FWD:[avsl-l] VIETNAM: Youth Newspaper Interviews Prime Minister Vo

[vuca@envi.env.civil.saitama-u.ac.jp (Vu Thanh Ca)]

Ho Chi Minh City Tuoi Tre in Vietnamese, Feb 97 pp


Citysource: Ho Chi Minh City Tuoi Tre
Language: Vietnamese

Subslug: [Article by Huy Duc:"I Believe in Young People, Prime
Minister Vo Van Kiet Told Reporters in an Interview"]
[FBIS Translated Text] On receipt of a message from the
Prime Minister's secretary, Mr. Vu Duc Dam, MA (35 years
old, former director of the ASEAN Department of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs), I flew to Hanoi. "The Prime Minister
has agreed to an interview," the message said. But I still
had to wait. Mr. Dam explained: "The Prime Minister has not
yet been able to fix a date to receive you. There have been
nights when I saw the old man work until 0200." One wintry
Saturday afternoon, Mr. Dam called: "Come see the Prime
Minister at 1630." I hurriedly set off. At an old villa in
his office compound, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet and his
young secretary were absorbed in discussion, bending over a
map of Vietnam. Somebody had drawn three red lines on the
map, showing the three major projects that were taking
shape: the high-speed industrialized Truong Son Route
project, the high-speed Hanoi-Dien Bien Route project, and
the high-speed Hanoi-Ha Long Route project. After advising
me, "30 minutes only," Mr. Dam left the room. The interview
lasted nearly one hour and a half, however, bringing back
some old memories.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, almost 20 years ago, when
still chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh
City, you asked the tens of thousands of local youths
gathered at the Tao Dan Park: "What is this hour of the
country?" Now, may I ask you again, Mr. Prime Minister, what
is this hour of the country?
[Vo] I think it is probably necessary to recall an
important appraisal by the Eighth Party Congress: Our
country has been out of the crisis period. Being out of the
crisis means that we can enter a new period--that of
industrialization and modernization. This is a period in
which we are moving forward, not by ourselves, but together
with others in the developmental flow of mankind, of the
world, of Southeast Asia. This is a very important
milestone. Opportunities will not wait for us; we should
seize them, or we will fall behind, or we will stand still;
but standing still also means falling behind. This is
because, despite our country's pretty good socioeconomic
development over the past few years, there still remain many
difficulties and imponderables.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, the country is still
advancing to socialism, but what is the difference between
now and 30 April 1975?
[Vo] There is a difference, and I can say that this is
a fairly big difference. At that time, we were shifting from
war to peace. At that time, we went about national
construction under a restrictive mechanism. At that time, we
almost only maintained relations with the countries in the
socialist system. Now, we are integrating with outside, with
countries in the region, and with other countries in the
world. The most important thing of this period is that we
are building the country under a new mechanism that is
suitable for Vietnam.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, can we draw from the
success and failure of national construction at these two
different points in time the lesson that success is
impossible if independence is lost?
[Vo] During the war, we were also able to maintain
independence and sovereignty, and we achieved victory. In
the postwar period, we must admit that we had slavishly
copied a number of models of bureaucratic, state-subsidized
socialism. Nowadays, in the renovation process, we also
learn from our friends' experiences, but we do not follow
anyone anymore. We boldly carry out renovation, but we also
know how to draw lessons from the success or failure of each
step taken. In my opinion, it is exactly because of this
that we have overcome the crisis and developed.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, when implementing the
strategy that "Vietnam is everyone's friend," you have
really carried out activities like a diplomat. What has
helped you achieve success, especially when, on behalf of
Vietnam, you shook hands with countries who were once our
enemies?
[Vo] "Being everyone's friend" is a common policy of
our party. We have deeply understood that we cannot maintain
independence just by isolating ourselves. Of course, each
may have applied that line in his own way. With regard to
success, it can be said that, first of all, we advocate
integrating with outside at a time when enmity still exists,
but the time has come where both sides feel that it is
necessary to reconsider. However, more important still is
advancement achieved with our own sovereignty and self-
respect. I recall participating for the first time in a
seminar on world economy at Davos (Switzerland). Before
that, the world only knew about Vietnam economically because
of our country's hunger and food shortages. Right after the
seminar, the world came to know a new Vietnam: That was the
first year when our country produced sufficient grain to
feed itself and began to have surpluses of rice for export.
It is these things that have put us in a new position when
we join hands with the outside world.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, in our diplomatic
relations, it seems that you are friendlier with Messrs. Lee
Kwan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad. What brought you and them
closer to each other?
[Vo] Probably it is sincerity and openness. I must also
say frankly that Mr. Lee Kwan Yew is a man who does not
share the Communists' views. But he and I are always
prepared to listen to each other's correct opinions. There
are issues over which a lack of mutual understanding in many
points is shown only when we exchange views, and our
frankness has bred something akin to deep mutual
understanding and agreement between us. As for Prime
Minister Mahathir, the first time I met him was for an
exchange of views about the boat people issue. At the time,
he emphasized on three occasions: "I implore you, Your
Excellency." I understood Mr. Mahathir's difficulties
regarding the boat people issue, but I also told him about
Vietnam's pains and the Vietnamese leaders' anguish over the
issue. He probably understood and stopped insisting, and we
continued discussing the problem with mutual understanding.
That was the first time we met as two leaders, and I was
impressed. And probably sincerity and frankness can bring
people closer to each other and enable them to talk to each
other on many topics.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, what do you think to be
the most important and memorable decision in your life?
[Vo] It is the decision I made when I was 18. That
year, I joined the Cochin China [Nam Ky] Uprising in Vinh
Long. At that time, things were not like what they are
today. Our superiors worked out only one plan for launching
the Cochin China Uprising, and there was no contingency plan
for use in case of failure. We attacked a small military
