What Caused the Crisis in Vietnam?

1. The year 1975 gave Vietnam a rare opportunity to allow the people to participate in the construction of a peaceful, progressive and prosperous country. That opportunity was sadly lost when the Communist Party of Vietnam refused to carry out any policies that would unite the people so that they may work together to rebuild the nation destroyed by years of fighting. Furthermore, the Party did not hesitate to oppress anyone who dissented; the Party ruled with an iron fist, ruining Vietnam's badly needed opportunities to develop.

2. Based on Communism's totalitarian doctrine, the Vietnamese Communist rules concentrated power in their hands, squelched all initiative on the part of the people, and paralyzed the people's ability to contribute to the nation's economy. Incompetent but powerful, these rulers made decisions that had dreadful consequences for the country and the people. Armed with a brutal anti-democratic ruling machine, the rulers, from central down to local authorities, abused government institutions and conspired to share privileges among themselves. Feudalism and corruption at all levels are destroying an economy which is already on the verge of collapse. Being undemocratic within its own ranks, only a handful of top Party leaders rule the country, living a life of abundance in spite of the poverty that the people, and rank and file Party members, must endure.

3. The institution of a Marxist-Leninist centralized system has destroyed the economy, which is now in shambles. In such an economy, the life of the common man has plunged to the ultimate lowest of poverty; insufficient income and chronic unemployment have opened the way to moral bankruptcy, which in turn results in societal decay. The reform policy - a halfway measure in reality - only added to the social injustice for it gave birth to a new social class whose members are granted special privileges and rights. Many of these people took advantage of their position to corrupt, exploit others, waste resources, and bring despair to the people.

4. While peoples of other nations are marching toward a free, democratic and humanitarian world, the leaders of the Vietnamese Communist Party continue to maintain a dictatorship, thus forcing the country into economic and diplomatic isolation. This problem excludes Vietnam from any cooperation or exchanges with the civilized, progressive world.

   When the Party leadership ordered Vietnamese soldiers into neighboring countries to pursue its expansionist dreams, the world condemned the aggression and shunned Vietnam. Today, the Vietnamese Communist oligarchy still clings to the obsolete and bankrupt Socialist doctrine, which the Eastern European nations and even the Soviet Union have wisely abandoned in favor of democracy and freedom and for a peaceful, harmonious coexistence with other nations. The Party leadership's extreme conservative attitude, stubborn disdain for the people's desires and repetitious rhetoric of "Who defeated whom" only prolong the isolation and add to the burden which the Vietnamese people can no longer bear.

   This oppression by the regime deprives the Vietnamese people of their rights to a happy and prosperous life. People can only find happiness if they have self-determination. The country can only progress if its people can determines its course. Vietnam can only escape the crisis today if the Vietnamese people have freedom and democracy.

Next: The Alliance's Plan for the Democratization of Vietnam