Vietnam president warns against "sabotage" from hostile forces
HANOI - Exposing sensitivity over political stability, Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong has warned against the
increasing threat of "sabotage" from hostile forces hoping to undermine the Communist government.
Luong's remarks, made last week during a national conference of public security forces, were printed Friday in the official
Communist Party mouthpiece Nhan Dan and echo the official party line.
"The hostile forces have not abandoned their attempt to sabotage our revolution," he said.
Luong said that even as Vietnam continues its policy of expanding economic and political ties with the rest of the world, new
challenges emerge in the form of "hostile forces."
The government often uses the term "hostile forces" to refer to anyone or anything that threatens the Communist leadership,
including overseas Vietnamese, many of them exiles who remain stridently opposed to the Hanoi government.
"The hostile forces will have an opportunity to exercise 'peaceful evolution,' penetrate our internal ranks to carry out sabotage
activities and influence internal transformation," Luong said.
Peaceful evolution is the word Hanoi uses to describe the process of nonviolently changing Vietnam's communist government
through economic and cultural influence.
Police forces have already uncovered many subversive attempts at peaceful evolution by the hostile forces, Luong said.
He also noted that these outside forces are using "sophisticated, wicked plots and modern machinery and technological
equipment to carry out sabotage activities against our country."
Earlier this year, state-run media reported that overseas Vietnamese groups were still plotting the violent overthrow of
communist rule in Vietnam despite the arrest of more than 40 "reactionaries" in the past 18 months. No details were given.
"We must be active in dissolving reactionary groups, neutralizing the enemy's organizations from outside, preventing
collaboration between the forces outside and inside, and not allow them to carry out sabotage activities," he said.
Associated Press - December 22, 2000.
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