[Vacets-local-dc] [The Upcoming CPV's Tenth Party Congress]

[Hai Tran]

 *The CPV's Tenth Congress: The Congregation of "Maggots"*

A few years ago, dissident writer Duong Thu Huong was in France
for promotion of one of her novels, which was banned in Vietnam. She was
asked why she still planned to return to Vietnam. She deadpanned, "I return
to shit in their faces," and she called those corrupt officials in Hanoi,
"maggots of different sizes."

If you think she was too harsh on those revolutionary mandarins, think
again. Events of the last few years proved her right on the description.

The occasion is the continuing saga of high ranking cadres in the Ministry
of Transport who embezzled millions of U.S. dollars of official development
assistance (ODA) funds from foreign governments and banks to bet on soccer
matches and lavished in decadent drinking-prostitution karaoke bars. In two
months, they spent around 7 million U.S. dollars. Now, compare that with a
"lucky" Vietnamese worker who earns about 40-45 dollars at one of the
foreign-owned sweatshops. That betting loss is equivalent to the combined
monthly salary of more than 150,000 workers who toil 12-14 hours per day!

That is why Duong Thu Huong's characterization strikes a collective nerve in
Vietnam, especially when the people are bombarded daily with the
propaganda about how lucky to have had the communists as their leaders for
the last 70 years.

>From April 18 to 25 those faces will congregate in Hanoi  for
their every-5-year Communist Party Congress. But they are quite nervous this
time because of the continual drip of revelation of the corruption at the
Ministry of Transport that has claimed the minister, one vice minister, and
several general directors. Asked about this spectacle, some acquaintances in
Hanoi were blunt, "The face of the CPV itself is full of shit because CPV
stands for the Corruption Party of Vietnam!"

To make matters worse, the latest information ties the current general
secretary of the CPV, Nong Duc Manh, who is himself suspected of having the
job just because of being the illegitimate son of Ho Chi Minh and a
sycophant, to the very racket of soccer gambling in the Project Management
Unit (PMU) 18. Staff working in PMU 18 has confirmed that Manh's daughter
and son-in-law have been employed there and under the special care of Nguyen
Viet Tien, the infamous vice minister who is now in jail.

Why do they all vie for working at a PMU? According to the World Bank's
"Perceptions of Development Partners and Evidence on Aid Effectiveness
-Vietnam Case Study" by Jacquemain & Bainbridge, dated 19 October 2005, page
14,

".... Staff at PMUs earn higher salaries and have access to benefits such as
cars and overseas study that make them attractive places to be employed.
..."

No wonder the place is teemed with sons and daughters and in-laws of many
top communist cadres, including the CPV's politburo members.

The latest information also confirms that there are around 1,000 (one
thousand) such PMUs, in which PMU 18 has been allocated 2 billion US dollars
in its portfolio. By now one gets the picture of the systemic fleecing of
the country by these "servants of the people."

In addition, the construction of the helicopter landing pad near Manh's home
is now also under investigation as well as several roads and
bridges near his estate. Some party delegates recalled how adamant Manh had
been in insisting on bringing those very thieves at the Ministry of
Transport into the Central Committee of the CPV.

Yet, the latest handicapping of CPV personnel for the next five-year
term shows that Manh still has enough votes to continue as general
secretary, the party head. Among them are many of Manh's proteges and the
cronies of the former party head, Do Muoi, and former state head, Le Duc
Anh. These two colorful characters also left very distinguished examples of
bribery, corruption, and looting themselves. No matter how obvious public
contempt for the party has become, these cronies will still vote to continue
their privileges in the most corrupt regime in any five-year terms of the
CPV. Besides the sordid cesspool at the Ministry of
Transport, other examples include:

- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: Through the collusion of 2
vice ministers and the minister, a senior-ranking woman set up several phony
agricultural trading corporations and siphoned money from state banks,
amounting to losses around 150 million US dollars. Thee woman was sentenced
to death to prevent talking, 2 vice ministers got a few slaps on the hands,
the minister resigned. Some of his subordinates were reassigned to other
party functions.

- Ministry of Commerce: In 2004, the corruption and bribery in the textile
quotas to the U.S. market by a cabal headed by the vice minister and his son
resulted in call for investigation of the minister and other vice
ministers. "The investigation continues," people were told.

- The Ministry of Health: Last year, corruption in the import and
distribution of drugs led to the suicide of a whistle blower and the arrest
of Lan Anh, the Tuoi Tre reporter, who dared exposed the racket.

- The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications: Two years ago, the current
minister, Do Trung Ta, at the time head of the Post and Telecommunications
General Department, overrode decisions of a source selection team to award a
telecommunications contract to the least technically competent foreign
bidder at a higher price. Later it was revealed that his son's consulting
firm was the second opinion he depended on to reverse the professionals'
decision. After carrying out "self-criticism" the minister and his clan was
rewarded by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai with higher position in a new
Ministry of Post and Telecommunications because the PM deemed that they
had "earnestly recognized their shortcomings and promised to repent."

- The Ministry of Public Security: This seems to be off-limit to the media.
But a few years ago, a vice minister was caught on the payroll of Nam Cam,
the "mafia boss" who was executed for hear of spilling bigger beans. Another
vice minister, general Nguyen Khanh Toan, is named as a party in the lawsuit
by a Vietnamese Dutch businessman who sues the Government of Vietnam for 100
million US dollars for fabricating charges and confiscating his companies
and properties in Vung Tau-Ba Ria, Vietnam. In the PMU 18 affair, a general
in this ministry has just been accused of helping that infamous gambler to
buy his way out of trouble, to the tune of 500,000 U.S. dollars.

Above are just some of the cases that Vietnamese media have been allowed to
cover. Every Monday, editors of print and on-line media in Vietnam are
summoned to see the officials of the Commission on Ideology and Cultural to
be given "the message of the week" as to what can be covered, to which
extent, etc. The Vietnamese people can only know what the communist party
thinks they need to know, no more, no less.

All these cases of looting the treasury, embezzlement of foreign aid, and
bribery at exorbitant amounts occurred during the last five years, under the
term of party head Nong Duc Manh and government head, Phan Van Khai. The
question is, "How can it go on without anyone being held accountable?"

The answer lies in the political monopoly of the CPV. By writing itself into
the constitution as the only party leading Vietnam, they are accountable to
nobody. And all the high ranking officials from these ministries are members
of the Central Committee of the CPV. As such, they are directly managed by
the politburo, not the government agency where they work. Together with
politburo, they wield complete and absolute power in Vietnam. If any
high-ranking cadre "makes mistakes," the politburo could criticize them and
then re-assign them to other posts because loyalty to the party is the
highest norm of socialist morality of Vietnam under the communists. And they
are the loyal and the trusted, after all.

So, for the next 10 days, they will appear on TV lecturing the Vietnamese
people about their merits and accomplishments, their sacrifice for the
people and their demand for total loyalty to their power. And millions of
words will be written about their glorious past, their historic
achievements, and about their correct, creative direction of "adherence to
Marxism-Leninism" to develop a "market economy with socialist orientation."
Whatever that means!

The CPV are marching toward the future but their eyes are still glued to the
past The issue is whether the Vietnamese people will march with them this
time!

Hai Tran
Virginia, USA





=====
You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

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--
You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
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