requested. He was supposed to be back to a
pagoda in Binh Dinh coastal province after the trip. This is the new place
where he would be held continuously under watchful eyes of the Communist Public
Security.
The
trip kindled in many Vietnamese a flickering hope that the Communist regime
would treat the UBCV with softer hands and a more tolerant policy. But people
haven't seen any concrete indications of significant changes in the way the
leaders in Hanoi may be taking to deal with religious freedom issues.
Once in a while Hanoi was showing gestures of
tolerance or merciful actions to pretend having appropriate concerns on the
religious matter when international harsh criticism and pressure rose high.
Viet Communist leaders are extremely patient. They believe that for a time,
however long it might be, protesting voices will subside, everything will be
the same as if nothing has ever happened. Hanoi leaders survived many crises
and still exist thanks to their remarkable intransigence.
In an action of Communist
authorities that may support that little hope for more religious tolerance, the
state-controlled Buddhist Church held a commemoration service on May 20 for the
Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc who burnt himself to death in 1963 to protest
against President Ngo Dinh Diem regime's religious discrimination policy. It was the first time Communist authorities
held a service for the Most Ven. Thich Quang Duc, the heroic martyr of many Vietnamese
Buddhists. People are worrying about the hidden purpose behind all those
events.
Good
News.
In
good news, the World Health Organization and several medical organizations
outside Vietnam are praising Hanoi government for containing the spread of the
deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The U.S. administration and
others such as Singapore and Thailand have removed Vietnam from the list of
countries that could possibly spread the danger of SARS to foreign travelers.
If
Hanoi has truly controlled the disease, the Communist government should be
praised. But many Vietnamese exiles doubt the report. They said that the
Vietnamese Communists have had a long history of fraudulence. The Political
Security Protection branch has the incredible power and techniques to keep
secrets well sealed and to make everything of trivial matters a secret. At any
level, the party and government systems could produce false reports and
distorted statistic figures in a way much more skilful than their counterparts
in China. Few foreigners are capable to detect such ruses under the Communist
regime in Vietnam.
The
Former RVN Flag.
In
the last three months, councils of many cities in the United States have passed
resolutions honoring the national colors of the former Republic of Vietnam and
recognizing the flag as the official symbol of the Vietnamese American
community, allowing the flag to be displayed in public events.
Last year a bill that would honor the display of the RVN flag introduced by Delegate Bob Hull of the Virginia State Legislature passed the House of Delegates 64/27 on Jan 31, the date when Communist forces launched the 1968 Tet Offensive. But the bill died at Virginia Senate's rules committee after the U.S. State Department intervened in February. But then Falls Church City, Virginia, announced the approval of a similar resolution. The California cities of Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, San Jose, and Milpitas followed suit around the April- 30 anniversary, to memorize the defeat of the former Republic of Vietnam.
Wall
Street Journal in its February 25 issue, commented on Hanoi's protest, saying
that "Of course, 58,000 Americans would disagree (with
Hanoi statement) if they could, but they died defending South Vietnam's
flag--to say nothing of the millions of boat people who fled after the
communists took over in 1975."
Many
other cities with large Vietnamese population are considering similar
resolutions. The resolutions mark an unexpected victory, small but meaningful,
of the overseas Vietnamese community.
_________________
Note: (*) A Buddhist monk is given a clergyman's name with
"Thich" as family name, after the holy name of Thich Ca Mau Ni
(Sakyamuni, or Buddha), preceding the personal name. The next two words,
inseparable and irreversible, is the personal name, usually after a term in
Buddhist ritual or prayer's books. For example: a monk whose real name is
Nguyen Van Ba, carries the religious name Thich Nhan Tu. The correct way to
address him is Ven. Thich Nhan Tu, or shortened form Ven. Nhan Tu. Never refer
to him as "Thich" or "Tu" even in news reports. Communist
authorities usually call the disfavored monks especially those who oppose the
regime by their real names to express disregard towards the Buddhist clergymen
they don't like.
***