Protest Led by Group of Corrupt Ex-Viet Officials, Hayden Says

Assemblyman Tom Hayden, replaced as a college commencement speaker in San Jose because of threats of violence, charged Thursday that Vietnamese protests against him were prompted by “a handful of former Saigon police and Saigon army people who corrupted their country” and then “regrouped in San Jose.”

The Santa Monica Democrat and former anti-Vietnam War radical, who still is criticized for his wartime trip to Hanoi to protest U.S. involvement in the conflict, had been scheduled to deliver the commencement address at San Jose City College tonight.

But the college president, Harry Skinner, facing growing protests from Vietnamese students, members of the Vietnamese community and veterans groups, Wednesday canceled Hayden’s appearance, saying he was “outraged” by threats to disrupt the graduation ceremony. As many as 40% of the 550 graduates in the class are Vietnamese, college officials said.

Hayden, attacking those he believed instigated the threats of violence, said, “These are people who have killed and killed before. They didn’t know anything about freedom in Saigon and they don’t seem to know anything about freedom in the United States.”

Skinner invited Hayden to visit the campus in September to speak at a convocation. But Hayden, showing no inclination to give in to the protest, was also considering making an alternate appearance in San Jose today.

“I think the college overreacted,” he said. “It’s unfortunate because you should never cave in to that kind of threat. But I could understand them not wanting to have hand grenades at commencement.”

One protest organizer and former government official singled out by Hayden was Tiep Nguyen, a former captain in the Saigon police force who is now a San Jose attorney and a member of the Santa Clara County Republican Party Central Committee.

Nguyen disputed Hayden’s description of the demonstration and insisted it would have been a peaceful protest. It would have included a walkout by students during Hayden’s address and a silent vigil at a flagpole on campus, he said.

“We know what freedom is,” Nguyen said. “We don’t deny him his freedom of speech. He can speak and do anything he wants. We have freedom of speech, too, and so if we want to say he is a traitor, we just say it: He’s a traitor.”

Still Outspoken

Although the Vietnam War ended 12 years ago with the defeat of South Vietnam, Hayden’s trip to Hanoi has not been forgotten by many Vietnamese refugees and American veterans. Nor has Hayden softened in his outspoken criticism of the war and the former government of South Vietnam.

Nguyen, while acknowledging that the Saigon government suffered from corruption, said he was never a part of it. Now age 40, Nguyen said that when he was a member of the Saigon police department he did research for the judiciary department. Furthermore, Nguyen said, he is not aware of any corrupt former Saigon officials now active in the San Jose Vietnamese community.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Nguyen said in a telephone interview. “My duties in Vietnam had nothing to do with the corruption. That charge is so naive and general.”

Hayden, who was once involved in many student protests himself, said he would have no objection to a walkout or some other nonviolent demonstration during his speech.

“I’m all for student protests, including protests during graduation ceremonies,” he said. “After all, it’s an American custom that I helped inaugurate. But I also think colleges have to secure the rights of both the speaker and the protesters.”

Sees Threat of Violence

Hayden said that a nonviolent protest involving students would not have been a problem, but that nonstudent demonstrators from the Vietnamese community posed a threat of violence.

“They have to learn that the war is over and that you don’t inflict violence on families simply trying to attend a graduation ceremony,” he said.

“It’s this group of former Saigon police who are raising a ruckus in San Jose. It’s like they’ve retreated from Saigon and set up their little police base in the Vietnamese community in San Jose. . . . There’s no question this is a group that was part of the corrupt Saigon structure. . . . I’m not talking about the average Vietnamese refugee, I’m talking about people who are fanatics. It’s like a little Vietnamese Mafia that’s gotten entrenched.”

Hayden said the objection to his appearance increased his desire to speak at the college. “The more threats, the more I’m eager to come,” he said.