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VN News (Apr. 10, 1997)
April 10: Ellsberg apologizes for not leaking Vietnam documents
April 10: 12,000 Vietnamese women sold to brothels or married in China. ...
April 10: North Korean asks Vietnam for rice aid
April 10: Vietnamese government to work on its public relations
April 10: Vietnam tightens border security amid China talks
April 10: Drug Traffickers to Be Put on Trial in Hanoi
April 10: Vietnam: Rats, Leaf Blight Destroying Rice - Report
April 10: China sees no quick fix for Vietnam oil dispute
April 09: Vietnam, DPRK to Boost Cooperation
April 09: North Korea: Desperate Officials Scour Region for Food
Thursday - Apr 10, 1997
Ellsberg apologizes for not leaking Vietnam documents</B></A>
Japan Economic Newswire
Washington -- Daniel Ellsberg, who fueled opposition to the Vietnam War by
leaking secret government documents known as the "Pentagon Papers" to the
media in 1971, has apologized to the American public for not taking earlier
action to halt major U.S. involvement in the war, the USA Today reported
Wednesday.
The national daily said Ellsberg, 66, apologized for not making public
internal documents he had in a safe in 1964 that might have changed the
course of history in the Vietnam War.
"The next 58,000 deaths (of Americans) would have been prevented if I
had done what I could have done," he was quoted as telling a symposium.
Ellsberg, who was a top Pentagon official privy to top-secret war
planning, reportedly said the documents showed that then President
Lyndon Johnson, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and Secretary of State
Dean Risk were planning to begin wide-scale bombing of North Vietnam
after the 1964 election.
Ellsberg accused the three of lying about their war plans during
secret testimony to Congress in which they convinced the legislature to
pass a resolution Aug. 7, 1964, that authorized the use of force by the
U.S. military in Southeast Asia.
The resolution was passed in connection with the government's
allegation that North Vietnamese torpedo boats Aug. 2 launched an
"unprovoked attack" against a U.S. destroyer on "routine patrol" in the
Tonkin Gulf and that North Vietnamese PT boats two days later followed
up with a "deliberate attack" on a pair of U.S. ships.
Evidence that has since surfaced suggests that there was no second
attack and that the first attack came in response to aggressive
intelligence-gathering maneuvers by the U.S. destroyer in coordination
with attacks on North Vietnam by the South Vietnamese Navy and the
Laotian Air Force.
Thursday - Apr 10, 1997
12,000 Vietnamese women sold to brothels or married in China. ...
Hanoi (AFP) - At least 12,000 Vietnamese women have
been sold to Chinese brothels or forced into marriages with Chinese
men since the easing of tensions between Beijing and Hanoi in 1991,
reports here said Thursday.
The women are mainly from 12 northern Vietnamese provinces close
to the Chinese border, the Thanh Nien Youth newspaper said, quoting
statistics issued by the Vietnam Women's Union.
Some of the mainly peasant women married Chinese men voluntarily
in the hope of swapping harsh living conditions in their homeland
for a better life in China.
But most were seized by Vietnamese or Chinese traffickers and
sold on to brothel owners who prevent them from returning home, the
paper said.
The majority of the affected women are natives of Ha Bac,
Haiphong and Lang Son provinces in Vietnam.
More than 100,000 poverty-stricken Chinese men living near the
Vietnamese border cannot find stable work and so find it impossible
to attract a Chinese wife, the paper said.
China's policy of restricting married couples to only one child
has also led to a surplus of eligible men.
The trade in Vietnamese women exploded after the re-opening of
the land border with China in 1991 following more than a decade of
tension between the two countries.
Thursday - Apr 10, 1997
North Korean asks Vietnam for rice aid
Hanoi (AFP) - North Korea has asked Vietnam to
supply 50,000 tonnes of rice to help alleviate massive food
shortages, a government official said Thursday.
The demand was made Tuesday by visiting North Korean Deputy
Prime Minister Kong Chin The during talks with his
Vietnamese counterpart Tran Duc Long, but the request has
not been approved so far.
"To my knowledge this request, which is to be studied at
the highest level, has not yet been agreed to," the
official said, asking to remain anonymous.
Hanoi, which has always thrown a veil of secrecy over
donations to the islolated Stalinist state, last year
delivered 20,000 tonnes of rice to North Korea worth five
million dollars repayable over 10 years, he added.
However, Pyongyang has so far not made any payments and is
now asking for a further 50,000 tonnes and five years
credit in order to meet food shortages it has blamed on two
years of flooding.
Vietnam which is confronting its own budget problems has
put forward three proposals to Kong, the first being the
prior re-payment of the 1996 debt.
