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Commending the Vietnamese community in Georgia and recognizing the community´s pride in their "Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag"; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the current government of Vietnam is a nondemocratic, one-party system of government which does not recognize international law and which arbitrarily infringes upon the basic human rights and civil liberties of its citizens; and

WHEREAS, Vietnamese Americans were forced to flee their homeland in fear of the communist government´s campaign of retribution and persecution after the fall of Saigon in 1975; and

WHEREAS, a significant number of the Vietnamese refugees who entered the United States settled in Georgia, and in the ensuing years they have proven themselves to be honest, intelligent, loyal citizens of this state and of the United States, contributing greatly in the areas of business, commerce, and culture; and

WHEREAS, virtually all of our Vietnamese American citizens embrace the "Heritage and Freedom Flag," which appears as three red stripes on a saffron background, as the symbol of their community and their cultural identity, and the flag symbolizes to them freedom, democracy, and the legendary resilience of the Vietnamese people; and

WHEREAS, while the government of Vietnam becomes increasingly oppressive, the Vietnamese American community continues to flourish and to demonstrate the spirit and love of freedom which that government so cruelly suppresses, and it is only proper that the tangible symbol of that spirit, the "Heritage and Freedom Flag," be recognized as the official flag of the Vietnamese American community in this state.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body commend the Vietnamese community in Georgia and recognize the community´s provide in their "Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag" and commend the members of the Vietnamese community for their many triumphs and successes in the years following the collapse of their government in 1975.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the public and the press.