Michael Do

Nhận Diện Kẻ Thù

The Daily Texan

Tuesday, April 13, 1999

ASIAN PANEL DISCUSSION BREAKS OUT IN PROTEST

by Thaddeus DeJesus

Daily Texan Staff

A group of Vietnamese nationalists interrupted an Asian-ambassador panel discussion about trade and Politics Friday by protesting the totalitarian government of Vietnam.

The protester - made up of the UT Vietnamese Student Association, Austin Vietnamese Nationalist Community and concerned Austinites -- heckled ambassadors from nine Southeast Asian countries as they discussed trade and politics. The ambassadors visited Austin to meet with Gov. George W. Bush and participate in the panel discussion at the Student Services Building.

But one ambassador from Thailand, Nitya Pibulsonggram, elicited applause from nationalists when he said regional development has helped to exposed social problems in Thailand and throughout Southeast Asia.

"Ultimately, [growth] is about total human development," he said.

But the nationalists broke into protest immediately after Vietnamese Ambassador Le Van Bang spoke about his government.

Nationalists protested Bang's discussion of economic policies, especially of rice exports. The protesters claim the exports are starving the Vietnameses.

They called for democracy and freedom in Vietnam, holding up the flag of the former Republic of Vietnam and banners reading "Human Rights, No Freedom, No Development. Not a Penny to those who support Communists."

Bang said he was embarrassed at the behavior of the protesters.

"This is the seminar for nine countries; with the United States, 10 countries. I think that if we are Vietnamese, we should have respect for our nation, our race, " Bang said. "I am so outraged."

Chanh Nguyen, a UT medical technology junior among the demonstrators, said Bang's reaction was inappropriate and was simply a ruse to avoid the real issue. He said Vietnam's current state is one where power is in the hands of the government, not its people.

"The corruption in Vietnam is bad, worse than it was 10 years ago. People also don't have enough to eat," Nguyen said. "It doesn't matter how the economy grows. The people who will benefit are the government officers."

But before the protests, ambassadors from Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Singapore had an opportunity to discuss the region's transition, and political and economic renewal. The nine ambassadors represented the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an organization that promotes regional cooperation.

Ernest Bower, moderator and president of the US-ASEAN Business Council, said 1999 is the year for US companies to do business in Southeast Asia.

In attempt to deal with region's financial crisis, Bower said. Southeast Asian nations have instituted banking reforms, consolidated operations and increased exports to the United States. Now, the Southeast Asian nations are in search of investors and capital.

Singapore Ambassador Chan Heng Chee said there is a strong relationship between Texas and her country, the fifth largest export market for Texas. She added that the number one agenda for all ASEAN countries is to solve their financial crisis.

"We think that the financial crisis is bottoming out. We are reaching the point where we see that it will not get worse unless there are other shocks in the world." she said. "There are sign of recovery."

The ASEAN visit was sponsored by the International Office and the UT Center for Asian Studies.

http://stumedia.tsp.utexas.edu/webtexan/monday/99041206_s02_Asian.html