Local paper puts heat on Vietnam national carrier
HANOI - National carrier Vietnam
Airlines on Friday declined to officially comment on a
local newspaper report that alleges the company is being
investigated over $2.2 million in misplaced funds.
The widely-circulated Thanh Nien (Youth) newspaper
made the allegations in a report on Wednesday, and then
followed up on Friday with another lengthy article on
alleged mismanagement at the carrier.
It has said the reports -- which are highly unusual in the
current climate of tight controls over the press --
comprised a series on Vietnam Airlines, a corporate
success story until the Asian crisis bit into tourist arrivals
last year.
The last major example of local investigative reporting in
communist-ruled Vietnam that alleged irregularities or
mismanagement resulted in an editor being arrested.
One spokesman for state-run Vietnam Airlines said a
draft report based on an investigation into the company's
operations had been completed but he declined to give
details.
Another official said there was an inspection taking place,
but he too refused to elaborate. He added, however, that
the firm had asked Thanh Nien to stop publishing the
series on the now loss-making airline.
``There is an inspection going on. No conclusion has been
made and no figures have been released,'' he told
Reuters.
``I don't know where Thanh Nien got their figures, but we
have contacted them and asked them to stop publishing
their series of stories.''
In the Wednesday report, Thanh Nien said $2.2 million
had gone missing due to ticketing irregularities in Canada.
Thanh Nien said the irregularities occurred under former
director general Le Duc Tu, who was replaced several
months ago. His whereabouts and current employment
are unclear.
On Friday, the airline's new director general, Dao Manh
Nhuong, said in a separate newspaper interview with the
daily Hanoi Moi (New Hanoi) that the carrier would
record losses of 40 billion dong ($2.88 million) this year.
Vietnam Airlines made a similar loss last year.
A Thanh Nien executive told Reuters that officials from
Vietnam Airlines had rung twice to request a halt to the
series but he said the daily would not back down.
``We are publishing this series in a constructive manner.
We publish what we believe is the truth,'' the executive,
who declined to be identified, said.
He said at least two more parts of the series would run in
Thanh Nien, which comes out four times a week.
While Vietnam's Communist Party has issued many calls
to root out graft, diplomats have said the arrest of a
newspaper editor last year sent a chill through local media
over poking too closely into national affairs.
Nguyen Hoang Linh, former editor of the Doanh Nghiep
(Enterprise) business newspaper, has been in detention
since last October. He was expected to face trial on
September 10, although the hearing has been delayed for
a second time.
Linh has been charged with ``abusing democracy'' in
connection with articles that detailed alleged corruption at
the customs department. It is not clear when Linh will
appear in court or what jail term he could face.
His case comes against the backdrop of a recent mass
amnesty for prisoners that included the release of five
prominent critics of the government, including well-known
journalist and writer Doan Viet Hoat.
By Dean Yates - Reuters - September 11By Dean Yates , 1998.
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