US embassy cable - 05HANOI1077

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. 
 
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30th Anniversary: Upbeat events throughout the country 
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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 
 
 
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