By Mike Benge
The Washington Times
Commentary, FORUM
Communist Vietnam's "President" Nguyen Minh Triet's viscid propaganda op-ed piece, "Vietnam and America common interests and values" (The Washington Times, Page A-17, June 25) showed a lack of creativity: It is almost word-for-word his full-page ad on Page A-19 of the June 21 edition of The Washington Post, "A Letter from President Nguyen Minh Triet of Vietnam."
Thomas Jefferson would roll over in his grave knowing Ho Chi Minh used his immortal words from the Declaration of Independence of the United States — "All men are created equal; they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" — as the opening for the Vietnamese communist's Declaration of Independence. This is the same Vietnamese communist regime responsible for the murder of more than 1 million Vietnamese.
Although Jefferson's immortal words may be in Vietnam's Declaration of Independence, there they are but hollow words. Vietnam tolerates no challenges to its communist one-party rule. Extrajudicial killings continue, and in a recent spate of repression, "the worst in 20 years," the regime locked up and sent to prison more than 20 religious freedom, democracy and human-rights activists, while tightening its grip on the media and enforcing strict Internet restrictions.
Religious leaders and followers across the spectrum, Buddhists, Christians and believers of other faiths are continually harassed and arrested. More than 350 Christian Montagnard political prisoners remain incarcerated.
To Jefferson, being a president meant becoming so through free and fair elections by the populace, not by appointment as one by the Communist Party comprised of only 4 percent of Vietnam's population as Mr. Triet was. One U.S. congressman said, "Since Triet was not elected in a free election, he shouldn't be called president. ... Rather he is more comparable to a godfather ... of a repressive and deadly regime."
In his article, Mr. Triet wrote, "Bilateral ties are built on the two countries' common interests and concerns: commerce, culture, science and technology, education, regional peace and stability, the fight against terrorism." However, the Vietnamese communist regime's terrorism against its own people is not in the United States' "common interests," and it has done little to stop the trafficking in women and children for prostitution.
At their White House meeting on June 22, President Bush told Mr. Triet, "In order for relations to grow deeper, it's important for our friends to have a strong commitment to human rights and freedom and democracy." Mr. Triet rebuked Mr. Bush afterward in an AP interview saying his country does not need to improve its human-rights record. "It's not a question of improving or not. ... Vietnam has its own legal framework, and those who violate the law will be handled." Mr. Triet's so-called lawbreakers include, but are not limited to, religious leaders and adherents of all faiths, human rights and democracy advocates, labor lawyers, and ethnic minorities.
Rather than to Jeffersonian principles, Mr. Triet adheres to Joseph Goebbels' "Big Lie" postulate — people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it often enough people will sooner or later believe it.
The Vietnamese regime's creator was not God as Jefferson wrote, but Ho Chi Minh. Far from being Jeffersonian, Mr. Triet and his repressive band do not practice what they preach in their Declaration of Independence.
Rather than "all men are created equal, Triet's regime is closer to George Orwell's satirical allegories of communism in "Animal Farm" where some are more equal than others.
MIKE BENGE is an advocate for human rights and religious freedom in South East Asia.
Thomas Jefferson would roll over in his grave knowing Ho Chi Minh used his immortal words from the Declaration of Independence of the United States — "All men are created equal; they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" — as the opening for the Vietnamese communist's Declaration of Independence. This is the same Vietnamese communist regime responsible for the murder of more than 1 million Vietnamese.
Although Jefferson's immortal words may be in Vietnam's Declaration of Independence, there they are but hollow words. Vietnam tolerates no challenges to its communist one-party rule. Extrajudicial killings continue, and in a recent spate of repression, "the worst in 20 years," the regime locked up and sent to prison more than 20 religious freedom, democracy and human-rights activists, while tightening its grip on the media and enforcing strict Internet restrictions.
Religious leaders and followers across the spectrum, Buddhists, Christians and believers of other faiths are continually harassed and arrested. More than 350 Christian Montagnard political prisoners remain incarcerated.
