US embassy cable - 03HANOI690

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