Restaurant Fire Is Seen as Protest of Tet Festival

Councilman Tony Lam, whose Garden Grove restaurant was the site of a suspicious fire earlier this week, said Thursday that he thinks the blaze was set by opponents of Westminster’s controversial upcoming Tet festival.

Police said they suspect that one or more arsonists are behind a small fire that began about 11 p.m. Tuesday at Lam’s Vien Dong restaurant on Westminster Avenue. The fire was extinguished before it caused any serious damage.

Lam, a chief organizer of the Feb. 23-25 street fair, has come under attack by supporters of a Tet festival scheduled for the same weekend in nearby Garden Grove. They view the rival celebrations as competitive, city officials said.

Lam blamed organizers of the Garden Grove festival for inciting many Vietnamese American residents to protest Westminster’s annual celebration--objections that have now escalated into threats and violence, he said.

“There have been so many negative things spoken on Vietnamese [-language] radio,” Lam said, “including threats of bodily harm to people that want to support us.”

The suspicious fire also followed a lively City Council meeting at which the council gave final approval for the Westminster Tet festival, despite the opposition.

Also opposing the festival are some merchants, who say they will lose business, and nearby residents concerned about traffic congestion, parking and noise problems.

The city of Westminster is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the blaze, Mayor Charles V. Smith said, because the fire appears to have been set “in retribution for actions taken by a Westminster public official acting in his official capacity.”

Anyone with information about the suspected arson is asked to call Westminster Police Det. Tom Rackleff at (714) 898-3315, Ext. 346.