Vietnam Names a New Foreign Minister
In January Nguyen Dy Nien became Vietnam’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, succeeding Nguyen Manh Cam who retained his position as Deputy Prime Minister. Nien joined the Ministry at its founding in 1954 and has been Deputy Minister since 1987.
He was born on December 9, 1935, in Thanh Hao Province, and took part in the National Liberation Movement from 1951 at the age of 16. In 1991 Nien was elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party. He is a graduate of Banaras Hindu University in India, having been the first Nortrh Vietnamese to study outside the Soviet Bloc as the result of an agreement between Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Nehru. He has served as President of the Vietnam National Committee of UNESCO and as President of the National Committee for Overseas Vietnamese.
Nien officially welcomed a delegation of former members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which we brought to Hanoi (with the support of the Ford Foundation) in 1995 for the first time since they trained and supplied Ho Chi Minh’s forces in 1945. During America’s war in Vietnam, the motives of the OSS team had come under attack so it was particularly moving when Nien greeted them warmly at the Ministry saying, “you are the foundation stone for Vietnam American friendship.”
Prior to Nien’s appointment, Western journalists speculated that the next Foreign Minister would be a hard liner from another ministry. It appears in fact that the main issue was whether Nien or Vu Khoan, also a highly respected Vice Minister at MFA, would replace Cam. Khoan moved over to the important position of Minister of Foreign Trade and saw to the successful final stages of the trade agreement with the US.
In Memorium
Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. lost a battle with cancer caused by asbestos exposure early in the year 2000. He had a long and very distinguished career in the Navy and in private service to veterans, including those in need of bone marrow transplants and those who suffered from Agent Orange or dioxins.
Admiral Zumwalt fought for compensation for Vietnamese suffering from landmines and from Agent Orange as well as for his beloved US veterans. He had ordered the spraying of Agent Orange by the Navy during the Vietnam war and believed his oldest son, Elmo R. Zumwalt, III, died from a cancer caused by exposure to Agent Orange. He also believed that Elmo III’s son suffered brain damage from Agent Orange. He brought his Agent Orange concern to the 7th conference of the Forum on Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam which took place in 1996 at American University.
Admiral Zumwalt modernized the US Navy in many ways, including desegregation of Asians and African-Americans, as well as permitting long hair. His stature was such that President Clinton gave the final oration at his funeral, held at the Navy Academy at Annapolis. He was an outspoken and fearless warrior and then a fighter for those in America and in Vietnam whom he felt deserved but were not getting justice. His brilliant and efficient mind and his gracious personality will be sadly missed.
Arnold Schecter, MD, MPH, Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, V8.112, Dallas, TX, 75235-9128. Tel: (214)648-1096; fax: (214) 648-1081; arnold.schecter@ email.swmed.edu or ajschecter@aol.com.
Japan Assists New ASEAN Members
Japan on July 28, 2000 established a fund, worth some $2.5 million for the first year, to promote cooperative relations with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien signed a document in Bangkok to launch the Japan-ASEAN General Exchange Fund (JAGEF), which aims to help the less developed ASEAN members become more fully involved in the regional group.