Vietnamese Group Wants South Korea to Apologize for Vietnam War Era Killings
Some old wounds from the ROK military’s involvement in the Vietnam War are being reopened:
On Apr. 22, Nguyen Thị Thanh, 59, a victim of civilian massacres by South Korean troops during the Vietnam War, visited Korea to participate in a “citizens’ peace tribunal” held to uncover the truth about the massacres. The tribunal was organized by MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society and the Korea-Vietnam Peace Foundation.
A plaintiff in the citizens’ tribunal, Nguyen claimed that she’d been shot on the left side of her body by Korean troops near her home in the village of Phong Nhị, Dien Ban District, Quang Nam Province, on Feb. 12, 1968. After the massacre, she received an operation to reconnect her severed intestine and still suffers from the aftereffects of her injury today. Five of her family members were killed in the massacre, and her 14-year-old older brother was grievously injured.The citizens’ tribunal concluded that the Korean troops had committed a massacre and ruled that the South Korean government ought to compensate the plaintiffs according to the conditions of the State Compensation Act and make an official apology to restore their dignity and reputation. That’s what Nguyen wants to hear from the South Korean government, but Seoul has never taken an official stance on this matter. Is there any chance of Nguyen’s wish coming true?
Nguyen submitted a petition signed by 103 victims of civilian massacres to the Blue House on Apr. 4 and is planning to sue the South Korean government for compensation, represented by MINBYUN attorney Lim Jae-seong, within the year. That will be the first time that a victim of the Vietnam War has filed a lawsuit against one of the aggressor states. Nguyen is spending a week in Korea on this trip to prepare the documents that are necessary for the lawsuit.
Hankyoreh
You can read more at the link, but the Minbyun group of lawyers are hard core leftists. In the past they have attacked the USFK base relocation, tried to bring back the US beef issue, and tried to have North Korean defectors forcibly returned to North Korea.
So why would hard core leftists be bringing up this issue now with a left wing government in power? They are likely going to use this issue to attack and blame conservative ROK politicians, since former South Korean strongman Park Chung-hee was in power at the time.
They demand that the Japanses apologize, perhaps Korea should get on its knees and ask for forgiveness from the vietnam. Let’s all beg for forgiveness of all the wars of the past.
Published by Commie Moon’s personal rag too.
The ROKs shouldn’t give them time of day until Vietnam apologizes for using Nork resources and assistance to fight the war, not to mention the tacit approval of Granddaddy’s Second Korean War. Hey, allow a vet who is frustrated that a country he came to like has had a bloodless coup and installed a commie in office. If you had told this young private that 30 years ago I would have laughed in your face.
After Moon was elected, you had to know this was coming.
South Koreans are getting exactly what they asked for.
@2ID Doc Do you not understand how absolutely horrible you sound? How dare the Vietnamese use assistance from the DPRK WHEN SOUTH KOREANS WERE RAPING AND MASSACRING VIETNAMESE VILLAGERS. How dare they do that? How dare you say that Vietnam does not deserve an apology?
Anon’s been drinkin’ that delicious Hanoi Kool-aid… Of course, it still smells like the usual commie trolls; but the uppercase “shouting” kinda sells it, don’t you think? Calling out Norkistan as “democratic”, i.e., “DPRK”, is really the icing on the cake.
What do I mean to say?
–How many South Vietnamese were sold to the Soviets as slaves to pay off the war debt? (Hint: over 600,000.)
–Over 2.5 Million Vietnamese people were forced to flee, often across the ocean in unsafe open boats. Many died in the attempt. (The actual numbers of those who tried to flee but were stopped is unavailable. As are the numbers of the dead.)
–The property of people accused of working for or with the former government of South Korea or her allies was confiscated and given to member of the terrorist Viet Cong and other communist party members. (Such an egalitarian state, no?)
No one who supports the current Vietnamese regime has any credibility to complain about anyone trying to stop the Communists from invading South Vietnam. Period.
BTW, as for killing Vietnamese, the commies never needed help from outsiders:
— Hue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_at_Hu%E1%BA%BF
— Dak Son: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%90%E1%BA%AFk_S%C6%A1n_massacre
Terror was a big part of the N.V. war effort, and the VC’s. But, records are largely unavailable. The North Vietnamese enforced “denied areas” to reporters. Photography was permitted only to scripted ideological sympathizers.
