Anger Lingers in Little Saigon

Police arrested one protester Thursday and ordered others to back off from a Little Saigon video store whose owner won a court battle allowing him to hang up a Communist Vietnamese flag.

A small group of protesters spent the day waiting for Truong Van Tran, who was released late in the day from a hospital where he was taken after collapsing Wednesday during a confrontation outside his store. But Tran said he will wait until the weekend to rehang the flag and a photo of Ho Chi Minh.

In an interview at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Tran issued a call for peace in the Vietnamese community, asking for dialogue in place of violence.

“Please don’t hit me anymore,” he said. “In this Vietnamese community we love and we have each other. If we disagree, sit down and talk about the problem. Don’t hit anyone.”

In an effort to prevent violence, about 20 Westminster police officers spent the afternoon handing out fliers in English and Vietnamese, warning protesters to clear the immediate area around the store or face arrest.

Most peacefully moved out to the sidewalk around the shopping complex, but one man was arrested after allegedly charging police. Identified as Khanh Truong, he was taken to the station and cited for violating a temporary restraining order.

The landlord’s attorney had asked police to enforce the order, which said protesters may not demonstrate in a way that “interferes with the ordinary, peaceable operation of the businesses” in the shopping complex on Bolsa Avenue.

“We’re not going to have a carnival atmosphere here anymore,” said lawyer Jonathan Slipp, who represents complex owner Terra-Buchard Inc. “We regret the violence that has erupted. And we don’t want to see it happen again.

“No one’s trying to say they can’t protest, but there needs to be some guidelines here. Unfortunately, the only people being hurt by this display are the landlord and the tenants,” he said.

It was the latest in a nearly monthlong controversy that began when Tran first put up the items in his store, triggering a furious protest from the Vietnamese American community.

Hundreds of people, many of them refugees, veterans and former political prisoners, demonstrated in front of his store for five days, angrily objecting that he was mocking their pain.

An Orange County Superior Court judge issued a temporary order Jan. 21 telling Tran to remove the items. But on Wednesday, Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann reversed that ban, ruling that Tran had the constitutional right to display the political symbols.

That decision infuriated community members, who went to the store Wednesday to wait for Tran. When he showed up to rehang the items, angry protesters crowded his car, and Tran collapsed after one protester swiped at his head.

On Thursday police moved to enforce the court order among the crowd of about 150 protesters. Officers tore down a tape barrier that protesters had erected in the entrance to Tran’s store. They also took down posters that read “Ho Chi Minh is a murderer” and flags of the former South Vietnam.

Protesters, including one who had wrapped himself in the South Vietnamese flag and chained himself to the entrance, were asked to move away from the store site. They were directed to the sidewalk outside the complex.

“We are asking for their voluntary cooperation,” said Lt. Bill Lewis. “We don’t want this to turn into a confrontation between police and protesters.”

Neighboring police departments from Garden Grove and Santa Ana and the Sheriff’s Department were placed on standby.

But within an hour, many of the protesters had moved again to the front of the store. Police officers stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the entrance, and police cars blocked entrances to the complex.

The case has drawn the attention of Vietnamese Americans around the world.

“The community has made clear that they will not back down,” said Viet Dzung, a community activist and local radio anchor. “He has provoked the community. His actions show he is not exercising his freedom of speech; he is hurting us. That’s why there’s the anger.”

One man, Hung The Lai, head of the European branch of the Overseas Free Vietnamese Communities, said he flew in from Paris to support protesters. He was joined by several Buddhist monks from San Jose.

“We will never, ever accept the flag of blood or the picture of Ho Chi Minh. That’s why we are here to support the Vietnamese American community in Southern California,” Lai said.

Meanwhile, Tran reiterated during his interview that he is not a Communist. However, he said he admired Ho Chi Minh after reading about his life. He believes the flag is more a symbol of Vietnam itself, rather than the Communist government.

“Ho Chi Minh, he loved his people. He took care of his people,” Tran said.

He also said Vietnamese Americans have to learn to let go of the past, and he hopes his actions will create discussions in the community about their differences.

“This is a flag of Vietnam. If we don’t like the Communists, we can make friendly and talk. We change them,” he said.

Tran said he intends to fight his landlord’s plan to evict him by Feb. 20, and he believes that his customers will remain loyal despite the controversy.

In the meantime, Westminster Police Chief James Cook, hoping to reduce tensions in the community, is calling for the Vietnamese protesters to sit down with him and the Orange County Human Relations Commission to talk about the situation. The groups began preliminary discussions Thursday night. Eventually, Cook hopes to bring them face to face with Tran himself for a peaceful conversation.