OFFICIAL COMPLAINT ABOUT FLAG BILLS

UNCLAS HANOI 000690 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL VM SUBJECT: OFFICIAL COMPLAINT ABOUT FLAG BILLS ¶1. (U) In a diplomatic note to the State Department dated March 20, the MFA formally asked for assistance to "abolish" recent bills by the City Councils of Westminster and Garden Grove, California to permit the use of the flag of the former Republic of Vietnam and to prevent further such legislation at the local and state level. Text of the diplomatic note is in para 3. ¶2. (U) Comment: unusually, the MFA did not address the note to the Embassy nor summon emboff to receive the protest in person. This may be due to what appears to be at least a partial freeze in official appointments here due to the onset of hostilities in Iraq. End comment. ¶3. (U) quote (unofficial translation) No: 118 NG-CM The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam presents its compliments to the Department of State of the United States of America and has the honor to refer to the latter the following: It is known that on the (sic) March 11, 2003, the City Council of Garden Grove, State of California, endorsed the Res. 8486-03 allowing the flag of the former regime of the South of Vietnam to be displayed at public institutions, and at public functions of Vietnamese-American community in the City of Garden Grove. At present, considerable efforts are being made to instigate other city councils in the State of California namely those in Oakland, Hayward, Fremont, San Jose . . . to introduce a similar resolution, and at the same time, to encourage the State of California's Assembly to consider and pass a bill in this regard. Such developments have not only been causing great indignation among the Government and entire people of Vietnam, but also triggered the past of hatred among Vietnamese-American community in the U.S., undermining the process of national reconciliation and unity of the Vietnamese nation, completely running afoul of the current course of our bilateral relations in consistence with the common interests of the two peoples. Furthermore, the existence of those resolutions will send wrong signals to the U.S. Government's formal position, in observance of U.S. Laws, to acknowledge the National Flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the bilateral diplomatic relations. The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam strongly opposes and requests the Federal Government and the State Department of the United States, for the sake of greater interests of the two countries, to take timely, and appropriate measures to abolish the wrongful resolutions of the City Councils of Westminster and Garden Grove, to prevent any similar development wheresoever in the United States, and to avert consideration and endorsement of any similar bill in this regard by the Assembly of other states. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam takes this opportunity to renew to the Department of State of the United States of America the assurances of its highest consideration. Hanoi, March 20, 2003 To: The Department of State The United States of America. end quote BURGHARDT