This was the pattern long before the USA, Australia, or South Korea were involved. No visual images chronicled the history of the brutal murders of 15,000 “class enemies” in North Vietnam during the mid-1950’s. General Vo Nguyen Giap acknowledged in a 1956 speech that landowners were “enemies”, subject to “strong measures”, i.e. tortured confessions. Catholic were persecuted, and over 650,000 fled to South Vietnam. After defeating the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, Ho Chi Minh concentrated on converting the South to Communism by force, in alliance with the Viet Cong. Terror became a tactic in their aggression.
If you aren’t sick to your stomach yet, here’s a little more:
https://www.quora.com/What-were-some-atrocities-massacres-and-war-crimes-committed-by-the-Viet-Cong-North-Vietnamese-Army-in-the-Vietnam-War
There are no communists that deserve a new rope.
Was that too much? No. It wasn’t enough. South Korea is headed down the same road unless they do a quick 180 degree spin.
@setnaffa Wow, your comment is such absolute crap. Oh no, I used the INITIALS of the official name of a country. Oh no, I don’t want people to be raped and killed!
And you know how else your comment is crap? It’s crap because you still literally NEVER addressed the proven fact that South Korean soldiers raped and massacred Vietnamese villagers. You went off on this random tangent about unrelated things.
So are you really trying to condone raping and massacring of innocent villagers? Because that’s literally what your comment is talking about.
So what, because the communist party of Vietnam has done bad things means that those villagers deserved to be raped and killed? Are you that horrible? Is it impossible to understand that countries can be both victims and aggressors? Is that too difficult for you to understand?
@setnaffa And I want to make this clear since I’m sure you’ll find some way to twist what I said. Point out ANYWHERE I said I supported the communist government of Vietnam. ANYWHERE other than in your imagination. I said NOTHING of the sort. I was replying to the other person who acted like accepting aid from the DPRK somehow means it’s okay to RAPE AND MURDER innocent villagers. That doesn’t mean I support Vietnam as a country. It means I don’t support RAPE AND MURDER, and guess what? That’s exactly what ROK soldiers did to Vietnamese villagers. No, unlike in your imagination, that doesn’t mean I support anyone. It means I support not raping and not murdering.
Guess what? I can agree with all of the bad things you said about Vietnam. I can say that they should apologize for all of that too. That makes you wrong. That makes you wrong because you act like only one country can ever apologize. That makes you wrong because you act like only one country can have blame, can be bad. I can say basically every single country should apologize for the bad things they do, including Vietnam AND South Korea.
And on using the initials DPRK, those are the initials of the OFFICIAL name in English, so it’s easier to communicate. Guess what? This isn’t a site for just you and all the other frequent posters. This was my first ever comment. I’m trying to communicate not just to you in your sheltered world but also to anyone else who might stumble upon this and read. You know what’s a good way to do that? By using names that are commonly accepted and understood by other people. Yeah, because “Norkistan” can be understood by other people so easily. Hey, did you hear the news about Norkistan launching a middle? Try saying that to ANYONE in real life. Sorry that you don’t know how to communicate.
Anon, you’re full of bovine scat. And you’re long-winded
You support the communists who are arguing for reparations. And you try to use a lot of words to cover the fact that they killed millions of their own. And you want South Koreans to pay.
Your kind isn’t worth a new rope either.
Anon, thank you for posting for the first time here. I’ll address a few of your points. The vast majority here are veterans who served in Korea or have other ties to Korea and her people. We understand Norkistan, Norks, and other terms to describe the territory north of the MDL established at the armistice signing in 1953. I used to use the term you prefer until I realized I was giving legitimacy to a regime that does deserve recognition. I also refer to the dictator in power as kim fatty the third as I do not think he deserves recognition as a leader of anything. As to your point about war crimes committed by the South Korean troops you are correct. Asians have a history of being brutal to other Asian countries going back through recorded history. Europeans, especially in the North and South American continents were especially brutal. I am not excusing the behavior nor condoning it, it is a horrible by-product of all warfare going all the way back to Modern Humans effectively killing and pillaging Neanderthal man out of existence. Apologies for the actions of mostly dead men are meaningless. Instead be happy that Vietnam has bounced back from decades of civil war fought by and with proxies, to become a nation on a path to recovery. I’m certain digging in archives could find every army on all sides committed horrible war crimes to the villagers, especially the women, elderly and young.
