Vietnamese Mayor Urges Reconciliation

The mayor of this city, once known as Saigon, called Friday for full reconciliation with the United States and for ending the controversy as to whether any American servicemen are still missing in action in Vietnam.

Truong Tan Sang, whose official title is chairman of the People’s Committee, said at a news conference, and in later remarks, that the Vietnamese “cannot understand why this (MIA) issue continues to stand between the United States and Vietnam. Do you really think we would purposely keep living prisoners of war, or their remains, from their families all these years?

“Americans must realize,” he said, “that our country in all those years of fighting had 300,000 MIAs. So if you want to weigh suffering, our widows and orphans have suffered deeply. Why would we want other mothers to suffer the same anguish?”

The 46-year-old onetime member of the resistance movement--speaking two days before the 20th anniversary of the fall of Saigon--was asked about the difficulty his government faces in balancing ceremonies this weekend marking the war’s end and the reunification of Vietnam with the regime’s desire not to alienate Americans.

“I think for any country, (reunification) day is a sacred day, particularly for our people who endured difficult years to reach that glorious April 30th,” he said. “We celebrate it as a milestone in our history, of defending the country. But as far as relations between Vietnam and the U.S., our leaders are ready to bury the past and look forward to better relations for both peoples.

“I assure you,” he said, “we would not do anything to provide animosity between our countries. We are ready to close the chapter of the past and look forward to a better future.”

Sang insisted that not only is his government not detaining any American prisoners of war or their remains, but that there also are not soldiers or officials of the South Vietnamese government still in “re-education” concentration camps. Instead, he noted, “many former soldiers are working in our factories,” now that this country has moved to freer, more open markets.

As for Robert S. McNamara’s book, “In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam,” in which the former defense secretary admitted that the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration had pursued a mistaken Southeast Asian policy, Sang said, “I respect McNamara speaking the truth--even though the truth was spoken very late.”

He added that while McNamara also wishes now for reconciliation, “as far as normalizing relations between the U.S. and Vietnam, the ball is in the U.S. court.”

Sang said city officials are campaigning to attract foreign investment, create jobs and improve health, education and social services. He declared that a free-market economy for Ho Chi Minh City is not incompatible with socialist principles.

He also promised that those desperate Vietnamese who fled by boat will be welcomed back.