Vietnamese Group Says It Had No Role in Fire

The leader of a prominent Vietnamese organization on Tuesday denied allegations that his group was involved in a restaurant fire last week that might be connected to disputes over two separate Tet festivals this weekend.

Ban Bui, president of the Vietnamese American Community of Southern California, which represents about 250,000 Vietnamese, also sought a retraction from City Councilman Tony Lam for allegedly linking his group to the fire.

Bui, whose group will host a festival in Garden Grove, said he was subjected to unfair attacks after several Little Saigon businesses were set ablaze, beginning last week at Vien Dong, a restaurant owned by Lam, who is organizing a rival festival.

Bui, in a letter he sent to Lam on Tuesday, wrote that Lam falsely told newspapers that the fire at his restaurant was initiated by organizers of the Garden Grove festival.

“Such a statement, made before any investigation has [been] concluded, is irresponsible, inflammatory and slanderous,” Bui said.

But Lam, who had not received the letter late Tuesday, denied that he blamed Bui’s group.

“I never made such accusations,” Lam said.

Bui added on Tuesday that he does not believe that there is any opposition to the Garden Grove event.

“The conflict is between the city of Westminster and the surrounding business owners,” Bui said. “They shouldn’t pull me into their conflicts.”

Bui’s group and the city of Westminster will hold separate Tet events this weekend in two locations but on the same days. Bui’s group will sponsor their event in Garden Grove Park, and the Westminster City Council will hold one in Little Saigon, along Bolsa Avenue.

During the planning of the Westminster event, some local merchants have opposed the festivals, saying their businesses will suffer with the closing of Bolsa Avenue.

The controversy flared Feb. 13 when a fire of suspicious origin erupted at Lam’s restaurant on Westminster Avenue. On Sunday, three fires were ignited at and nearby the Westminster Press, a paper storage facility that suffered an estimated $250,000 in damage, fire officials said.

“I have no comment on the weekend fires,” Bui said. “We will have to wait to see what the investigators will determine.”

Yen Do, editor of the Vietnamese-language Nguoi Viet Daily newspaper, said the community is abuzz over last week’s fires. There are many speculations, Do said, ranging from those relating to this weekend’s Tet festivals to people who might hold grudges against the family that owns Westminster Press.

Do, whose newspaper is near the paper storage facility, said most people tend to believe the fires are not related to the feud that has surrounded the Tet festivities, which usher in the lunar new year.

“Whoever picked this time [to set the fires] is very sophisticated,” Do said. “They want to link it to the festivals because it is convenient to do so.”

“Sadly,” Do added, “the perpetrators have created a damage that goes beyond the [physical] damage caused by the fire. They’ve created a damage that affected the collective mental anguish of the community. Vietnamese believe that what happens at the new year will set the pattern for the rest of the year. This does not portend well for our community.”