Anon,
I just want to say Vietnam was a travesty and a lot of shit happened there. There was not a single fighting force involved who did suffer some sort of atrocities during that war.
The Vietnamese are going start whining about stuff that happened over 40 years ago. They have never been held to task about all the American and Korean POW’s that they maimed, tortured, starved, and killed. Too bad.
The ROK Army probably did commit some atrocious shit over there. I had two brothers in law who went over there with the ROK Army, the stories that they told brutal to say the least. The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese were scared to death of the ROK Army and more the ROK Marine Corps. The were and still are an excellent fighting force.
When the Vietnamese atone for all the shit they did to the other side, perhaps it should be looked at. Otherwise to hell with them.
@Rosko Then by the exact same logic, unless and until South Korea atones for all the shit they did to the other side, the complaints from South Korea should not be heard. That is the necessary logic that you have stated. That means that unless and until South Korea makes full apologies (whatever that may entail) to groups such as Vietnam as well as any other victims, then South Korea should not be able to complain about the injustices it has suffered. That is the necessity of your logic.
@setnaffa Wow, you’re dumb as hell. Oh no, I’m saying that the victims of rape and murder, who happen to live in a communist country, should have their voices heard! You know what? You’re literally supporting rape and murder. That’s literally what you’re doing. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a rapist or murderer, but I’m not accusing you of that. I’m just saying what’s clear, that you think it’s good to have people raped and killed. You’re horrible.
@2ID Doc Thank you for the reply. I honestly do appreciate it. As to the terminology, I think it’s a matter of disagreement. As I stated, my comment was not simply for you or for the other frequent posters on this site. I acknowledge that you and others here already understand Nork, Norkistan, etc. I already said that in my previous comment. The thing is, though, that unless I see otherwise, this website seems to be open to the public, not merely to frequent posters. As I said before, yes, you and others here may already understand it, but other people who may stumble upon the website may not. As such, I was trying to be clear to both you and others.
I could engage on the subject of whether “democratic” legitimizes a regime, either 1) in general, or 2) in this specific case. 1) Democratic has not always meant something good, and it doesn’t even always mean something good in today’s world. 2) In this specific case of the area to the north of the MDL, I would argue that no one seriously entertains the idea that calling it “democratic” in the name offers any sort of legitimacy to it. Those reasons, plus the above reason of trying to be clear to anyone else who might be a newcomer to the site, gave me reason enough to decide to use the initials. You may disagree on this issue by feeling that 1) this site is primarily for frequent posters or 2) it still does legitimize the country. I would disagree with you, but I would understand your reasoning.
But yes, thank you for your reply. At least we both agree that any atrocities such as raping and murdering are bad, whether committed by South Koreans, Vietnamese, or any other entities. I think we can at least agree on that statement.
I’ll add this on because setnaffa is really, really horrible. You use very few words to try to cover up the fact that you’re a horrible person who is okay with rape and murder. Tell me, why do you support rape and murder? Give me a reason. If you can’t, then stop talking.
Anon, you go and play with the communists in Vietnam all you want. You go and support them all you want. I have more Vietnamese and Hmong friends with physical scars from Viet Cong attacks on innocent villagers than you have propaganda poster girls.
You want to cloud the issue; but it’s really quite clear. Vietnam is still ruled by the communists who stole lives, property, and liberty from those in booth North and South Vietnam. And now that they’re running out of other people’s money, they want to snag a new patsy.
Well, South Korea has money, and they have shown a tendency to make bad political choices lately; but in this Case, advocating that rape and murder is bad seems to invalidate all of Hanoi’s arguments.
@setnaffa You go and play with the rapists and murderers all you want. You go and support them all you want.
You’re trying to cloud the issue. As I said in my second post, you can criticize BOTH. You can criticize South Korea for the raping and murder, AND you can criticize Vietnam for its atrocities. What’s so hard about this? Why is it so difficult for you to understand?
Why do you refuse to accept that I’m criticizing both, as I clearly stated in my second post?
Anon, unless you clearly state there are no need for reparations, you’re a commie shill.
There is also the (minimum) 2 orders of magnitude difference in the alleged crimes, the strange timing, and the fact that any foreign money would go directly to the communist government.
You argued most passionately against the South Koreans and ignored the much more serious crimes committed by the very people who are pushing for the money.