To Jefferson, being a president meant becoming so through free and fair elections by the populace, not by appointment as one by the Communist Party comprised of only 4 percent of Vietnam's population as Mr. Triet was. One U.S. congressman said, "Since Triet was not elected in a free election, he shouldn't be called president. ... Rather he is more comparable to a godfather ... of a repressive and deadly regime."
In his article, Mr. Triet wrote, "Bilateral ties are built on the two countries' common interests and concerns: commerce, culture, science and technology, education, regional peace and stability, the fight against terrorism." However, the Vietnamese communist regime's terrorism against its own people is not in the United States' "common interests," and it has done little to stop the trafficking in women and children for prostitution.
At their White House meeting on June 22, President Bush told Mr. Triet, "In order for relations to grow deeper, it's important for our friends to have a strong commitment to human rights and freedom and democracy." Mr. Triet rebuked Mr. Bush afterward in an AP interview saying his country does not need to improve its human-rights record. "It's not a question of improving or not. ... Vietnam has its own legal framework, and those who violate the law will be handled." Mr. Triet's so-called lawbreakers include, but are not limited to, religious leaders and adherents of all faiths, human rights and democracy advocates, labor lawyers, and ethnic minorities.
Rather than to Jeffersonian principles, Mr. Triet adheres to Joseph Goebbels' "Big Lie" postulate — people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it often enough people will sooner or later believe it.
The Vietnamese regime's creator was not God as Jefferson wrote, but Ho Chi Minh. Far from being Jeffersonian, Mr. Triet and his repressive band do not practice what they preach in their Declaration of Independence.
Rather than "all men are created equal, Triet's regime is closer to George Orwell's satirical allegories of communism in "Animal Farm" where some are more equal than others.
MIKE BENGE is an advocate for human rights and religious freedom in South East Asia.
3 comments:
It is great to see Mike Benge brought this problem up in the Washington Commentary forum.
Vietnam can stand as it is today because it has uses many dirty tricks and lies. The whole regime will collapse if people know the real face of the VC. But some people know it, but they dont give a f*ck because the VC gives them money, new house, young girls so they can enjoy the youn girls every night. This is the biggest advange of vietnam, using its own daugher to achieve whatever they want.
If we read the Declaration of Independent of Independent of Vietnam on Sep 2, 1945, that declaration is 90% the same as the U.S.'s Declaration of Independent. Why, because Hochiminh used to live in New York and he had a chance to read the U.S.'s declaration. Thus, when he copied it down and modified for Vietnam, the vietnamese patriotic will think that Hochiminh is a real person who fight for their country. This is why Hochiminh can lure lots of Vietnamese patriotics and even the King Bao Dai to work as a "puppet" advisor for his government.
To win our enemy, we need to understand Vietnam very well just as they know about Cambodia. As we know that, Vietnam is now totally controlling our Cambodia. We lucky enough having the opposite party standing up to fight for "something" for our cambodian. In laos, it is nothing, Laos is totally dead now. Vietnam now even imposed their spies inside of Thailand now. Every year, on Sep 2, in each province of Thai, there is a representative of the VC party goes back to Vietnam to commemorate the Sep 2. This is an alert for the Thai government as well.
Look at Singaport now, since Vietnam can go to Singapore without visa and can stay there up to 6 months, many vietnamese prostitutes go to Singapore to work as the prostitute for couple months, and now they build a very good spies network in Singapore. The Vietnam ambition is to control the whole southeast asia. Note, I mean control which doesnot mean that they want to take over someone country. Take over someone's land is impossable now because no one support it, but they can use their spies to screw the countries so they can control it, just like they do it right now to Cambodia and Laos and now they start expanding it to Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia....
Khmer, please wake up and start working together. Each of us can not live over 100 years, so let do something useful for our country.
Let get out of our houses and go protest on the street, let the world know that we, Cambodian, cannot live under the current government. If all cambodian protest everyday on the street, the current government cannot last long...... LET'S DO IT NOWWWW
To 12:51AM, I am so happy to hear you talking or letting us know about this. If 99% Cambodian stand up and work together, I must say we will defeat this government. I am totally agree with you. The more we bark and protest the more irritate they are and they will be scare. Let's hope Cambodian will wake up one day. KOUN KHMER WAKE UP!
One day and with blood in our hand!
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