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VN News (Apr. 14, 1997)
Unicef to boost literacy among Vietnamese minorities
Vietnam says U.S. approved its Washington envoy
Vietnam Seeks Closer Ties With Iran, Signs Trade Pacts
Replica of Vietnamese village a new home for 1,500 boat people
War-Era Mass Grave Found in Vietnam
Vietnam PM demands ban on paper money burning
Judge promises clean trial in Vietnam's biggest drug case
'Trial of year' set to expose drug ring's powerful links
Unicef to boost literacy among Vietnamese minorities
Hanoi (AFP) - The Vietnamese government and a key UN agency have
published bilingual textbooks in an effort to boost low literacy rates
among the country's ethnic minorities, officials said Monday.
Several thousand books for use in primary education combining
Vietnamese and ethnic minority languages have been distributed in
mountainous and remote areas where primary school completion rates are
low.
The program is being run by the Ministry of Education and Training and
the United Nations Chidren's and Educational Fund (UNICEF) and
provides books in Vietnamese Khmer, Bahnar, Cham and H'Mong, UNICEF
said.
The national average for primary school completion is 57 percent
compared with only 40 percent among minorities, a discrepency caused
partly because Vietnamese is used as the primary language of
instruction, UNICEF said in a statement.
Meanhwhile the Vietnamese National Culture Publishing House said it
would be releasing a bilangual dictionary in Vietnamese and Mong
language this month.
___________________________________
Vietnam says U.S. approved its Washington envoy
Hanoi (Reuter) - The U.S. administration has approved Vietnam's choice
of career diplomat Le Van Bang as its first ambassador to Washington,
the Foreign Ministry in Hanoi said on Monday.
``Vietnam applauds the speedy approval by the U.S. side,'' the
ministry said in a statement. ``Mr. Bang will leave for America soon
to take up his post.''
U.S. diplomats in Hanoi declined to confirm the statement, which said
approval was given on April 11.
However, they said it had been expected to come immediately after last
Thursday's confirmation by the Senate of Douglas ``Pete'' Peterson as
the first U.S. ambassador to Hanoi.
``It's a choreographed thing. Both sides ask for escalation to
ambassador at the same time,'' one U.S. embassy official said.
No date has been given for Peterson's arrival in Hanoi.
Although the two former enemies normalised relations two years ago,
the embassies in their respective countries are headed by a charge
d'affaires rather than an ambassador.
Bang, 50, became charge d'affaires in Washington in 1994 after stints
as Vietnam's ambassador to the United Nations and prior to that as
director of the Americas department at the Foreign Ministry in Hanoi.
The ministry said the envoy exchange would help relations in all
fields, but especially in economic cooperation and trade. A
comprehensive trade agreement, which would lead to most favoured
nation (MFN) trading status for Vietnam, has yet to be reached.
___________________________________
Vietnam Seeks Closer Ties With Iran, Signs Trade Pacts
Hanoi (AP) -- As European Union nations withdraw their diplomats from
Iran and condemn state-sponsored terrorism, Vietnam is pushing forward
with closer economic links to the middle-eastern country.
Following bilateral meetings last week in the Iranian capital, Tehran,
the two countries signed a series of economic pacts, state-run media
in Vietnam reported Monday.
Increasing trade in rice and petroleum products was the main focus
during the talks. The two sides explored closer cooperation in other
fields, including agriculture, construction, education and financial
services, the English-language Vietnam News reported.
The two countries have also agreed in principle to work together for
the development of rubber processing, tea harvesting and cement
production, the newspaper said.
The agreements follow a blow to Iran's diplomatic ties with E.U.
nations, which were shaken when a German court last week linked Iran's
leadership with the murders of political exiles living in Berlin.
The German court said Tehran ordered the murders of Iranian Kurdish
dissidents in 1992. All 15 E.U. nations except Greece withdrew their
ambassadors to Tehran, and Germany expelled four Iranian diplomats.
Iran called home its envoy in Bonn and threw out four German
diplomats.
___________________________________
Replica of Vietnamese village a new home for 1,500 boat
people
Manila (SCMP) -- About 700 Vietnamese boat people have started moving
into a replica of the villages many of them fled eight years ago.
On Wednesday, the "Viet Village", located on the lush tropical island
of Palawan southwest of Manila, will be formally inaugurated.
Modelled on a typical Vietnamese rural village, it has a temple, a
health centre, administrative centre and commercial establishments,
and a bakery is planned.
The first of its kind in Asia, it is planned as a home for at least
1,500 Vietnamese boat people in the Philippines who were rejected for
asylum by third countries, but who refuse to return to Vietnam.
The US$1.5 million (HK$11.59 million) funding for the village was
raised by communities of Vietnamese who found asylum in such countries
as the United States and Canada.
The remaining Vietnamese in the Philippines have applied for either
temporary or permanent residence visas, said Pham Hoang Van, who lives
in the US.
