VN news (June 14)

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

Iranian VP To Visit Vietnam
Vietnamese Journalist Beaten
Respected military holds key to pace of reform within party
Senior leaders 'make way for young blood'
Cuba, Vietnam set up livestock joint venture
Vietnam takes strange road to new wealth
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Iranian VP To Visit Vietnam

HANOI (AP) -- An Iranian vice president starts an official three-day visit
Thursday to Vietnam to discuss expanding relations, the Foreign Ministry
said Saturday. 

The visit by Hassan Habibi marks the first by an Iranian official of his
rank to unified Vietnam. Habibi is expected to hold talks with Prime
Minister Vo Van Kiet to discuss promotion of economic cooperation between
the two countries. 

Iran is eager to speed up implementation of several trade and investment
agreements. The vice president plans to pay a courtesy call on communist
party chief Do Muoi and President Le Duc Anh. 

He will also meet Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, the military leader who
orchestrated the defeat of the French colonial forces and later the U.S.
military in what was then called South Vietnam. 
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Vietnamese Journalist Beaten

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- A Vietnamese journalist was beaten and threatened
with death by a man who demanded he stop reporting on a land scandal, a
newspaper reported Friday. 

Tran Huu Tam Phuong did a series of reports last month about land deals,
exposing corruption by officials of the Huong Long commune where he lives. 

After the reports were published, Phuong was attacked in the street by a
man who hit him in the head, the state-controlled Labor newspaper
reported. A few weeks later, the same man threatened to kill him if he did
not stop writing about the land issue. It did not identify the alleged
attacker. 

Phuong is a freelance reporter for the state-run radio station in Thua
Thien Hue province, as well as a reporter for the Law Journal and the
newspaper Culture. 

Vietnamese journalists, all government employees, complain of intimidation
and unfair treatment, but violence against them is rare. 
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Respected military holds key to pace of reform within party

South China Morning Post

Hanoi - As questions arise over Vietnam's leadership - one of the region's
most complex and secretive - many eyes will be turning to its legendary
military for a hint of the future. 

Now much smaller than the days when it was the world's third biggest,
Vietnam's armed forces remain the country's most respected institution of
the revolution, ever pragmatic and untouched by the excesses plaguing
other bodies. 

It remains tightly meshed with the Communist Party, whose ideologues
learned from the collapse of the Eastern bloc and the frictions that
developed in those states when the two split apart. 

With a non-military figure apparently set to replace President Le Duc Anh,
many analysts believe the way is clear for an army figure to become party
chief for the first time if Do Muoi steps down. 

Informed sources believe the replacement will be Le Kha Phieu, an
ambitious career political commissar from the central northern province of
Thanh Hoa, known as the cradle of the revolution. 

Lieutenant-General Phieu is as little known outside the country as he is
inside, a reflection of his 50 years as one of the party's key men in the
Army. 

Internal speeches over the past year reveal General Phieu is keen for
future reforms and open doors to be matched by stronger party organisation
at all levels. 

In the past, he has stood firmly against anything seen as a subversive or
peaceful weakening of party rule. 

How he would balance the collective leadership with government reformers
is an intriguing question. 

Foreign diplomats and analysts believe some tough issues have been
deferred as high growth diversifies the economy and society. 

A lumbering state apparatus still dominates the tiny private sector and
trade liberalisation remains distant. 

Vast gaps have appeared between the relatively few urban rich and the poor
rural majority. 

"We know the first 10 years of reform will be far different from the next
10," one senior official said, reflecting popular sentiment. "It's a lot
more tricky now." 
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Senior leaders 'make way for young blood'

Hanoi (SCMP) - Speculation over imminent changes to Vietnam's leadership
is mounting again, with the nation's President and Prime Minister yet to
register for parliamentary elections next month, political sources
confirmed yesterday. 

The move means President Le Duc Anh, 76, and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet,
73, are virtually certain to step down when the new National Assembly
convenes in September. 

Their departures are almost certain to hasten the retirement of Vietnam's
top leader, Communist Party General Secretary Do Muoi, 80, who has
constantly called for "young blood" to refresh the leadership. 

Vietnam's secretive, collective system means no one leader has absolute
power and decisions are worked through an array of interests. 

Mr Muoi, who has trodden a fine line between reformer Mr Kiet and military
supremo General Anh, could step down as soon as the end of the year,
sources said. 

General Anh has taken the post of President from a formerly ceremonial
role to a position of considerable power, reflecting the firm leadership
role of Vietnam's military. 

General Anh was weakened by a stroke last November while Mr Kiet, who
masterminded a government reform process that has slowed in recent months,
is reportedly keen to rest. 

All three had been expected to step aside during last year's Communist
Party Congress, but debates saw them stay on in the absence of clear
replacements. 

Under Vietnam's constitution, General Anh and Mr Kiet must be elected to
the new assembly during elections on July 20 to stand a chance of being
nominated again. 

Mr Muoi's position is not bound by such rules but he has not registered
either. 

They still have several days to do so, but sources close to the party's
Central Committee say it will not happen. 

The 156-member committee is meeting behind closed doors in Hanoi this week
in the most important session since extensive pre-congress debates last
year. 

Possible replacements were being examined during the session, sources
said. 

Mr Kiet is expected to be replaced by his reform-minded deputy Phan Van
Khai, 63 - a move likely to appease wary foreign investors keen to see
further loosening of the vast state machine. 

Other sources suggest deputy Interior Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, 47, is in
with a chance, following a fast promotion to the elite five-man executive
of the ruling Politburo last year. 

Mr Dung is considered to be a key anti-corruption fighter. 

Fellow Politburo members Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam, 67, and
National Assembly chairman Nong Duc Manh, 56, are tipped for the
presidency. 

