Posted on 05/05/2008 7:55:42 AM PDT by PaleoPatriot
Bui Tin was a colonel and editor for North Vietnam who later defected and became an opponent of the communist regime. His presence at Independence Palace (later renamed "Reunification Hall" by the communists) on 4-30-75 was in order to accept South Vietnam's surrender. He now lives in France.
Below is an English translation of an article he wrote to DCVOnline, a Vietnamese language pro-democracy website, to state his views on the anniversary of April 30, on which date in 1975 the communists took Saigon.
I am glad that the freerepublic can be one of the first sites this English translation can be posted to.. and hope that freedom loving people here will help circulate it around the net.
Here is the article:
33 Years have passed. In my view, all Vietnamese, including communists, must consider carefully the truths of the past, separated by this span of time, and rectify a dangerous misunderstanding that has been imposed upon the people by communist leaders. They have forced the people to adopt the view that the aggression of North Vietnamese forces against South Vietnam from 1960 to 1975 was justified in order to liberate South Vietnam and unite the country, and that April 30th (1975) was a glorious victory.
Today I am ready to raise my voice and let all of the people hear clearly: Our nation Vietnam was not liberated after 4-30-75, nor was it unified. On April 30th the Communist Party won, but all of the people lost, to be ruled from that point on by a one-party dictatorship.
The Communist Party then implemented a policy of dominant occupation in the South, arresting millions of people and seizing property, discarding the South Vietnam National Front for Liberation, and brought about the tragic scene of millions of boat people fleeing the country. Is this liberation? Is this unification?
After 4-30-1975, the Communist Party monopolized authority, not allowing freedom of assembly, the press, or elections. Is this what is called national liberation? Is this freedom?
And today the party is rich, filthy rich. And the people are poor, dirt poor. What kind of unification is this? What kind of development? Vietnam is an "independent" nation yet forced to sign unfair treaties giving up thousands of square kilometers of its lands and sea territories, and islands, and losing vast amounts of natural resources and marine products. And when foreigners want their torch in Vietnam, the foreigners are the ones who decide the time and place. Their minister for foreign affairs even comes to our capital to issue orders to ours, and tells our prime minister and chairman of the National Assembly to protect the torch thoroughly and let the foreigners' armed security personnel participate in the suppression of any citizens who might be engaged in peaceful demonstrations. So.. we must ask in what way is this country actually independent? What actual authority.. what actual pride remains with the nation? Genuine self-respecting Vietnamese could not act in such a manner!
This is what every Vietnamese living in or outside of Vietnam must consider carefully on this year's anniversary of 4-30.
I hope that the young people in Vietnam will cultivate independent thinking and the ability to reflect with their own alert minds, and read the essay by famed French philosopher Jean - François Revel entitled "The Hijacking of Patriotism". This poignant essay highlights the brutal reality of how Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party used the patriotic sentiment of the Vietnamese people to further the objectives of the international communists. The French word "détournement" can mean broadly to seize or hijack that which belongs to someone else and use it for one's own purposes.
After reading Revel's essay I pondered over the meaning of this word and saw how we have been robbed, robbed of something priceless. Our youth so full of idealism and determination, all these years have been tricked, robbed, and lured away, so that only at the end of their lives do they finally realize, regret, and feel pity for those who remain asleep!
When a someone's car, expensive watch, or wedding ring is stolen, they naturally will be very distressed over the loss for some time. So many people who have been fooled by the communists all their lives, and in many cases even lost their lives can experience a similar feeling. Millions upon millions of ourpeople have been duped by trickery of enormous proportions for half a century. We must help each other to see, to regret, and once again demand the right all people have to live free, and begin a struggle to achieve true independence and unification for our homeland.
This April 30th I feel quite at ease and happy. I have made many friends since becoming a freelance journalist these 18 years. Friends in Vietnam as well as outside, elderly friends as well as young friends. I do not write under the orders or review of anyone, and instead write solely according to my own conscience and intellect, revering no one and nothing other than the truth. Freedom at this age makes life truly worth living, and I am content and happy regardless of material difficulties.
I've let go of vain laurels, ephemeral titles, and ironic medals, and feel ashamed that I was once so proud about having reached Independence Palace so soon on that afternoon of April 30th. So foolish and mistaken! What was it for? To bring the country to its current predicament! Independence? No! Sovereignty? No! In every aspect Vietnam is below 100 other nations!
This 30th day of April, from the bottom of my heart I just have one appeal to make upon my friends and compatriots: Cherish patriotism and love the people of your country. And if you find that your patriotic feelings are being hijacked to serve dark and suspicious purposes, remove yourself from such an audacious ploy and raise your voice to expose it!
Make sure to recover completely your patriotism and love for your people so that alongside other Vietnamese who have awakened you may fight for a Vietnamese homeland that is truly independent, truly free, and grounded in the history of the nation and era.
Respectful farewell.
Paris, 4-28-2008
Courtesy of: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011434/posts