Thursday, March 28, 2024

Veteran’s tribute sparks debate on role of Vietnamese media


By Marianne Brown, Radio Australia



On Sunday, thousands of Vietnamese people crowded the streets in central Hanoi to catch a glimpse of the lavish funeral procession of one of the country’s most beloved war heroes, General Vo Nguyen Giap.











A woman holds a newspaper clipping of the late general Vo Nguyen Giap as she stands with other mourners outside the National Funeral House in Hanoi 12 October, 2013. Photo from Reuters


Giap is celebrated as a master military strategist, especially for his role in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, which put an end to French colonial rule in Vietnam.



The man held second only to his friend President Ho Chi Minh has become a symbol of what the Vietnamese Communist Party stands for.



Presenter: Marianne Brown



Speaker: Phang Sao Vang, Vietnam army veteran



BROWN: State-run newspaper Viet Nam News described Giap’s legacy as the “glorious triumph of the two resistance wars against the French colonialists and US imperialists”.



But not every soldier who helped win the battle of Dien Bien Phu shares the rewards. Just a few streets away from Giap’s French villa, another veteran has a very different life story. Phang Sao Vang was born in 1936 and fought in the battle of Dien Bien Phu.



I met him at a cafe a short drive away because he believed we would be harassed by police if we talked in the open.



SAO VANG: “I served at Dien Bien Phu. My two brothers and I, Phàng A Chu and Phàng A Páo. We were involved in transportation of artillery and food and medicines.



BROWN: Sao Vang, which means “Gold star” in Vietnamese, lives with his wife under a crudely constructed tarpaulin tent in a public park just a few streets away from Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum.



Earlier in the week, wearing his military uniform and an array of medals, Sao Vang joined thousands of mourners outside General Giap’s home to pay his respects. He was spotted by several state-media reporters who wrote about his feelings upon meeting Giap on the battlefield over half a century ago.



SAO VANG: I cried when I was in the mourning ceremony of General Giáp. I even wrote down some notes of condolence. My photo appeared on many sites.



BROWN: His interview was quickly picked up by political blogs, who posted the photos of Sao Vang with his medals published in the local media alongside another of the veteran holding a placard that reads “24 years claiming for justice without being compensated.”



Sao Vang claims he is a victim of a miscarriage of justice, sentenced to five years for kidnapping for ransom in 1989, a crime he says he didn’t commit. But whether guilty or not, commentators have used his case to highlight the contrast between reporting in state-sanctioned press and political blogs.

Read the full article by Marianne Brown from Radio Australia.

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