VN news (July 12)

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

Father decapitates two children in Vietnam 
Cambodian crisis must be resolved by Cambodians: Hanoi 
Vietnam offers refuge to foreigners fleeing Cambodia 
Vietnam moves ahead with 1.5 billion dollars oil refinery project

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Father decapitates two children in Vietnam 

HANOI, July 12 (AFP) - A Vietnamese father decapitated his two children
after a violent argument despite the pleadings of his family, a newspaper
reported Saturday.

Truong Van Tien, who had been drinking, used a machete to decapitate
his nine-year-old daughter and his eight-year-old son after his wife
deserted the family, said the weekly Phu Nu, the publication of the Vietnamese
Womens' Union.

The report said the wife, who was frequently beaten, had gone to live
with her mother.

Truong Van Tien was arrested immediately after the July 2 killings in
the central province of Quang Ngai, said the publication, which called
for the death penalty for the "extremely odious and barbaric act."

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Cambodian crisis must be resolved by Cambodians: Hanoi 

HANOI, July 12 (AFP) - The Vietnamese government Saturday called on the
warring parties in Cambodia to find a peaceful settlement to the crisis
and said the issue can only be resolved by the Cambodian people.

In a statement sent to news agencies, the foreign affairs ministry said
"we follow with a deep concern the devlopments in Cambodia," adding that
"Cambodia's affairs can only be solved by the Cambodian people themselves."

"The consistent stance of Vietnam is to respect the independence of sovereignty
of Cambodia and not intervene in its internal affairs," the ministry
said.

It added that Vietnam "calls on the different parties to keep calm and
try to seek for peaceful solutions to the current situation."

"Cambodian leaders have announced that they were maintaining the coalition
government between the CPP (of Hun Sen) and the FUNCINPEC (of Prince
Norordom Ranariddh) and the mechanism to rule the country in accordance
with the consitution," the statement said.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party was supported by Hanoi and the Soviet
bloc in a decade-long war against a tri-partite anti-Vietnamese resistance
movement that included Prince Ranariddh's royalist FUNCINPEC party and
the Khmer Rouge.

The foreign ministry also said Hanoi was "ready to cooperate" in allowing
foreigners being evacuated from Cambodia to pass through Vietnamese territory.

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Vietnam offers refuge to foreigners fleeing Cambodia 

07/12/97
Japan Economic Newswire

Hanoi -- Vietnam said Saturday it is ready to accept foreigners seeking
to flee from the volatile situation in Cambodia if their countries make
official requests for such aid.

"If there are requests from countries whose citizens are living and working
in Cambodia for their transit via, or refuge in Vietnam, we are ready
to cooperate," the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

As for Vietnamese nationals in Cambodia, the ministry said it hopes they
will not be forced to leave their homes or workplaces, and that their
lives and property will be protected.

"However, everything depends on how the situation develops there," the
ministry said, adding that Vietnam hopes Cambodia will return to stability
soon.

The ministry also reiterated that Vietnam respects the consensus decision
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to indefinitely
postpone the admission of Cambodia into the regional grouping, while
proceeding with the admission of Laos and Myanmar later this month as
scheduled.

However, it said that "based on the principle of noninterference in the
internal affairs of other countries, we hold that it is best to admit
all the three countries (at the same time)," describing the expansion
of ASEAN to embrace all 10 countries in the region as of "far-reaching
and long-term significance."

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Vietnam moves ahead with 1.5 billion dollars oil refinery project

HANOI, July 12 (AFP) - Vietnam intends to go ahead with a 1.5 billion
dollar oil refinery on its own after rejecting studies by foreign investors,
a report said Saturday.

The Lao Dong newspaper said Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet signed a document
Thursday paving the way for construction of the Dung Quat oil refinery
in central Vietnam with state-owned PetroVietnam as the main partner.

Vietnam rejected in February a feasibility study prepared by a consortium
including South Korea's LG International, Malaysia's Petronas, Conoco
of the United States and Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Corp. and China Investment
Development Corp.

French oil giant Total pulled out of the project in late 1995 on the
grounds that Dung Quat was too far from both oil supplies and consumption
markets to be economically viable.

The failure of the Dung Quat consortium to win approval for their feasibility
study led to scepticism among foreign oil and gas companies, who felt
the government would not have the financial muscle to build it on its
own.

Of the total costs, some 600 million dollars will be invested by the
State, 400 million from deferred foreign loans and bond issues while
the remaining will be mobilised from various unspecified sources.

The refinery will have a capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil
per year or 130,000 barrels per day, with construction scheduled to start
this year and be completed by 2001.

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