You’re either disingenuous or blind.
Other than that, you use uppercase letters too much. You should work on your internet etiquette. Especially if this was your introduction to the ‘Drop.
There are, not counting myself, very honorable people here and you have no right to launch into a vicious tirade against others, not here, who might be innocent.
40+ year old memories from citizens of a country so bad 2.5 million or more fled across the ocean in open boats are not credible.
@setnaffa “You argued most passionately against the South Koreans and ignored the much more serious crimes committed by the very people who are pushing for the money”
Completely false. You are so unbelievably wrong. I said I could accept as truth the atrocities committed by Vietnam that you yourself pointed out. I literally said that already. What, did you want me to repeat word-for-word everything that you said? Do you know how ridiculous that would be? I said I accept it! Learn to read my comment!
“Other than that, you use uppercase letters too much. You should work on your internet etiquette. Especially if this was your introduction to the ‘Drop.”
I wanted to make clear my emphasis on various points. I think accomplished my goal considering that you took notice of it.
“There are, not counting myself, very honorable people here and you have no right to launch into a vicious tirade against others, not here, who might be innocent.”
It was a vicious tirade to say that you shouldn’t defend rape and murder of innocents? That’s literally all that I’ve been doing. Where did I go into a vicious tirade as an initial aggressor? Notice how a lot of my comments actually echo the wordings used by other people. Any kind of “viciousness” was instigated by others, and I used their own wordings back on them. In fact, look at my second reply to 2ID Doc. It might sound disingenuous for me to be the one to say it, but I think that I was fairly respectful to him in my second reply to him. So tell me, where did I go into a “vicious tirade” when it wasn’t warranted?
“40+ year old memories from citizens of a country so bad 2.5 million or more fled across the ocean in open boats are not credible.”
Again, I have to make this explicit. So what is your solution? Your solution is to literally bury your head in the sands and say you’re not going to listen to anything anymore. My solution is to cast blame upon all parties who have done bad things. That means blaming Vietnam and South Korea. Your solution is…nothing. Your solution is to ignore it all. Your solution is to literally condone rape and murder.
“Anon, unless you clearly state there are no need for reparations, you’re a commie shill.
There is also the (minimum) 2 orders of magnitude difference in the alleged crimes, the strange timing, and the fact that any foreign money would go directly to the communist government.”
Way to make conclusory statements but not back them up with any reasoning. You give no explanation of how this is “strange timing”. Is it strange timing for South Korea to bring up the Japanese colonization that started about a century ago? “alleged crimes” that are backed up by a huge amount of evidence.
This is the only substantive thing that you’ve ever said, and this is completely new, so this is the first time for me to respond. Nowhere in this article does it say that the “any foreign money would go directly to the communist government”. If you can show that it would, then, yes, I would say that reparations shouldn’t be paid RIGHT NOW. I highly doubt that to be the case considering that the government of Vietnam has never sought any kind of apology or reparations from South Korea on this issue. In fact, this case is being brought by individual citizens of Vietnam, so it’s HIGHLY likely that the money would actually go to the Vietnamese citizens. Even if you’re completely right, that the money would go to the government and not the citizens, the South Korean government should still make an APOLOGY, which they have never done [not in any specific detail].
I challenge you to show where you’re not making up a bunch of crap.
“I challenge you to show where you’re not making up a bunch of crap.”
I gave links to Wikipedia and other peer-reviewed sites that list details. You post volumes of un-sourced BS. You’re still defending the communists. You’re not worth the attention I’ve given you.
—-
To GI and all regular attendees: I want to apologize for forgetting not to feed the trolls. I will strive to be better.
@setnaffa Do you know how to read? What did my comment actually say?
Look at what I actually typed. I said that YES, Vietnam IS GUILTY of atrocities. I said that VERY clearly. This is why I have to capitalize, because if I don’t, you still fail to read.
I wanted you to show any evidence that any reparations from this case would automatically go to the Vietnamese government. You haven’t. Those are not what your links are about. You never gave any evidence of that ANYWHERE.
The end result is that you’re literally supporting rape and murder. Do you not understand how you are messed up? Even the original poster that I replied to, 2ID Doc, agreed with me that rape and murder and other atrocities are bad, regardless of if they are committed by Vietnam, South Korea, or any other country.
You are not only being a troll, you are also supporting rape and murder.