Under the second proposal, Hanoi would offset its own
outstanding debts to Pyongyang for military equipment
purchased during the Vietnam war.
If the cost of the rice bought for 1997 was more than
Vietnam's debts to North Korea, then Hanoi could receive
the difference in military hardware.
And under a third proposal, Hanoi has suggested that
Pyongyang should buy Vietnamese rice with international
donor funds.
The United Nations on Monday launched a new 126 million
dollar emergency appeal for North Korea, where reports have
said some people are surviving off less than a bowl of rice
a day and tree bark.
A US congressman, who made a four-day fact finding mission
to the North, said in Tokyo on Tuesday that between six to
eight million people could face starvation.
Vietnam was the world's third largest exporter of rice last
year with a record three million tonnes.
Thursday - Apr 10, 1997
Vietnamese government to work on its public relations
Hanoi (AFP) - The Vietnamese government is to
work on its public relations with the appointment of an
official spokesman, a cabinet official said Thursday.
Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet signalled last Monday a
directive urging "a small reform to give ministers, the
press and the public official information more quickly,"
the official said.
The new spokesman, who will be appointed before the end of
June, will give a monthly news conference to explain what
the government is doing.
The news conference will at first be reserved strictly to
the Vietnamese media but could eventually be open to
accredited foreign journalists accredited, the number of
which has grown fivefold in the last five years.
Official life remains opaque in Vietnam. The only regular
guide to the workings of the Hanoi government is a brief
bi-monthly news briefing organised by the foreign ministry.
Thursday - Apr 10, 1997
Vietnam tightens border security amid China talks
Hanoi (Reuter) - Vietnam said on Thursday it was beefing up border patrols
and security as officials met in Beijing with their Chinese counterparts for
the second day to discuss a sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea.
Leading state newspapers announced a presidential decision which they said
established new functions, powers and objectives for Vietnam's Frontier
Soldier force.
The official Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) daily said in an editorial
that while existing security had succeeded in preventing ``bad elements''
from infiltrating Vietnam, ``new, complicated demands and hard tasks have
emerged for the defence of the borderline.''
It gave few details of what was envisaged in the new ordinance but said the
aim was both to control and defend Vietnam's national border.
``Frontier soldiers should be strengthened and modernised to meet the need
to firmly defend the border area and islands of the country in any
circumstances,'' it said.
The move came as expert-level talks between Vietnam and China over a dispute
which erupted last month over oil drilling off the Vietnamese coast entered
their second day.
Teams of negotiators from the two sides gathered at a Beijing hotel on
Thursday to discuss China's March 7 positioning of its Kan Tan 111 oil rig
some 64.5 nautical milles off the coast of central Vietnam last month.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said in Beijing that the talks with
Vietnam had resulted in greater understanding but warned that differences
would take time to iron out.
Vietnam's 1,306 km (810-mile) land border with China is ill-defined and
overlapping in some places.
Territorial claims at sea, including around the Paracel and Spratly Island
chains, are more complex because of the potential mineral resources of the
areas and the involvement of other claimants.
China and Vietnam normalised diplomatic ties in 1991, 12 years after a
bloody border war, but regular talks to resolve continued land and sea
demarcation differences have made little noticeable progress.
Thursday - Apr 10, 1997
Drug Traffickers to Be Put on Trial in Hanoi
Hanoi (Xinhua News) - The Hanoi People's Court will try a group
of drug traffickers in early May, the Vietnam news agency reported
today.
The drug trafficking ring, the largest discovered in Vietnam, has
operated for a long time in Vietnam, Thailand and Laos.
Reports said that investigations have completed, and 40 suspects have
been placed in temporary custody and some others still at large.
The police investigation department has issued warrants for 34 suspects
including 12 police and four border guard officers.
The Hanoi police have seized 4.9 kilograms of heroin and more than 80,
000 U.S. dollars while searching the house of Vu Xuan Truong, one of
the ring leaders.
The police said that the ring leaders, including some Laotians, have
bribed government officials, police, customs officers and border
guards.
Last year, two Laotians involved in drug trafficking were sentenced to
death by Vietnam's court.
Thursday - Apr 10, 1997
Vietnam: Rats, Leaf Blight Destroying Rice - Report
Hanoi (AP) -- Rats and leaf blight are destroying rice in different regions
of Vietnam, according to an official media report Thursday.</p>
Nearly 20,000 hectares of rice and other substantial crops have been
destroyed by rats recently, the Ministry of Agriculture said, the
English-language Vietnam News reported.</p>
The ministry has urged local authorities to kill rats efficiently, and
several million already have been dispatched in the Red River delta, the
newspaper said.</p>
Separately, leaf blight has affected at least 31,000 hectares of rice in
several central and northern provinces.</p>
The blight is mainly attributed to sticky rice caused by wet weather, the
newspaper said.
