Vietnamese told their country not worthy of its fallen, 25 year on HO CHI MINH CITY - A searing indictment of the graft and vice that now pervades Vietnamese society rang like a warning bell through the government's otherwise triumphant celebrations for the 25th anniversary of its victory in the Vietnam War on Sunday. Top leaders watched on as the communist mayor of the former Saigon, Vo Viet Thanh, asked invited dignitaries whether the new country they had created was really worthy of those who had sacrificed their lives for the city's liberation. "Arbitrary and imperious behaviour, wasteful spending, embezzlement, bribery and other social evils such as the increasingly widespread scourge of drug addiction... Those problems make each and every one of us feel restless and guilty at heart for those who laid down their lives," he said, warning of a "degradation of law enforcement and moral and spiritual values." Thanh vowed that the authorities would take a string of tough measures to put things right, including a stepping up of the communist party's anti-corruption drive and a police clampdown on drugs, prostitution and pornography. "Seriously undertaking the party regeneration campaign, firmly maintaining political stability, strengthening law compliance (and) strictly observing national discipline" were key priorities in the fight against "social evils", he said. In recent years the government has expressed mounting concern about the massive increase in prostitution and pornography that has accompanied the proliferation of pool rooms and karaoke bars as well as video pirating through the 1990s. Independent estimates put the number of prostitutes in Vietnam as high as 600,000, more even than during the maximum presence of foreign servicemen at the height of the war. Earlier this month Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai issued a new directive ordering a fresh clampdown on "social evils," official newspapers reported. The directive ordered government agencies to launch a wave of inspections as well as a review of licensing procedures to "discover, prevent and raid social evils." Senior officials have also expressed mounting concern about the involvement of the party and the state. In an interview with one of the main official dailies in April, the head of the social affairs ministry's "social evils" department, Nguyen Thi Hue, revealed that close to 70 percent of men frequenting brothels in Vietnam were civil servants or communist party cadres. She called for tough penalties against the clients of prostitutes as well as the authority to notify their managers and families. After a nine-day meeting in April, the party's central committee also announced a raft of new criteria and standards for its top officials after a string of corruption scandals in recent years. However its impact was rather diminished a few days later when it was revealed that the most senior official so far to lose his job over a graft case, deputy prime minister Ngo Xuan Loc, had been reappointed to the government as a special advisor. The scale of corruption in Vietnam has begun to have a disastrous impact on foreign investment, imperilling future growth. A string of big name investors, drawn in by the bullish euphoria of the early 1990s, have pulled out in recent years, complaining of the enormous opportunities for graft created by Vietnam's opaque legal system and mountainous red tape. In his speech, the mayor of what is now the country's indisputed commercial capital warned that the city's economic "achievements could have been greater and more complete if we had taken a proactive approach to prevent errors." In clear bid to stem the flight of foreign capital, Thanh made an appeal to foreign investors including overseas Vietnamese, some two million of whom fled the country after the fall of Saigon. He sought to assure them the city welcomed "with open arms foreign investment, businessmen and multinational corporations." But the impact of what he said appeared diminished as no foreign firm or joint venture was visible among the mass of corporate floats that took part in an anniversary parade after his speech. The mayor's focus on social and economic issues contrasted with the keynote speech given by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai at the national celebrations in Hanoi the previous day. Khai focussed almost exclusively on Vietnam's foreign relations and the legacy of the war. AFP - April 30, 2000