Friday, September 24, 1999
Published in the South China Morning Post
HUW WATKIN in Hanoi
Vietnam's top leadership has acknowledged the prospect of renewed unrest in Thai Binh, signalling the likelihood of further purges of the Communist Party hierarchy in the troubled province.
Party sources claim a 1997 revolt against corrupt officials in Thai Binh - considered the "cradle" of Vietnam's revolution - shocked the Politburo, which believed the unrest had the potential to spread and smash the party's monopoly on power.
A senior official said yesterday the communist leadership, still nervous about a possible new revolt, would continue purges that have seen more than 1,800 cadres disciplined.
"The Politburo has assessed that the situation in Thai Binh has become stable, but remains unsustainable," the head of the province's propaganda and education committee told the Liberation Saigon newspaper.
"Regaining people's confidence is not easy. The situation can't be calmed down unless we are frank with people," Pham Van Hoa was reported to have said.
Most local party members had lost touch with the general population, he said, and cadres should visit communities to talk with the people.
Corruption within the party hierarchy in Thai Binh was obvious, but the absence of democracy inside the organisation remained the chief source of local unrest, said Mr Hoa.
"[The] conflicts stem from the party members themselves. They had disputes but could not solve them. Eventually [that] induced farmers to stand up and create pressures," he said.
The 1997 Thai Binh revolt has been described by party leaders as a "catastrophe".
The trouble began when two farmers in Quynh My commune wrote to authorities to decry the lack of transparency in their district's financial administration.
Apparent indifference to their complaints sparked mass protests that snowballed and effectively ousted the party from power across a large part of the province.
Subsequent investigations by Hanoi revealed widespread corruption and abuse of power by officials to acquire large tracts of land.