Vietnam's ex-party chief says he was offered bribes while in power
HANOI - Former Vietnam communist party chief Le Kha Phieu has revealed he was offered envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars while in office, in an unprecedented denunciation of corruption.
"I say frankly that there were people who came to see me to offer me money -- 5,000 or 10,000 dollars -- not a small amount," Phieu, who was communist party general secretary from 1997 until 2001, was quoted as saying in his second interview in two days with the popular Tuoi Tre daily.
"It happened when I was a member of the politburo, and it increased when I became general secretary," he told the newspaper. "They would come to see me to give me money but they would not give it (directly) to me."
Phieu said the money was often left behind along with a bouquet of flowers on a table. He named no one, but it is the first time a leader of his stature has admitted to have personally been offered bribes.
Phieu, who on Wednesday criticised what he termed complacency over corruption in an unusually strong attack on current leaders, appeared to sink the knife in deeper with his latest remarks.
"I narrate this story in order to say that there are many such practices (inside the regime) and that some people see it as something natural or normal," he said Thursday.
"I am really sad about it and the situation today seems unchanged," he said.
Phieu on Wednesday said in the same daily that a long-running anti-graft campaign has been ineffective and that "corruption is not an isolated case but permeates the whole network from top to bottom and bottom to top."
The fight against corruption is a constant theme of official declarations, as leaders are said to be worried the problem is hurting the party's image.
Phieu was widely acknowledged to have lost his job after a strong anti-graft drive and for having set up close surveillance of politburo members.
"This practice touches not just those in office but also their families, and we ought to ask them to be more vigilant," Phieu said Thursday.
Analysts were not as surprised by the content of Thursday's remarks as by the form it took.
"It confirms what everyone knows already," said a foreign diplomat. "It is good that Vietnam's communist party starts to really have a look at it."
Phieu's remarks come a year before the 10th congress of the communist party, the expected scene of jockeying for posts in the state and party leadership.
"Every move coming from important people will be regarded as linked to the party congress. It is inevitable," the diplomat said.
The former leader's statements underline the primary importance of the issue of corruption, which pervades business and politics.
Despite the authorities' declarations of tough action, the Vietnamese public continues to believe the highest leadership is outside the bounds of justice, notwithstanding some high profile corruption cases.
"For a long time, corruption was oiling the wheels, and it did not hold back the country's development. Today the problem is more serious," said a foreign businessman in Vietnam. He added that the authorities were "not able to control the phenomenon".
Phieu's statements, he said, may represent the view of a politburo fringe that was seeking stronger steps.
"At a time when (Prime Minister) Phan Van Khai is preparing to visit the United States, some people want to drag the problem in public and push the government to act quicker," the businessman said. The premier is due to visit the United States next month.
Phieu Thursday said he faced "many pressures" when he sought to fight corruption. He said he continued to get a lot of information, which he regularly passed on to the current leaders.
Agence France Presse - May 26, 2005.
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