Vietnam army says errors made after Saigon victory
HANOI- Vietnam's powerful army, in a rare
admission, said in an article published on Wednesday that it
made mistakes after defeating U.S.-backed South Vietnam in
1975 because soldiers were flushed with victory.
Lieutenant-General Pham Thanh Ngan, head of the General
Political Department of the People's Army, wrote that the army
had ignored the advice of late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh
and been arrogant after beating its powerful adversary.
``Before the spirit of Uncle Ho we can't hide the fact that during
the past 30-year period since he left us, we sometimes made
mistakes...'' Ngan wrote in the lengthy article, published in the
Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) newspaper.
``...After liberation of the south (we) did not thoroughly grasp
Uncle Ho's words on 'not being arrogant after victory, not being
discouraged by failure','' he said.
Ho Chi Minh died in 1969.
Ngan was vague about the army's mistakes, nor did he say how
the military had been arrogant.
But his remarks came on the eve of Vietnam's 54th anniversary
of independence and almost a quarter century since the end of
the Vietnam War, which left the country in ruins.
More suffering followed when the army helped impose
deadening socialist policies over the free-wheeling south, failed
measures that had to be reversed a decade later.
Thousands of military personnel and officials from the former
Saigon Regime were also sent to re-education camps for years
at the end of the Vietnam War, which left lingering bitterness
toward the communist authorities.
Ngan did say his article was related to a two-year self criticism
campaign within the ruling Communist Party that aims to root
out graft and ideologically depraved lifestyles.
He said insufficient attention had been given to ideological work
within the army and that occasional low vigilance and readiness
for fighting had hurt the revolutionary nature and glorious
tradition of the army.
``The image of Uncle Ho's soldiers has sometimes faded, which
led to a decline in people's confidence and love. That is a
high-cost lesson that the army admits before the spirit of Uncle
Ho,'' Ngan wrote.
He added that the army -- one of the world's largest with an
estimated 492,000 personnel according to 1997 figures --
remained steadfastly loyal to the party and would ward off any
plots against the state.
Reuters - September 1, 1999.
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