BY TUONG VI PHAM
HANOI — The Vietnamese government condemned the US-British attack on Iraq in a statement released on March 20. It stated: "The action constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international law, including the United Nations Charter. The Vietnamese government and people vehemently condemn the military action waged by the US and British administrations against the Iraqi people and strongly demand an immediate end to those actions, and full respect for Iraq's national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity to restore peace in the region and stability in the world"
Meanwhile, people across Vietnam have voiced strong opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq. On March 15, Hanoians came out in force at Hoan Kiem Lake to vehemently condemn the war and called upon the world's people to act to end it.
On March 19 in Hanoi, the Vietnam Friendship Association's Union, the Vietnamese Peace Committee, the Committee for Solidarity with Asian, African and Latin American People, the Vietnam-Iraq Friendship Association and hundreds of citizens gathered to protest the war on Iraq.
Since then, more than 3000 people in the central province of Phu Yen and more than 7000 people in Nha Trang city have protested. Tens of thousands people from Bac Kan, Son La, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Ninh Binh, Ha Giang and Nam Dinh provinces in the north, the central provinces of Ninh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Quang Nam, and the southern cities of Ho Chi Minh and Can Tho, the southern provinces of Vinh Long, Binh Phuoc and Binh Duong and the Central Highlands province of Dac Lak have also protested against the US-British attack.
Demonstrators sent messages protesting against the war and calling for peace to the UN and to the world peace movement. The messages said that the Vietnamese people, who have suffered from the consequences of a US war, understand deeply and emotionally the pain and loss such a war causes. They expressed the sincere wish for peace in Iraq and their solidarity with the Iraqi people.
On March 22, about 2000 Vietnamese students protested outside the US embassy in Hanoi to oppose the US-led war and killings of civilians in Iraq. They also marched to express their anger against the "immoral" war in Iraq.
Their banners read: "Stop war on Iraq"; "No more blood for oil"; "Bush is the killer"; "Solidarity with the Iraqi people"; and "We love peace". Student protesters said that they would gather outside the embassy every day to protest against the US invasion of Iraq and to show their solidarity with the Iraqi people.
From Green Left Weekly, April 2, 2003.
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