Mr Pham, 29, a student working for a doctoral degree in economics,
fled Vietnam with his family in 1975, eventually settling in Florida.
He flew in last week to help the Centre for Assistance to Displaced
Persons Incorporated with the inauguration. The centre is a private
non-profit corporation headed by Catholic nun Pascale Le Thi Triu
which caters solely for the boat people.
It was Sister Pascale who persuaded the Catholic Church to ask the
Government to stop the forcible repatriation of the boat people, after
the United Nations cut off funding support for them last June, Mr Pham
disclosed.
Last July, due to the Vietnamese nun's stubborn persistence, the
Church and the Government signed an agreement in which the Government
allowed them to stay provided the Church promised to care for them.
They have now been granted permission to work.
___________________________________
War-Era Mass Grave Found in Vietnam
Hanoi (AP) -- Villagers in southern Vietnam have discovered a mass
grave filled with the remains of 50 communist soldiers and volunteers
killed during the Vietnam War.
Bones and personal belongings were found in the shallow grave in Tan
Hoa village 50 miles northwest of Ho Chi Minh City.
The remains were identified as communist guerrillas and youth
volunteers fighting for North Vietnam during the war in the 1960s and
'70s, the state-controlled Labor newspaper reported.
Tens of thousands of young communist troops were killed in southern
Vietnam. Their bodies were typically discarded by South Vietnamese
troops in shallow mass graves outside villages and towns.
This is the second mass grave uncovered in the past month.
In mid-March, a grave with 30 sets of remains was found in southern
Vietnam. The soldiers from that grave were believed to have been North
Vietnamese regular army troops killed during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
About one million Vietnamese soldiers died during the war between the
communist North and the U.S.-backed South. At the end of the war,
about 400,000 communist troops were listed as missing in action.
___________________________________
Vietnam PM demands ban on paper money burning
Hanoi (AFP) - Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet has ordered
cultural authorities to ban the burning of paper money and joss sticks
as part of a government's anti-superstition campaign, a report said
Monday.
According to a new document issued by the Government's Office, the
head of the government has asked the Ministry of Culture and
Information to start a propaganda campaign to fight the burning of
paper and superstitious objects, the Lao Dong newspaper reported.
The traditional Vietnamese custom of Hang ma, as these paper goods are
called, is way of honouring the dead. Fake paper money, both local
dong currency and dollars are burned in belief the vapours will carry
riches to the departed in the netherworld.
More modern forms of offerings include paper miniatures of Honda Dream
II motorbikes, multi-storey villas and even Mercedes Benz cars have
become popular.
___________________________________
Judge promises clean trial in Vietnam's biggest drug case
Hanoi (AFP) - A supreme court judge promised a clean and thorough
trial of 34 people accused of taking part in Vietnam's biggest heroin
trafficking ring, reports here said Monday.
"I think that there will be no one who dares interfere or impede this
trial, in spite of the fact that a number of criminals involved are
people from the interior ministry," the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper
quoted Phan Hung, a Hanoi-based magistrate of the Supreme People's
Court as saying.
Sentences handed down are expected to be harsh, as the high profile
trial is intended to send a strong signal of the government's resolve
to crack down on drug trafficking and corruption.
Proceedings are due to start on May 2 and last until May 12, the An
Ninh Thudo police newspaper said.
Thirty-four people, including Vu Xuan Truong, captain of the interior
ministry anti-crime squad, implicated in Vietnam's most extensive drug
ring will go on trial, a court official said Monday.
"This is a very serious and complicated case because the drug
traffickers have linked with foreigners and even two responsible
people from the interior ministry who are in the anti-drug forces,"
Hung said.
High ranking police officers and officials have been accused of
organising a heroin smuggling ring from Laos which was exposed last
July by condemned Laotian smuggler Sieng Phenh whose execution was
suspended in exchange for information.
The ensuing probe resulted in the arrest of Major Vu Huu Chinh, vice
head of the anti-drug squad of the interior ministry's economic
department and Bui Danh Ca, captain of the checkpoint between the
northern Lai Chau province and Laos.
Truong, captain of the Interior Ministry anti-crime squad was arrested
last July during a raid on his residence where police seized 4.9
kilograms of heroin (10.78 pounds) and 80,000 dollars in cash.
Sieng's revelations also led to the arrest of Colonel Vu Ban in
December on suspicion of being implicated in the country's
biggest-ever drug trafficking case, in which the Laotian smuggled 15.5
kilograms (34 pounds) of heroin.
The case is bound to receive widespread public attention and will be
upheld as an example, the judge said.
"This will be a lesson to strengthen forces in the police and border
guards," Hung said.
Possession of more than one kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of heroin in
Vietnam is punishable by death. Executions are carried out by firing
squad.
Drug trafficking and consumption have increased remarkably in Vietnam
in recent years with more than 13,000 people being held for drug
offences, according to official figures.
