VIETNAM CELEBRATES 30TH YEAR OF "SAIGON LIBERATION"

UNCLAS HANOI 001077 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM CELEBRATES 30TH YEAR OF "SAIGON LIBERATION" WITH A RHETORICAL OLIVE BRANCH REF: HCMC 451 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Vietnam celebrated the 30th anniversary of the "liberation of Saigon" throughout the country April 29-30. As Vietnam geared up for the event, media sources charted an interesting path between highlighting the 10th anniversary of bilateral relations with the United States and the 30th anniversary of "liberation" and the end of the war. The country's mass media, including State-run VTV and official newspapers, have carried coverage on U.S.-related topics for months, focusing particularly on how Vietnam gained independence and the United States lost the war. The press intensity was predictable, except for the fact that the media consistently used more positive and forward-looking language than we expected, eschewing the insulting epithets that often characterized press references to the United States in the past, especially when referring to the war period. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. -------------- -------------- 30th Anniversary: Upbeat events throughout the country -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) Events marking the end of the war were generally upbeat and devoid of any specific references to hostilities with the United States. For example: Hanoi: In an historic and victorious atmosphere, Hanoi hosted a large-scale ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on April 29. Attending the event were leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV),State, Government, National Assembly (NA), Fatherland Front, Veterans Association, war hero and Ho Chi Minh comrade-in-arms General Vo Nguyen Giap and representatives from various organizations and walks of life. In his opening speech, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai highlighted the Vietnamese spirit of "unity and solidarity" during the war, as well as the importance of national reconciliation. He stressed that the Vietnamese people should use these qualities to build a Vietnam characterized by "success, peace, unity, independence and sovereignty." PM Khai's speech was followed by remarks by Lieutenant General Tran Hanh, General Secretary of the Vietnam Veterans Association, and a representative of "the country's youth." General Hanh's speech "still showed some hatred," a reporter from Quan Doi Nhan Dan ("People's Army") newspaper commented, "but it does not necessarily reflect the Government's view and guidelines." The veterans are becoming "less influential," the reporter added. ¶3. (U) Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC): One day later, another ceremony to mark the anniversary took place in Ho Chi Minh City (reftel),with Government and city leaders in attendance. President Tran Duc Luong and the city's Party Secretary Nguyen Minh Triet addressed the event. In his SIPDIS speech, Luong praised the resistance and the "first to go, last to return" spirit during the war in the Saigon area. In response, Party Secretary Nguyen Minh Triet showed the city's determination "to build itself into a city of social and political stability, with the goal of rapid economic growth and regional and international economic integration." To this end, Triet said, in its relations with the United States, Vietnam focuses primarily on cooperation rather than history. ¶4. (U) Together with Hanoi and HCMC, commemorative activities took place in every corner of the country. In central Vietnam, Quang Tri province held on May 1 a festival to celebrate the 30th anniversary of national reunification at the historical site of Hien Luong Bridge, where the demarcation line once divided the country. In the south, provincial leaders and tens of thousands of revolutionary veterans and people took part in gatherings in Dong Nai, Can Tho, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, Ben Tre and Ca Mau to celebrate the victory. In the north, provinces such as Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho and Hai Phong also contributed to the festive atmosphere nationwide. 10th Anniversary: Reconciliation is the Theme -------------- - ¶5. (U) Besides the generally upbeat tone of the 30th anniversary events, specific language referring to the United States in recent speeches and media coverage has been more positive. This is in contrast to the insulting epithets sometimes used to identify the United States, such as "hegemon," "imperialist" or "gendarme." For example, in his aforementioned 30th anniversary speech, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai did not call the United States anything other than its name. In the latter half of the remarks, Khai moved away from a historical focus and referred to "the end of the old guards' era." "About 60 percent of Vietnam's population was born after 1975", he said, and "the Government counts on this generation to guide the country to new heights of knowledge, technology, innovation and other domains." Official rhetoric and documents usually refer to the United States a source of knowledge, technology and innovation, so the implication of the speech was that Vietnam should focus on its future relationship with the United States rather than its historical conflict. ¶6. (U) Separately, in a recent interview with the MFA's "International Weekly" magazine, former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, speaking generally (but in the context of a discussion of the end of the war) stressed that "one should not mention history too much. History is just like life, with both the right and the wrong." "When you speak about people's mistakes once, they understand, but they'll keep quiet if you speak twice or three times. And frequent repetitions just create a negative impact on their sentiments." "Nothing is impossible," he said. "The war was over several decades ago, and we transferred the authority to the next generation. In other words, I want the war to belong to the past - a past that we wish to close out," Kiet went on. "We should not let victory lull us to sleep," Kiet stressed towards the end of the interview. "Closing out the past" and "moving toward true reconciliation" are the "current trends," commented an America think-tanker, one of POL's contacts. ¶7. (U) During a press briefing on April 21, MFA Spokesperson Le Dzung responded to a question from AFP: "We would like to express our deep sympathy to American families that have relatives, I mean American soldiers, who died in the Vietnam War." Earlier, the Vietnam-U.S. Friendship Association had sent a very friendly open letter to the American peopl. According to an April 22 press article, the Minster of Defense also seems to have gotten the mesage: He included "the American People" among te "international friends" Vietnam had to thank fr their support in helping Vietnam achieve victory in the war. "[Watching a current war documentary] we clearly see the goodwill of the American people," General Tra said. "Demonstrations in support of Vietnam by the American people put pressure on the administration, who then decided to deescalate the war, sign an agreement with Vietnam and withdraw its troops from the country. For that reason, we have expressed our thanks not only to the Russian and Chinese people but also to our American friends." Comment -------------- ¶8. (U) Although sensitive bilateral issues, including human rights, religious freedom and Agent Orange, continue to provoke the official media, the non-hostile tone of Vietnam's recent media coverage of other aspects of the United States seems to reflect the Government's "instructions" to the media to promote reconciliation. As the two countries approach the 10th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, we hope to see this forward-looking trend continue. More recently, when disputes or conflicts have arisen, the GVN has responded on a case-by-case to issues with the relevant United States agencies rather than referring to the entire United States as a "bad system." End Comment. MARINE NNNN