Ho Chi Minh poster creates tension in community

Published: Friday, February 26, 1999

Friday, February 26, 1999

RESPONSE: Vietnamese hope protest pressures Tran to remove symbols

By Yiloc Lai

Daily Bruin Contributor

Jimmy Nguyen doesn't like knowing that a picture of Ho Chi Minh is posted in his community.

"For the Vietnamese people, Ho Chi Minh will always represent all their oppression," Nguyen said. "So when they see images of him or his flag, they're haunted by their memories of his killings and torture."

And Nguyen and others refuse to remain silent about their beliefs.

More than six weeks of demonstrations and debate have followed the initial posting of communist images in a storefront window in Westminster. Truong Van Tran, a Vietnamese shopkeeper, displayed the flag of Vietnam and a poster of Ho Chi Minh - two symbols of Vietnamese communism - in his Hi Tek TV and VCR store in Orange County since Jan. 17.

The protesters argue that these images shouldn't be displayed because it reminds them of the horror of Ho Chi Minh's communist regime. Tran and others, however, argue that posting symbolic images is a first amendment right.

For the protesters, it is Tran's insensitivity for the memories of his fellow refugees, particularly through his "praise" of Ho Chi Minh that is so disturbing, according to Jimmy Nguyen, the community liaison for the demonstrators.

Tran, however, says that he posted the images in order to exercise his freedom of speech and encourage fellow Vietnamese to view their homeland in a new way.

"I know it makes the community angry," Tran said. "But once they get past the anger, they will see the issue. They will understand that I am right."

Civil liberties advocates support Tran in his freedom of speech. They have accused Vietnamese protesters for trying to get the symbols taken down.

The protesters won a temporary court order on Jan. 22, which forced him to remove the symbols on the basis that it violated his rental building contract. The decision was overturned by the same court on Feb. 10.

"Because the state didn't explicitly order Tran to remove those symbols of Vietnamese communism, his right to free speech wasn't violated," said Kenneth Karst, a UCLA law professor.

Tran vowed that he would keep the flag and photo up. He said that his spiritual background helps him maintain a strong will and keep up the fight.

Tran opened his store in 1996 in Little Saigon, a community of 200,000 residents, many of which are Vietnamese who have been former political prisoners or refugees and despise the communist government.

Strong community sentiment has resulted in on-going protests, the largest of which occurred Feb. 22, drawing a group of 10,000.

While respectful of Tran's first amendment rights, members of the Westminster Vietnamese community plan to continue their rallies and protests, in the hope that they'll pressure Tran into removing the symbols of communism.

In contrast, some Vietnamese students at UCLA are indifferent to the symbols but sympathetic to the protesters.

"As a first-generation Vietnamese-American, I'm not insulted by those symbols and images because I didn't lose my country like my parents did," said Tommy Do, a first-year undeclared student.

Though Do and the protesters agree that posting symbols is within Tran's rights, they said they feel it shows a lack of judgment.

"This is an issue of sensitivity," Nguyen said. "We honor his first amendment rights, but we ask that he exercise them with sensitivity, respect to others and respect for public safety."

With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.

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