Council Goes on Record as Anti-Protests

The Westminster City Council Tuesday condemned nearly two months of protest that began when a Little Saigon shopkeeper displayed Communist icons of Vietnam in his video store.

The anti-communist rallies, which at their peak attracted 15,000 protesters and a police response of 200 officers in riot gear, were “unlawful” because organizers failed to seek the proper permits, the council said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

As a result, residents living in the community have had to contend with noisy crowds and blocked streets, and they must now pay the expense of the police presence. Residents also have complained that they lost sleep due to the noise, missed work and that their children missed school as a result.

“All parties must now realize that these unpermitted demonstrations have many unfair and unlawful secondary effects, which the city and its citizens should not have to tolerate,” the council statement read.

The demonstrations began two months ago after shopkeeper Truong Van Tran tacked up the Vietnamese flag and a photo of the late Communist leader Ho Chi Minh inside his small video store off Bolsa Avenue, enraging the Vietnamese community.

The large protests that marked the early days of the demonstration have dwindled significantly, numbering only a few dozen people.

On Friday, the Westminster police accused Tran of running a video piracy operation out of his store, illegally copying Asian movies and soap operas. Officers confiscated 17,000 videotapes and hauled away more than 100 videocassette recorders.