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 | Monday, May 01, 2000, updated at 10:47(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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End of War Marked with ExtravaganzaFrom a garrison of sandbags and barbed wire, a new Viet Nam of high-rises and high-tech celebrated the 25th anniversary of the end of the war yesterday with a colourful parade of thousands and a festival of song and dance.An estimated 20,000 people gathered at Reunification Palace, the centerpiece of the nationally televised celebrations that turned from a military parade into a spring pageant of everything from floats to stilt walkers, dragon dancers and child ballet performers. One float featured a globe that opened up, releasing a flock of doves, symbolizing peace. The palace was decorated with a larger-than-life portrait of legendary natioanl hero Ho Chi Minh and eight long banners saluting the victory over the United States. Goose-stepping soldiers, barefooted minority groups, religious representatives, including some in black Catholic cassocks, rifle-toting female soldiers in black pajamas and khaki hats, and women in a rainbow of brightly coloured ao dais paraded through the palace grounds and past a reviewing stand for 90 minutes. On a hot, sunny early morning, marchers and viewers alike fanned themselves with miniature paper red flags of Viet Nam. The men who made this day possible were there, including General Vo Nguyen Giap, the architect of victories over both the French and Americans, and General Van Tien Dung, commander of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign that toppled on April 30, 1975 the old south capital of Saigon, now renamed Ho Chi Minh City. In a keynote address, Ho Chi Minh City Mayor Vo Viet Thanh looked back to the heroism of the war but focused mainly on the country's economic problems. "For what Viet Nam and Ho Chi Minh City can enjoy today, the entire nation has paid for through 30 years of continuous fighting, the loss of millions of human lives and the loss of the most beloved members of millions of families," he said. Looking ahead to the new millennium, he outlined the goals for the city, including a higher economic growth rate, greater efficiency in business performance and less restrictive policies. But he said the Vietnamese face a number of problems, including some of their own making. "Arbitrary and imperious behavior, wasteful spending, embezzlement, bribery and other social evils, particularly the increasingly widespread scourge of drug addictions, are sending worrying signals of ineffective law enforcement and serious degradation of moral and spiritual values," he said. The song, "Uncle Ho Lives in the Great Victory Day," was the theme for weekend ceremonies across the country. Ho Chi Minh City's wide boulevards were bathed in a rainbow of bright spring colours -- red, blue, yellow and purple. Trees, utility poles and street corners were festooned with the flags of Viet Nam, and with placards marked in large numbers "30.4," April 30.
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