And should Mr Muoi also depart, all eyes will be on the military's
influential political supremo Le Kha Phieu, 67, for the top job. 

The three-star general was a political commissar in the wars against
France, the United States, China and Cambodia. 
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Cuba, Vietnam set up livestock joint venture

Havana (Reuter) - Cuba and Vietnam set up a livestock joint venture on
Saturday to produce beef and pork in the southeast Asian nation, the Cuban
news agency Prensa Latina said. 

The joint venture will have an initial capital of $8.6 million, Prensa
Latina said. The venture brings together two Vietnamese farms, Phung
Thuong and Dong Giao 2, which will hold a 66.5 percent stake, and the
Cuban livestock enterprise Bacuranao, which will have the rest. 

Prensa Latina said the inauguration of the new enterprise, which will be
based at Ninh Binh, south of Hanoi, was attended by Cuba's visiting
Foreign Trade Minister Ricardo Cabrisas and Vietnam's Agriculture Minister
Nguyen Cong Tan. 

Besides raising cattle and pigs for meat, the joint venture farm would
also produce high-quality cattle semen to improve bloodstock. 

Socialist allies Cuba and Vietnam already have another joint venture in
construction, operating since December 1995. 
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Vietnam takes strange road to new wealth

South China Morning Post

In Hanoi 's secretive corridors of power, it is being seen as the "project
of many fathers". Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet's US$5.6 billion plan to
build a vast four-lane expressway down the old Ho Chi Minh Trail is
finding unusually wide favour across Vietnam 's collective leadership. 

The 1,800-kilometre road will cut through ravines, mountains and forests.
It will forge a highly strategic path near the borders of Laos and
Cambodia, home to Vietnam 's most isolated communities. 

It will be by far the most ambitious infrastructure deal ever undertaken
in modern Vietnam and - internally at least - everyone wants a piece of
it. 

Economic reformers and Communist Party ideologues have visions of a great
unifying road to pave the way for future industrialisation. Military
chiefs hail a vast "mass mobilisation" labour scheme to "spiritually
nourish" the country's wayward youth with the patriotism of days gone by. 

The simple link to the famous war-time supply trail in the image of Uncle
Ho has the propagandists drooling. 

"We all want this project like no other," one senior official said. "There
is something in it for the leaders on all sides." 

But as the fervour builds among the cadres, outside agencies are looking
on in utter wonder. 

Institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), and key donors such as Japan, had never
heard of the plan until preparations were announced in February by Mr
Kiet. 

Skim through the Public Investment Programme, a document produced last
year detailing more than US$45 billion of rebuilding works scheduled for
the next four years, and there is no reference to it at all. 

Foreign analysts confess to knowing little in detail about the deal. The
lack of knowledge boosts their fears that crucial funding, environmental
and social aspects could be glossed over in the race to get work started
by early next year. 

And the prospect of an extensive "compulsory labour" campaign is causing
quiet concern among some foreign observers, who say it could limit
off-shore funding. 

"This is looking like something Vietnam is wanting to do mainly by
itself," one analyst said. 

After hard-won approval from the National Assembly - Vietnam 's
increasingly outspoken parliament - momentum is building. 

Plans have been brought forward for work to start on the first stage early
next year with final completion pegged for 2012. 

The so-called Industrialised Truong Son Highway is fast becoming a
national priority, despite on-going work on the old French-built Highway
One. 

"This came right out of nowhere," said a senior diplomat from Japan,
Vietnam 's top trading partner and prime development aid donor. 

"None of us on the outside have been approached yet or shown any official
interest . . . but behind the scenes we're all very intrigued indeed. 

"We are fast learning this project has sweeping support from the very top.
Under no circumstances should it be discounted as merely fantasy. And must
be said that in some respects it could be a very good project for this
country." 

The deal promises to spread growth far further than merely Hanoi and Ho
Chi Minh City while providing a strategic link of vital military
importance, Japanese analysts said. 

Even as Japan eyes developments, it is working with the World Bank and the
Asian Development Bank to pump in more than US$1.3 billion in aid to
rebuild Vietnam 's existing national highway network. 

Work has been far slower than expected, most of it based around the frail
Highway One that runs from the China border to the Gulf of Thailand. 

The road - built by the French, bombed by the United States and neglected
for years by a cash-strapped Vietnam - is just two lanes down its entire
length. 

Even after work is finished by 2000, the road will face severe congestion
and flooding problems. 

"The work on the existing highway was always seen as emergency restoration
to kick-start the economy rather than the long-term answer to Vietnam 's
problems," one foreign donor said. 

"We just hope all this sudden expressway hoopla will be matched by a solid
transport master plan," he said. 

Already the ADB has said it has no plans to become involved in any
"parallel" network and officials said that policy was likely to remain for
some time. 

UNDP economist Jean-Luc Bernasconi said the project could help strengthen
crucial networks in poverty-stricken rural areas. 

"All these sorts of links are vital to the alleviation of poverty in the
long term . . . we just hope this new road won't crowd out other
projects." 

Vietnamese sources say funding plans have yet to be finalised but stress
other deals would not be affected. 

While development aid may be sought, officials say a domestic bond issue
is also being considered. 

It is clear that officials aim to keep costs down in the initial stages
with the "compulsory" labour drive. 

Already, a string of military companies have been given the task of
running the drive as preparations intensify. 

An estimated 100,000 workers will be needed daily for the first two-year
phase, with numbers doubling as construction reaches its peak. 

The programme will include a vast propaganda drive to force virtually all
adults under 45 to "donate" 10 days' labour or - in a touch of new
socialist reality - the equivalent in cash. 

And how will resisters be dealt with? "That won't be a problem," one
official close to preparations said. " Vietnam is different to other
places . . . everyone will want to work on this project." 
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