Reagan Harms MIA Search, Hanoi Says
Vietnam bristled Saturday at President Reagan’s criticism of the Communist regime and warned that a persistent “hostile attitude” would harm the search for American MIAs in Indochina.
Radio Hanoi called Reagan’s remarks Thursday in Birmingham, Ala., “foul slanders” and “completely groundless.”
In the speech, Reagan said that conditions in Vietnam 10 years after the Communist victory there demonstrate the importance of freedom.
“Today, the Vietnamese Communists can celebrate the transformation of their nation into one of the poorest countries on Earth,” Reagan said. “They can celebrate the creation of new Vietnamese gulags, 10 years of torture and forced relocations and the flight of nearly a million refugees and boat people.”
Radio Hanoi said Vietnam’s difficulties originated with the U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
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