Vietnam has become a trans-shipment point for drugs being moved from
the Golden Triangle area of Laos, Burma and Thailand to the west.
___________________________________
Judge promises clean trial in Vietnam's biggest drug case
Hanoi (AFP) - A supreme court judge promised a clean and thorough
trial of 34 people accused of taking part in Vietnam's biggest heroin
trafficking ring, reports here said Monday.
"I think that there will be no one who dares interfere or impede this
trial, in spite of the fact that a number of criminals involved are
people from the interior ministry," the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper
quoted Phan Hung, a Hanoi-based magistrate of the Supreme People's
Court as saying.
Sentences handed down are expected to be harsh, as the high profile
trial is intended to send a strong signal of the government's resolve
to crack down on drug trafficking and corruption.
Proceedings are due to start on May 2 and last until May 12, the An
Ninh Thudo police newspaper said.
Thirty-four people, including Vu Xuan Truong, captain of the interior
ministry anti-crime squad, implicated in Vietnam's most extensive drug
ring will go on trial, a court official said Monday.
"This is a very serious and complicated case because the drug
traffickers have linked with foreigners and even two responsible
people from the interior ministry who are in the anti-drug forces,"
Hung said.
High ranking police officers and officials have been accused of
organising a heroin smuggling ring from Laos which was exposed last
July by condemned Laotian smuggler Sieng Phenh whose execution was
suspended in exchange for information.
The ensuing probe resulted in the arrest of Major Vu Huu Chinh, vice
head of the anti-drug squad of the interior ministry's economic
department and Bui Danh Ca, captain of the checkpoint between the
northern Lai Chau province and Laos.
Truong, captain of the Interior Ministry anti-crime squad was arrested
last July during a raid on his residence where police seized 4.9
kilograms of heroin (10.78 pounds) and 80,000 dollars in cash.
Sieng's revelations also led to the arrest of Colonel Vu Ban in
December on suspicion of being implicated in the country's
biggest-ever drug trafficking case, in which the Laotian smuggled 15.5
kilograms (34 pounds) of heroin.
The case is bound to receive widespread public attention and will be
upheld as an example, the judge said.
"This will be a lesson to strengthen forces in the police and border
guards," Hung said.
Possession of more than one kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of heroin in
Vietnam is punishable by death. Executions are carried out by firing
squad.
Drug trafficking and consumption have increased remarkably in Vietnam
in recent years with more than 13,000 people being held for drug
offences, according to official figures.
Vietnam has become a trans-shipment point for drugs being moved from
the Golden Triangle area of Laos, Burma and Thailand to the west.
___________________________________
'Trial of year' set to expose drug ring's powerful links
Hanoi (SCMP) -- It is set to be Hanoi's trial of the year, involving
about 40 people accused of running Vietnam's biggest drug-smuggling
syndicate linked to one of its most powerful institutions - the
Interior Ministry.
Announcing the trial for May 2, Hanoi police revealed the syndicate
might have been responsible for smuggling more than 140 kilograms of
heroin and even more opium over several years.
With the help of border guards and police in Hanoi and the
northwestern mountains, the group moved heroin from Thailand via Laos
to Hanoi and beyond, moving car loads of the drug down through the
historic Dien Bien Phu valley.
Two police drivers, Dung Duy Loc and Tam Dung Minh, used official
vehicles to deliver heroin to a senior colleague, Captain Vu Xuan
Truong, sources said.
They were arrested this month after reports they twice delivered up to
6 kg of high-grade heroin from the border province of Lai Chau to
Truong's Hanoi home. Truong was arrested last year in the first major
scandal of its kind to rock the omnipresent Interior Ministry, which
remains one of the country's most secretive institutions.
Truong had worked in Lai Chau - the closest point in Vietnam to the
Golden Triangle - before promotion to a state position in an anti-drug
and "social evils" unit.
He was allegedly arrested at one of his three Hanoi villas with more
than 5 kg of heroin and nearly $100,000 in cash after a "gallows
confession" from a convicted Laotian drug dealer. The Laotian remains
in solitary confinement, well away from Truong.
He named the captain in a plea for mercy before a firing squad and
managed to bring the issue to the office of President Le Duc Anh, who
put Hanoi's municipal police in charge of the probe.
Truong's arrest led to the arrest of three other senior Interior
Ministry officials - including Lieutenant-Colonel Vu Ban, head of the
economic section of the Ministry's Investigation Police. The seniority
of some of the accused has led Hanoi People's Court Judge Dang Minh
Ngoc to call for the most thorough investigation possible.
"Almost all of the accused in this case are experienced officials, so
the investigators cannot avoid facing their tricks during confessions
to reduce their guilt," he said.
The arrests come amid growing community pressure for the Communist
Party and Government to clean up the streets of Hanoi, where
high-grade heroin is common.