Ông Nguyễn Cao Kỳ và Hòa Giải Dân Tộc (Nguyen cao Ky and His Reconciliation)

 

The former South Vietnam Vice President Nguyen cao Ky passed away earlier this month .  He was 81 years old.   Just like his life, his death is a news maker.   There are numerous articles and discussions on the Web about his flamboyant life of booze and women, his rise briefly to power in a corrupted South Vietnam political system, his hardliner against communism and ultimately his return as a refugee in America to live in Vietnam (albeit part time) as a middleman trying to bring American investors to build a golf resort in a communist country. 

What livid a lot of the anti-communist groups is his condescending attitude toward them.  In an interview on 4/30/2005 in Vietnam by VTVI Hanoi as part of a program titled  "The Vietnam War In Retrospective after 30 Years", Nguyen cao Ky did not mince his words (see video).  The first few minutes of his interview is transcribed as follows -

"... I told many Viet Kieu (Overseas Vietnamese) and my former soldiers,  I used to fight along their side and just like them,  I wanted to have a final victory to unite the country.   I know that it is a responsibility of every Vietnamese citizen to unify the country. 

But we could not do it.  The people on the other side did it.  This is now history and we have to accept it.  The country is now united after 30 years.  I cannot understand why some people still talk about the country is lost and we have to take back the country.  The country is not lost to China or France.  Why we have to regain our country?  From what?  Even the 3 million Vietnamese people overseas cannot say they represent the true Vietnam.  They are not representing Vietnam.....................

There are extreme elements in the community who always claim that they are in the name of nationalism, freedom and democracy (to fight to take back the country).  These people are crooks who hide under these worned-out jingoisms to take money from the people.  To manipulate people's good will for their own agenda.   Don't be fool by them I tell you...........  These anti-communist extremists are making a lot of noises even though they only represent a very small minority.  The majority of the community ignore them.  That is the saddest thing about our Viet Kieu community.  These anti-communist people are a bunch of clowns.........."