Newsgroups: bit.listserv.seasia-l
Date:         Mon, 28 Sep 1992 11:56:27 -0400
From:         Nhan Tran <tran@PEORA.SDC.CCUR.COM>
Subject:      NEWS/VN: Despite new leadership VN keeps same policies

09/27

DESPITE NEW LEADERSHIP VIETNAM KEEPS SAME POLICIES

BANGKOK, (Sept. 25) IPS - The recent election of a conservative president and a
liberal prime minister in Vietnam underscores the continuing dichotomy in the
country's policies, analysts say.

The National Assembly's choice last week of retired general and senior
politburo member Le Duc Anh as president was tempered by its decision to
re-elect Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet for another five-year term.

The presidency was once a ceremonial post, but the newly amended constitution
now gives Anh the power to declare war in case of an invasion, act as
commander-in-chief of the armed forces, ratify or cancel international treaties
and appoint ambassadors.

Kiet, a southerner appointed to his post last year, is an avid proponent of
economic reforms adopted by the sixth party congress in 1986 and reaffirmed by
the seventh last year.

Anh, who led Vietnamese troops during the 1979 invasion of Cambodia, represents
the hardline faction within the power structure.

"The real power still lies with the Politburo, and nothing there has changed,"
said a Hanoi-based political analyst.

But another observer said Anh, who enjoys the respect of the military, will
guarantee stability and will not obstruct Vietnam's open-door economy policy.

Vietnam has been wooing foreign investors by changing its laws and regulations
on land and company ownership, foreign exchange and taxes over the past few
years. It has also begun the privatizing state firms that have been losing
money.

But the army has issued dire warnings on the negative effects of foreign
investment, saying "imperialist and reactionary circles" were trying to subvert
Vietnam through peaceful evolution by bringing in espionage and aids.

"Capitalism will be eradicated and replaced by socialism," Defense Minister
Doan Khue, a leading politburo member, told the army last month.

Vietnamese officials claim that although party leaders are not ready to
implement political reforms, they are united in their support of economic
liberalization.

"The only difference between liberals and conservatives is over the extent and
speed of the reforms," said one official.

The government's new economic policies seem to be bearing fruit despite the
gloomy forecasts following the break-up of the Soviet Union, once Vietnam's
biggest source of foreign aid.

Without Moscow's help, Vietnam was able to raise its oil and food grain
outputs. It produced 27.3 million barrels of crude oil last year, up from 17.5
million barrels in 1990. Grain production also soared to a record 21.7 million
tons last year, making Vietnam the world's third-largest exporter of rice.

Total exports and imports totalled four billion dollars in 1991, up from $3.6
billion the previous year.

Foreign investment continues to trickle in, with 384 projects worth nearly
three billion dollars granted licenses by the State Committee for Cooperation
and Investment through June this year.

Hanoi hopes foreign aid, including loans from the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund (IMF), will begin coming in soon after Washington lifts its
17-year-old economic embargo, which it expects to happen after this year's
presidential elections.

Analysts say Vietnam desperately needs funds to upgrade the country's poor
infrastructure and proceed with its ambitious development plans.

The recent appointment of government officials by the National Assembly was its
first since the 395-member body was formed last July following Vietnam's most
democratic elections.

For the first time since the country was united in 1975, independent candidates
were allowed to compete in the polls alongside Communist Party members.

Although party cadres regained their seats, the new membership in the assembly
included a younger and more educated group of people.

The National Assembly also selected Nguyen Thi Binh, the Vietcong delegate who
negotiated the peace talks in the early 1970's, as vice president. She is the
first woman to hold such a high position in Hanoi.