Sharing the history of war, Vietnam reaches out to Lebanon
Francophonie delegate Pham Sanh Chau espouses importance of dialogue, tolerance
BEIRUT - The culture of dialogue is not only about an exchange of cultures but about an exchange of historical experiences, and the lessons learned from them.
According to Vietnam’s ambassador to the International Francophone Organization, Pham Sanh Chau, both Lebanon and Vietnam have a common experience with long and devastating wars, which have taught both countries the importance of dialogue and tolerance.
Chau, the personal representative of Vietnam’s president at the just-concluded Francophone summit, expressed his support for Lebanon, pointing out that the Vietnamese delegation to the summit comprised 120 people, which he called a show of support for Lebanon.
«This is the very first presence of the Vietnamese head of state at the Francophone summit, apart from our own hosting of the Francophone summit in Hanoi in 1997, and is a testimony to Vietnam’s support of the Lebanese people,» he said.
Chau, who was raised in Damascus, said he felt a strong and personal attachment to Lebanon. The ambassador’s father held the post of ambassador at the only Vietnamese Embassy in the Middle East at the time.
«We left just after the six-day war (of 1967),» he said. «Vietnam and Lebanon share the same experience of fighting a power, in the Vietnamese case, many superpowers.»
«When we came here, we witnessed the tremendous destruction of Beirut and of Lebanon and can understand,» Chau said. «We share with you the feelings of loss.
«As you know, Vietnam has gone through 30 years of war. Almost every family in our society has been affected by the war,» he said. «The experience is very hard, very heavy, very painful and lasts for many years.
«Till this day, Vietnam has millions of unidentified bodies,» he pointed out, adding that the loss of so many lives has made rebuilding the country very difficult.
Asked about how he felt Vietnam’s experience compared to the war on Iraq, the ambassador was quick to point out the necessity of respecting UN Security Council resolutions and the importance of implementing peaceful solutions.
«I’d like to reaffirm our official position that we really do not want to see a war in Iraq at all,» he said. «We support all efforts to bring this question to a peaceful solution because, as a victim of many years of war, we share the consequences of this.»
He said that improper action by the international community would affect not only Iraq, but also its neighbors.
Chau said the Iraqi regime was a legally established regime and argued that any interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign country was a violation of international law.
As for the role of the US in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Chau said «peace talks can only work if both sides have the determination to resolve the question and take into account all the legitimate interests of all the parties concerned.»
According to Chau, the fall of communism led to a significant change in US foreign policy.
«We believe the former Soviet system contributed tremendously to a very balanced system of force in the world. (It) was able to prevent some aggressive forces from waging a war in a very arbitrary way,» he said.
The lack of this bipolar system, Chau argued, has facilitated a more arbitrary use of force.
He said he felt that Vietnam had a special role to play in the Francophonie, specifically because of its «tradition of tolerance,» which he said could be an example for other countries.
«Vietnam is very famous for its tolerance, its respect for others,» he said. «We try to put the past behind and look forward to the future. It’s very hard to do, as you can imagine, because of all the victims of each family and after witnessing the bombing of villages and the killing of so many civilians. But it seems we have a tradition of tolerance.»
He stressed that after 30 years of war, Vietnam has succeeded in establishing normalized relations with the US.
«We are trying to move forward with these relations. We cannot forget the past, but we don’t want to drudge it up.»
Chau said he was proud of Vietnam’s «culture of tolerance,» and felt it was something Vietnam could bring to the dialogue of cultures.
«We can show participants the culture of peace,» he said.
By Gariné Tcholakian - The Daily Star (lb) - October 22, 2002
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