Thursday - Apr 10, 1997
China sees no quick fix for Vietnam oil dispute
BEIJING (Reuter) - China said on Thursday that talks with Vietnam to
resolve a dispute over oil drilling off the Vietnamese coast had resulted in
greater understanding but warned that differences would take time to iron out.
``The two sides have reached a greater understanding of each other's
positions,'' foreign ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said of expert-level
talks that began on Wednesday in Beijing.
``We hope that we can resolve our differences through peaceful discussion,''
Shen told a news briefing.
China triggered the row last month by moving the oil and gas exploration
ship Kan Tan III into disputed seas about 64.5 nautical miles off the coast
of central Vietnam.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesman Tran Quang Hoan has said the goal of
the Beijing meeting would be to clarify that the area in dispute was within
Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
``But some differences cannot be resolved immediately,'' China's Shen said.
``We hope this will not affect the friendly relations between our two
countries.''
Shen said he expected the talks in Beijing to end shortly, but gave no date.
Teams of negotiators from the two sides gathered at a Beijing hotel for a
second day of talks on Thursday, but both Chinese and Vietnamese officials
refused to comment on the content of the discussions or any progress.
However, sources close to the Vietnamese side said Hanoi presented its
position on Wednesday and Beijing was expected to respond on Thursday.
The sources said it was unclear whether the talks would continue into Friday.
China has dismissed Vietnam's claim to the potentially resource-rich area
and has declared the operations of its rig to be beyond criticism.
However, President Jiang Zemin last week had friendly words for visiting
Vietnamese Minister of the Interior Le Minh Huong.
Vietnamese officials said last week China had moved the vessel at the centre
of the row out of the disputed area.
China's main offshore oil firm said last week it was withdrawing the oil
exploration rig from waters claimed by the two communist neighbours after
the vessel had completed its planned exploration work.
The row is the latest in a long series of territorial disputes, ideological
differences and historical grievances to strain Sino-Vietnamese socialist
solidarity.
China and Vietnam fought a brief but bloody border war in 1979 and clashed
at sea in the 1980s.
The potential mineral riches of territory contested by Hanoi and Beijing
have been a constant threat to recent efforts by both sides to boost ties.
Both nations claim parts of the Tonkin Gulf and the Paracel and Spratly
island chains.
China and Vietnam normalised diplomatic ties in 1991, 12 years after their
border war, but regular talks to resolve continued land and sea demarcation
differences have made little noticeable progress.
Vietnam said on Thursday it was beefing up border patrols and security to
meet ``new, complicated demands and hard tasks have emerged for the defence
of the borderline.''
Wednesday - Apr 09, 1997
Vietnam, DPRK to Boost Cooperation
Hanoi (Xinhua News) - Vietnam and the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tuesday vowed to consolidate cooperation for
each country's prosperity and for peace and cooperation in the
Asian-Pacific region and the world at large.
Press here reported that Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Tran Duc Luong
held talks Tuesday with the visiting DPRK's Deputy Prime Minister Kong
Jin-tae, who arrived here Monday for a week-long visit.
The two sides underlined "the important significance of the
consolidation and development of their time-honored friendship and
cooperation fostered by late President Ho Chi Minh and late President
Kim Il Sung," media reports said.
Tran Duc Luong said that "Vietnam has always attached importance to its
traditional friendship with the DPRK and hoped to boost the
comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the DPRK."
He said that a long-lasting peace and stability will be maintained on
the Korean peninsula, saying the DPRK people's aspiration for peace and
reunification will come true.
Kong Jin-tae reasserted his country's policy to seek closer ties with
Vietnam and to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields
including economy and goods exchange.
The two sides discussed measures to promote cooperation, increase
exchanges of visits, facilitate contacts among economic organizations
and enterprises to create more opportunities for cooperation on the
basis of efficiency and mutual benefit, said the reports.
Official sources here said Vietnam's Communist Party leader Do Muoi and
Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet are expected to meet the visiting DPRK
delegation.
Wednesday - Apr 09, 1997
North Korea: Desperate Officials Scour Region for Food
HONG KONG (IPS) - A shipload of 5,100 tons of rice and
maize intended for North Korea's hungry masses is being loaded in
the Vietnamese port of Ho Chi Minh City, one of the first grain
shipments since an international appeal on Pyongyang's behalf went
out last week.
North Korean deputy prime minister Kong Jin Tae has also arrived
in Hanoi this week for talks likely to include barter negotiations
on the supply of food.
