VN news (Apr 4, 1997)

[Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>]

Vietnamese Newspaper Highlights - April 03, 1997 
Individualism is on the rise - it is limiting the development of the country 
General's political star shines 


Vietnamese Newspaper Highlights - April 03, 1997 

HANOI (VNA) -- Highlights of Vietnam's daily newspapers today:

NHAN DAN:

1. At the opening ceremony of the National Assembly's 11th session
here yesterday morning, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet stressed on
socio-economic development in the 1992-97 period.

HANOI MOI:

1. In the first quarter of this year, the Hanoi Tax collection sector
fulfilled its quarterly tax collection plan, representing 136 percent
compared with the same period last year.

VIETNAM NEWS:

1. Five new districts in Ho Chi Minh City were officially opened at a
ceremony held by the city administration early this week.

2. Over 138,000 tonnes of coffee exported during the first quarter.

3. More than 700 Vietnamese artists registered for the second annual
VIETNAM-ASEAN Art Awards 1997 competition, which officially opened
here yesterday.
  ___________________________________

Individualism is on the rise - it is limiting the development
of the country 

By GREG TORODE in Hanoi
South China Morning Post

Ailing President Le Duc Anh returned to politics yesterday warning
"sabotage" and "selfish individualism" was undermining Communist Party
rule.

In his first public appearance after a severe stroke in November,
General Anh, 76, resorted to revolutionary rhetoric during a 20-minute
address to open the National Assembly.

"Above all dangers is one of individualism," he said in what is
expected to be one of last his key addresses as President.

"Individualism is on the rise with development under any form, under
any colour . . . it is in the state enterprises and in the state
organs.

"It is causing harm to unity and to state assets, limiting the
development of the country and reducing the confidence of the people
in the party and state."

"We respect individuals' interests but these must go hand in hand with
the state."

The President also warned the "plague of selfishness" was driving away
foreign investors.

After thunderous applause from 500 National Assembly delegates and
foreign ambassadors, General Anh stumbled leaving the rostrum - the
only sign of the stroke which has kept him out of the spotlight.

Vietnamese analysts and officials later said his remarks could be seen
as a response to spiralling evidence of corruption in government,
state-owned businesses and banking elites. General Anh warned of the
constant need for vigilance against "sabotage" and "peaceful
evolution" - the eroding of party power through Vietnam's new links
with the outside world.

"The task of the Army and the party has been to clearly defend and
drive back schemes and sabotage by reactionary elements," he said.

"We must always contribute our wealth and energy to this cause."

Military political supremo Lieutenant-General Le Kha Phieu said the
country still wanted to harness "initiative and contribution" and
instead linked individualism to criminal acts.

General Anh's tone also differed considerably from Prime Minister Vo
Van Kiet's low-key state of the nation speech.

Mr Kiet warned against corruption and demanded streamlining laws and
Vietnam's bureaucracy to keep foreign investment and aid flowing.

He called for increased economic development, including the private
sector, to sustain high growth rates.

Mr Kiet stressed the need for the new forced-labour campaign,
describing mass mobilisation as the Vietnam war's "greatest lesson".

Mr Kiet and General Anh are expected to be replaced in September or
October, when their five-year terms end following National Assembly
elections in July.

A reshuffle is expected to spark widespread personnel changes in
Communist Party and government posts.
  ___________________________________

General's political star shines 

The country's most mysterious political figure moved into the
limelight yesterday to confirm the prospect of upcoming leadership
changes but gave little away on his own ambitions.

Lieutenant-General Le Kha Phieu, the military's ideological supremo,
said it would be "normal" for younger leaders to emerge at top levels
following National Assembly elections in July.

When asked if those positions could include the president and prime
minister, General Phieu, 64, said: "Certainly, it will happen in
October or September."

And on rumours that he is being groomed to replace Communist Party
General Secretary Do Muoi, now 80, General Phieu said: "We have not
yet taken that into account."

Under Vietnam's firm one-party system, the 395-member Assembly
appoints a president, prime minister and new Cabinet - ultimately
under the watch of the Communist Party's Politburo.

General Phieu is considered one of Vietnam's fast rising political
stars and one who typifies a breed of hard-headed younger leaders. --
SCMP

  Despite a formidable reputation within Hanoi's corridors of power, he
has had little official exposure to foreigners and is largely unknown
outside the country.

General Phieu's star rose during last year's Communist Party Congress
when he moved up to number five on the Politburo - and became a
permanent member of its new five-man elite Standing Board.

Known as an influential disciplinarian, General Phieu wears a suit
rather than a uniform. He is the director of the Army's General
Political Department and chairman of the party's Internal Political
Protection Commission - one of the most secretive branches of the
region's most secretive regimes.

It is a role which gives him a powerful staff and makes him ultimately
responsible for the military defence of Hanoi from bases outside the
city - and a key link between the Army and party.

General Phieu has worked tirelessly against the undermining of party
rule by new outside forces.

Yesterday, he appeared keen to modify President Le Duc Anh's warnings
against "individualism" among its cadres.

"We do not oppose any individual initiatives or contributions for the
country," he said. "We welcome them . . . we just oppose anything for
their own benefit."
  ___________________________________