The Passion Still Burns : 2,500 rally in Little Saigon on anniversary of war’s end, calling for human rights in a land once called home.

United by their hatred of communism and desire for democracy in Vietnam, about 2,500 people, virtually all of them Vietnamese Americans, demonstrated Sunday for human rights in their homeland as they commemorated the 20th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.

Organizers said the turnout was one of the largest for a rally in Little Saigon in recent years.

“Even though 20 years have passed, Vietnamese people still feel strongly about fighting against communism,” said Thong Nguyen, a former South Vietnamese colonel and one of the event’s organizers. “Every year, there are events to commemorate the end of the Vietnam War. But this year, more people came out because it’s the 20th anniversary.”

Vo Dai Ton, a well-known poet and a former colonel in the South Vietnamese army, traveled from Australia to participate in the event. As did many other South Vietnamese officers, Ton spent 10 years in a re-education camp after South Vietnam fell, where he lived in a small cell with no toilet facilities or running water.

“Today, Vietnamese people throughout the world are gathering to fight against communism and fight for human rights in Vietnam,” Ton said. “Twenty years ago, we lost our country. But now we believe we can gain freedom and democracy for our country.”

Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith told demonstrators they were “here to commemorate the darkest day of Vietnam and the darkest day of the United States, because this was the first war that we ever lost. We lost a lot of our faith and a lot of our pride, but those of you gathered here lost a lot more.

“You lost everything. You lost your country,” he said.

In a separate ceremony at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana, Vietnamese and American soldiers who fought in the war were honored as part of an “Affirmation Day” event Sunday.

At noon, exactly 20 years from the moment North Vietnamese troops raised their flag at the presidential palace in Saigon, a former South Vietnamese soldier and a U.S. soldier carrying the flags of their respective nations marched before the crowd of about 150. Both national anthems were played.

“It was just incredible. We experienced just about every emotion there is,” said Charles W. (Pete) Maddox, president of the college’s board of trustees and a Vietnam veteran. “It was not a political event. It was to honor the veterans.”

The Westminster protesters, some of whom wore South Vietnamese military uniforms, first gathered at a strip mall on Brookhurst Street. After burning incense to honor the dead, some lashed out against the current government in Vietnam.

The sound of protesters’ angry voices was overwhelming at times during the march. But when it came time to sing the national anthem of the former South Vietnamese republic, many shed tears.

“There’s still a lot of bitterness among the Vietnamese,” said Chuyen Nguyen, a former South Vietnamese pilot who served as master of ceremonies during the event. “The wounds still have not healed, and this is a day when people can express their feelings.”

The crowd marched several blocks to Bolsa Avenue, waving red and yellow South Vietnamese flags and chanting “Down with communism” and “Freedom for Vietnam.”

As people in passing cars honked to express support, the protesters headed to Bolsa Avenue and Dillow Street, where 20 Vietnamese Americans ended a 24-hour hunger strike. Looking wan and tired, the hunger strikers said they wanted to send a message that they would not tolerate human rights violations in Vietnam.

“As a person with freedom, I feel I have an obligation to fight for freedom for others,” said Tammy Tran, a 15-year-old hunger striker from Westminster. “We’re trying to get people more aware of the situation in Vietnam.”