post at the northern ferry landing on the Mang Thit River.
After that, French colonialists terrorized civilians and put
villages and hamlets to the torch. I was burned with anger
but did not know what else to do; I could only decide to
leave the family and go out to make revolution. It was a
decision prompted by both my dreams as a youngster and my
hatred. It was a very conscious decision, although at that
time I did not know much about revolutionary struggle. It
can be said that, had it not been for that decision, I would
not be here today.
[Huy Duc] Why is it that there are no young ministers
yet in the government?
[Vo] I have great belief in the ability of young
people. Every time I assign cadres, I recall my youth. At
the time we seized power (1945), I was only 23 but already
in the provincial party committee, serving as a member of
the Standing Committee of Rach Gia Province's Party
Committee. Later, in 1949, I became deputy secretary and
then secretary of Bac Lieu Province's Party Committee.
Nowadays, in the world not only are there many cabinet
ministers but also heads of state who are between 30 and 40
years old. Regrettably, in our country 30-year-old people
are considered too young, and that is probably one of the
reasons why there are not cabinet ministers in the younger-
age bracket. Having been through many periods, the older
generation of cadres like us have gained a fairly
considerable amount of experience in life. But, in my
opinion, vitality belongs to the youth, the 30- and 40-year-
old generations. Moreover, with the current conditions and
information, even people under 30 still have knowledge that
is many times broader than that of our generation when we
were their age.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, reality has now proven
the effectiveness of the 500-kV power line. But, before
construction started, it had encountered many objections.
What did you do then to muster sufficient confidence to come
to the final decision?
[Vo] At the time, there were surpluses of electricity
in the North while there were serious power shortages in the
South. Some suggested selling electricity to China. Some,
especially in the power sector, determined that sooner or
later there must be a national power line anyway. It was the
right time to build such a line to bring electricity from
the North to the Center and the South. Economically
speaking, if the state of power shortages in the South was
overcome, we would be able to ensure maintenance of its pace
of development. But what was more important was the
scientific basis. In its plans, the power sector had set
forth the task of building a North-South power grid. Many
countries had done the same thing. Scientists of the power
sector were very active in carrying out research, and they
became a very important prop for the party to reach a
decision. And I was the person who led the implementation of
that decision.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, after completion of the
500-kV power line, you personally went to the prison to
visit former Minister Vu Ngoc Hai. What caused you to stop
flinching from calling on a prisoner?
[Vo] That, I think, was a normal thing to do. That day,
after pressing the switch to connect the northern and
southern power grids, I went home but could not sleep.
Images of the workers toiling on the 500-kV power line
project and of those who had encouraged me kept appearing in
my mind, and I thought of Brother Hai. This was a technical
project. I could not rely only on my knowledge of political
leadership; I must absolutely rely on the experts. The
determination of Minister Hai and the Ministry of Energy
personnel constituted a very strong prop for me at the time.
That night, I decided to pin on him the first 500-kV Power
Line Badge. And I asked my security guards to drive me to
the prison before dawn. I hold Brother Hai in very high
esteem. He made mistakes, and he had to pay for it. If my
friends or relatives were in jail, why couldn't I visit
them? With regard to Brother Hai in particular, I also
called on him in my capacity as the person who personally
directed the 500-kV power line project. That was also a
normal thing to do in human relationship and in
distinguishing between credit and blame.
[Huy Duc] Our principle of leadership is collective
leadership. In your life, have you ever had to retract your
views because of failure to convince the collective and
regretted it later?
[Vo] Yes, a few times. I recall most vividly the Tet of
1968 period. The Tet of 1968 campaign was victorious mainly
because it was a surprise attack. But, after winning a major
victory, it was no longer a surprise attack, and we should
have pulled back immediately to preserve our forces. But the
instructions coming from the upper echelons were that we
should fight increasingly bigger battles. And the painful
thing is that it was in the subsequent raids that we
suffered considerable losses in the Tet of 1968 campaign.
[Huy Duc] Through your actual management of the
government, do you think that, in addition to political
skills, a prime minister also needs formal training?
[Vo] There is no school specializing in training prime
ministers. Like everyone else, I also dreamed of undergoing
formal training. The problem is that not only prime
ministers but leadership cadres in general also need
knowledge and must come into contact with the school of
life. But knowledge or experience must also be suitable for
the requirements of each different period. In our time, the
contingent of leadership cadres must have a high level of
education and must have knowledge of science and even
foreign languages. We must frankly admit that there is a
significant distance between the level of development of our
cadres, including cabinet ministers, and that of the region
and the rest of the world. Therefore, I have laid down the
policy that all young civil servants must continue to study.
[Huy Duc] Mr. Prime Minister, you once said you like
being an ordinary citizen. If you could choose again, would
you choose the position of a prime minister or that of an
ordinary citizen?
[Vo] Being prime minister is probably not a matter of
choice. It came to me entirely as a matter of course.
Personally, I see it as an obligation, a small sacrifice.
That is because, like any other ordinary citizen, I want to
lead an easy life free of obligations. But it seems that my
life becomes less easy and less free every time I assume
more demanding, heavier responsibility.
[Huy Duc] Aside from your official duties, what are the
activities you like best?
[Vo] It is the time I spend at home with my families,
my children and grandchildren, my friends whom I can talk to
on a first-name basis... and especially the time I spend
chatting with citizens who do not know I am prime minister.
[Huy Duc] Has there ever been any time when members of
your family helped you by making suggestions that eventually
led you to arriving at major decisions?
[Vo] Members of my family often relate to me the public
opinions they have heard in society. And I always listen to
those opinions as I do other public opinions. As for my
decisions, they always originate from within the government.

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