US embassy cable - 05HOCHIMINHCITY449

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000449 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, SOCI, PREL, PGOV, KIRF, VM 
SUBJECT: HCMC COMMEMORATES THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
END OF THE WAR 
 
 
1.  (SBU) Ho Chi Minh City threw an elaborate celebration to mark 
the 30th anniversary of the end of the war and the reunification 
of the country.  The cornerstone of the April 30th event was a 
three-hour parade followed by speeches from Communist Party 
national and city leaders.  In the reviewing stand was a virtual 
who's who of the Communist Party of Vietnam:  General Secretary 
Nong Duc Manh, former General Secretaries and Le Kha Phieu, 
President Tran Duc Luong, former President Le Duc Anh Prime 
Minister Phan Van Khai, retired General Vo Nguyen Giap, Speaker of 
Parliament Nguyen Van An and former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet. 
Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro was among the handful of senior 
foreign dignitary to attend.   There was no anti-U.S. animus 
evident at the parade. 
 
2. (SBU) In their keynote speeches, President Luong and HCMC Party 
Secretary Nguyen Minh Triet broke little new ground.  They focused 
 
SIPDIS 
on the central role of HCMC in Vietnam's economy and lauded the 
role of the Party in guiding the city's transformation into a 
"modern socialist city." Both emphasized the need for HCMC and 
Vietnam to overcome "shortcomings" and to take the "necessary 
steps to sustain economic development."   Although the speeches 
focused on national reconciliation, Luong and Triet still 
occasionally used phrases such as "the old regime" or "servant 
government" to characterize the Republic of South Vietnam.  A 
public concert the previous evening portrayed the Viet Cong and 
Vietnamese villagers suffering under B-52 carpet bombing and Agent 
Orange defoliant spraying in the South during the war, but the 
tens of thousands of spectators -- the vast majority born after 
the war ended -- were far more interested in the dancing, singing 
and fireworks that followed the staged war-time retrospective. 
True to HCMC's spirit, by Sunday, many of the decorations had been 
removed and it was back to business as usual. 
 
3. (SBU) There was a staged, potemkinesque feel to the entire 
official event.  For the parade, the police closed downtown HCMC 
and even local Vietnamese residents were "encouraged" to stay at 
home.  The marchers paraded through empty streets, although 
Vietnamese television made sure the parade looked good. 
Similarly, HCMC police went door-to-door in many neighborhoods to 
ensure that storeowners and residents displayed Vietnamese flags. 
If not, the police sold and mounted the flags at a nominal cost. 
 
4. (SBU) We understand that there was friction behind the scenes 
over the content of the speeches given at the event.  A reliable 
contact close to former PM Kiet told us that HCMC Party Secretary 
Triet had asked Kiet to comment on a draft of his speech.  Kiet 
reportedly told Triet that he found his speech bland and 
disappointing.  He urged the HCMC Party Leader -- and Politburo 
member -- to use the event to challenge hardliners and to make a 
bold call for internal party reform and faster international 
integration.  Triet demurred, according to our contact. 
 
WINNICK 
 
 
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