February 5, 1998

VI: Security threat in 4th military zone, Hanoi warns

VI: The enclosed article reveals that Hanoi authorities are alarming about political instability in the Fourth Military Region. The official Army paper, as usual, blames exiled reactionaries and imperialist forces for the simmering situation, a charge that the communist General Tran Do criticized in a recent letter as "fearing to face the truth" of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP). The dissident general also pointedly charged that the vulnerable situation is "created by the VCP itself" with widespread discontent against the communist dictatorial rule, and blamed the lack of democratic reform in VN as the cause of Vietnam's backwardness, poverty and morally bankrupt society.

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British Broadcasting Corporation
January 28, 1998, Wednesday

HEADLINE: Army paper reviews political security in Fourth Military Region

SOURCE: Source: 'Quan Doi Nhan Dan', Hanoi, in Vietnamese 19 Dec 97 p2

Text of article by Col Nguyen Van Thuc, chief of Security Protection Service under Fourth Region Military Command; published by the Vietnamese army newspaper 'Quan Doi Nhan Dan' on 19th December

The Fourth Military Region, which encompasses six provinces in the northern part of the central region, is a diversified and complicated region. In the two provinces of Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue that were liberated in 1975, large numbers of former soldiers and employees of the puppet regime as well as former members of reactionary political parties have been reeducated, and since then have been seriously observing lines and policies of the party and state laws. There are still elements who carry out underground activity, waiting for support from exiled reactionaries and for assistance from imperialist forces to seek vengeance when the opportunity arrives. They have caused disturbances and violent incidents in the past. They distributed reactionary documents and harmful cultural products in society and also in party and state agencies and the armed forces. They also engaged in illegal religious preaching, spreading unwanted influences over certain portions of the people in the region.

Understanding that the principle of prevention is the most important task, the military region has always attached importance to the tasks of education and propaganda that highlight the revolutionary vigilance against sabotage schemes of the enemy, and in the meantime protect the lines and policies of the party as well as party organizations and the armed forces. All cadres, combatants and national defence employees are equipped with knowledge to fight back psychological warfare propaganda. A total of 653 members of all party committees in the military region have been assigned the responsibility of internal security protection. Political activity in units and localities have been organized in good order.

All party chapters and party organizations have made specific resolutions on internal political protection work. Unit leaders have been urged to make plans to involve troops in internal political protection duty. Every month and quarter, all units hold meetings with troops and with local administrations to review the political situation and analyse information from all sources in their respective locality. At these meetings necessary measures are discussed to promote stability in terms of economic, social, and national defence domains in the localities.

In the process of implementation of resolutions, directives, and decisions on internal political protection work, there are still many weaknesses that occurred in various places. Personnel management duty at some places was lax, and officials in charge of various units showed negligence at times, resulting in people with inadequate political criteria being recruited into the army. There have also been people colluding with outsiders to pursue illegal personal gains, exploiting negative effects of the market-driven economy. These people have become accomplices of bad elements in society and have caused damage to the fine characteristics and traditions of the army.

From experience learned over the past five years implementing resolutions and directives on the protection of internal political security and on fighting the peaceful evolution plot in the Fourth Military Region, the two duties of building steadfast political viewpoints and high awareness on internal political protection have evolved as the most important duties. They are even more important in the era of open-door policy and the market-driven economy. In the new period party committees at all levels should review their leadership styles to make them better suited to new conditions and circumstances in their respective locality. Unit leaders should strive to educate their troops on the protection of internal secrets and vigilance against sabotage schemes. All officials and combatants should have a clear knowledge and resolute standpoint on complicated incidents and the "peaceful evolution" scheme of the enemy. Officials and cadres should follow the principle that highlights prevention and construction as the most important duties. They should pay proper attention to building good attitudes and rectifying shortcomings among their staff as early as possible. Units should observe regulations on external relations activity determined by the Ministry of National Defence. In the meantime, they should also handle resolutely all violations of regulations on security protection of the army, as well as of national security. All units should be ready to crush all schemes of psychological and spying warfare that are attempting to get into the ranks of our army, and to foil all attempts to cause dissonance between the army and public security force, or between the army and the people who plot to de-politicalize the army.

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  VI : Vinsight, an online magazine at http://www.vinsight.org
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