Some of my thoughts on the ABC news story below…
1/ The yellow and red flag these people are displaying is the flag of the former government of the ‘Republic of Viet Nam’ (commonly referred to as ‘South Vietnam’ during the wartime). It is very instructive to look at some of its history.
This flag was adopted in 1948 as the flag of the ‘State of Vietnam’, the puppet government established by the French colonialists to compete with the much more popular government of the ‘Democratic Republic of Viet Nam’ headed by President Ho Chi Minh, who had declared independence in 1945. The French puppet ‘State of Vietnam’ was headed by the former Vietnamese puppet king, Bao Dai, who had formerly served the French colonialists, and even served the Japanese fascists during their World War Two occupation of Viet Nam in which millions of Vietnamese starved to death due to the policies of the French and Japanese governments.
The puppet ‘State of Vietnam’ was renamed the ‘Republic of Vietnam’ in 1955, and continued to use the same flag in the South. This government of the ‘Republic of Vietnam’ (or ‘South Vietnam’) was headed by the notorious, nepotistic dictator Ngo Dinh Diem, and then a succession of military dictators who never had mass public support, but were supported financially and militarily by the government of the USA and its allies who fought in the ‘Vietnam War’.
This yellow flag with three red stripes ceased to exist in Viet Nam when the war finally ended in 1975 and the country was reunified. This flag may still be flown by overseas supporters of the former defeated government of the ‘Republic of Vietnam’, but it has no legitimacy for most Vietnamese.
2/ The young Australian holding the banner, “Ho Chi Minh: dictator and tyrant”, is a victim of false propaganda, who should do some research on the real history of Viet Nam.
Even former US President Eisenhower wrote in his memoirs that if the democratic election under international supervision had been held in 1956, “possibly 80%” of the national Vietnamese population would have voted for Ho Chi Minh. This is why the US and ‘Republic of Vietnam’ governments refused to allow that election. Denied their victory at the ballot box, Vietnam had to win its independence on the bloody battlefield instead.
This young Australian, and others, will no doubt be surprised to learn that Ho Chi Minh (the alleged “dictator and tyrant”) actually has the great honour of being awarded posthumously with two titles by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization): a National Liberation Hero and an Outstanding Man of World Culture. In Viet Nam, Ho Chi Minh is mostly respected as “the father of the nation”, the first President of an independent Viet Nam.
3/ From the ABC news story: “Millions fled Vietnam as a result of Ho Chi Minh's communist regime.” The actual number is hard to verify, but “millions” might be an exaggeration.
Anyway, regardless of how many fled the country, at various times and for various reasons, it is beyond dispute that far more millions died and suffered as a direct and indirect result of the war forced on Viet Nam by foreign governments. Also, many more millions of Vietnamese, north and south, did not flee their country, as they had supported the Ho Chi Minh cause and stayed to rebuild their devastated country after the war. Naturally, in the West we hear little or nothing about these Vietnamese, the vast majority, while the vocal minority of Vietnamese who supported the losing side gets all the media attention.
Even former US President Eisenhower wrote in his memoirs that if the democratic election under international supervision had been held in 1956, “possibly 80%” of the national Vietnamese population would have voted for Ho Chi Minh. This is why the US and ‘Republic of Vietnam’ governments refused to allow that election. Denied their victory at the ballot box, Vietnam had to win its independence on the bloody battlefield instead.
This young Australian, and others, will no doubt be surprised to learn that Ho Chi Minh (the alleged “dictator and tyrant”) actually has the great honour of being awarded posthumously with two titles by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization): a National Liberation Hero and an Outstanding Man of World Culture. In Viet Nam, Ho Chi Minh is mostly respected as “the father of the nation”, the first President of an independent Viet Nam.
3/ From the ABC news story: “Millions fled Vietnam as a result of Ho Chi Minh's communist regime.” The actual number is hard to verify, but “millions” might be an exaggeration.
Anyway, regardless of how many fled the country, at various times and for various reasons, it is beyond dispute that far more millions died and suffered as a direct and indirect result of the war forced on Viet Nam by foreign governments. Also, many more millions of Vietnamese, north and south, did not flee their country, as they had supported the Ho Chi Minh cause and stayed to rebuild their devastated country after the war. Naturally, in the West we hear little or nothing about these Vietnamese, the vast majority, while the vocal minority of Vietnamese who supported the losing side gets all the media attention.
4/ LEST WE FORGET. . . The Australians and New Zealanders (and others) who died in the ‘Vietnam War’, or the ‘American War’ as it is more accurately named here, did so based on deliberate lies from their governments, often reported uncritically by the mainstream ‘news’ media. These lies were exposed by the leaking of the famous official US government documents known as The Pentagon Papers in 1971, and other historical records.
5/ For anyone who wants to understand what the ‘Vietnam War’ was really all about, there is a wealth of material available.
Here is one excellent place to start,
'Remember Vietnam':
http://www.nnn.se/vietnam.htm
Another interesting read. . .
VIET
NAM - A NATION OF PEACE AND TOLERANCE
(On the Vietnamese
Traditional Endeavor for Peace)
By Mr Duong Trung Quoc, Secretary General,
Viet Nam Association of History Research
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