Cablegate: Hcmc Commemorates the 30th Anniversary of The

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

041256Z May 05

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FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1404
INFO AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY
ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000449

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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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