So desperate is Pyongyang for food aid that it is willing to go
negotiate cheap broken rice supplies not normally shipped as food.
As one North Korean official informed a United Nations team
recently, the urgency of food aid was such that it was now a
question of quantity, not quality.
Severe floods in 1995 and 1996 affected 145 of North Korea's 209
counties and left half a million homeless out of a population of
23 million people. Farmland in the northern part of North Korea,
the country's breadbasket, has been devastated.
The $1.2 million shipment from Vietnam, paid for by international
donors and administered by Caritas, is due to arrive in North Korea
on April 19.
It will be one of the first grain shipments to arrive since an
international appeal was launched by the United Nations World Food
Program (WFP) last week in response to requests from Pyongyang.
Earlier this month, the South Korean Red Cross sent $1 million
worth of food and vegetable seeds to North Korea.
On March 31, Seoul lifted a ban which prevented private
organizations from sending grain, and shipments are now being
negotiated. The ban had previously been in place because of fears
that grain would be diverted to feed the North Korean military.
The North Korean government has asked for two million tons of grain
and the World Food Program says the country needs some $126 million
in aid to prevent a major catastrophe.
But Kaethi Zellweger, director of international cooperation for
Caritas, said: "Their need for food aid is so big we just know that
what they need, we cannot supply."
"The people's rations are cut and cut again or they fluctuate,"
says Zellweger, who has made nine trips to North Korea in the last
two years, in an interview in her Hong Kong office.
Rations are down from 450 grams of rice a day, which is around
1,500 calories, far too little for farmers or laborers doing heavy
work. Some reports from international aid agencies suggest that
even that has shrunk to 100 grams a day, barely enough to sustain
a working population.
But aid workers are unable to confirm whether several thousand
people have indeed died of starvation since September, as has been
reported in Seoul and Tokyo recently.
While the North Korean government has tried to mobilize the
population to rebuild embankments and undertake other flood
prevention work, it is difficult to work on an empty stomach.
Pointing to a picture from last year of women working to rebuild
an embankment that had been washed away by floods, Zellweger said:
"The energy levels were really down. You could see how hard it was
to lift equipment."
"They have coping mechanisms like harvesting wild herbs and roots,
planting vegetables where before there were flowers," she said.
Other reports say people in the impoverished north are eating tree
bark to survive.
"Everyone is subject to belt-tightening. Collective farmers cannot
keep the usual amount back to feed themselves," said Zellweger.
Other aid agencies note that the higher food rations for those
involved in heavy labor have been reduced.
All sectors of the population were affected in what Zellweger calls
"shared deprivation." WFP officials, who acknowledged that the
government gave more food per person per day to the military, noted
that even military rations had been cut recently.
"You do see some children or adults who do not look very well and
everyone is getting thinning and thinner. But generally, children
were well protected by their parents who feed them first and take
the rest. It is the old and sick who have big problems," Zellweger
said.
Last November, children were receiving reasonable rations at
school. Likewise, Caritas's efforts which in 1995 and early 1996
focused on feeding children, were until last month concentrated on
getting food to adults.
But recently there have been reports of increasing malnutrition
among young children. Now aid workers believe that the children
were being given stocks intended for much later in the season, and
that these have run out.
The time between now and July when the harvest comes in is the
toughest period, which means the risk of mass starvation is very
real, aid workers say.
Last week, WFP executive director Catherine Bertini said that many
children in nurseries she visited during a trip to North Korea last
month showed signs of malnutrition. Some had orange-tinted hair,
bloated stomachs and skeletal limbs.
"We aren't sure how much food the children are receiving in schools
right now," Bertini said, speaking in Seoul after her trip to North
Korea. "In one school the teacher said that the children had been
fed that day, but our nutritionist said there hadn't been any fires
that day and food had not been cooked that day."
Zellweger concurs that it is difficult to get an accurate picture.
"It is still very hard for North Koreans to admit they are having
problems. They are a proud nation."
North Korea first appealed for international aid after the 1995
floods, the first time it did such a thing in its history.
"Reaching out for help was a major step. It also meant opening up
the country to foreign aid workers. Being so isolated, it's a major
move," said Zellweger.
Monitoring food needs and distribution often means going right
inside people's homes. "Of course it's embarrassing (for North
Koreans) when you ask to see what food they have got and they take
you into their kitchens and they have almost nothing," she added.
But despite the difficult situation, she says there seems to be no
problem with food distribution because a well-functioning system
is in place under which people go to collect rations. "People are
remarkably disciplined," noted Zellweger.
For now, the needs of the entire population are so serious that
Pyongyang cannot afford to alienate international donors by
diverting food to the military. "They know what it would mean if
our aid were misused. It would stop. They can't afford that."