Little Saigon Leaders Seek Support in Sacramento

Leaders of the massive protests in Little Saigon sought to turn their activism into a full-fledged movement Wednesday by meeting with lawmakers in Sacramento and selecting a storefront office in Orange County.

A delegation of 12 Vietnamese American community leaders spent a whirlwind day in the state Capitol, trooping up and down stairs from one end of the building to another to present their case to legislators from Orange County and around the state.

Their pitch was clear: They sought support to build a cultural center in Little Saigon as a way to bind old wounds and asked for legislators’ help in curbing human-rights violations in Vietnam.

Legislators pledged to help. “We’ll do everything we can to help you reach those goals,” said Assembly minority leader Rod Pacheco (R-Riverside) after a meeting with the delegation in his office.

Protest organizer Tuan Anh Ho said he was encouraged by the reception.

“My impression of these legislators is that they are very sympathetic to my people and they seem to understand the plight of our people and want to help us with our cause,” he said through a translator.

Beyond the issues at hand, both members of the delegation and legislators saw the day as a turning point for the Vietnamese American community.

“For the first time, young Vietnamese Americans got involved in the political process,” said King-Luan Tran, an attorney from Redondo Beach. “We’ve been able to turn this event into a positive thing.”

Most Vietnamese Americans fled from their homeland with the fall of Saigon in 1975. But since then, delegation members noted, they have been too busy rebuilding their lives and raising their families to be involved in politics.

“This is our opportunity to start the dialogue with Sacramento officials and never stop that dialogue,” said state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Garden Grove), who suggested the trip.

Assemblyman Ken Maddox of Garden Grove, who joined the meeting in Pacheco’s office, said the community’s newfound voice was part of the “maturation process of becoming an American.”

As the Sacramento contingent outlined a 90-day plan to start fund-raising for a cultural center, other protest leaders in Little Saigon picked an office from which to organize their continuing efforts.

It is near the video store whose owner, Truong Van Tran, sparked the protest by displaying the Vietnamese flag and a picture of Ho Chi Minh.

Protest leaders said they are on the verge of leasing the office, where they plan to set up exhibits on human-rights violations in Vietnam. The office also would serve as headquarters for an effort to recall Westminster City Councilman Tony Lam, criticized by some for not getting involved in the protest.

Organizer Ky Ngo said protest organizers have collected $220,000 from the Vietnamese community to support their efforts. That money has been deposited in a bank account and will not be touched until organizers settle on a plan for spending it, he said.

Among other projects is a March 27 conference in Orange County on human rights and trade with Vietnam. Organizers hope to develop strategies to keep pressure on the U.S. government to keep its distance from the Communist government of Vietnam and to help Vietnamese emigres worldwide resist gestures like Tran’s in their own communities.

Organizers hope to draw several hundred leaders of the Vietnamese refugee community from around the world to the gathering, Ngo said. A rally is planned for after the event.

Meanwhile, attorneys for Little Saigon merchant Tran filed papers Wednesday that officially shut the door on his attempts to reopen the video store that has been at the heart of the two-month protest.

Tran’s Hi Tek TV & VCR on Bolsa Avenue has been closed since mid-January, when demonstrations began. His landlord has filed to evict him and police raided the store last week, confiscating 17,000 videotapes they said were illegally duplicated.

The papers, filed in Tran’s pending eviction case, acknowledge that he has been “forcibly ejected” from his store and that the question of his returning to the property is no longer an issue for the court.

“His landlord, the mob and the city of Westminster have made it impossible for him to stay in business,” said Nancy Kaufman, Tran’s attorney.

Organizers said they are not declaring victory just because Tran is leaving.

“We [declare] victory when we defeat Communists in Vietnam, and we liberate 75 million people back home to have freedom and human rights,” Ngo said. “That’s why we’re still fighting.”

The papers filed by Tran’s attorney do not end the legal wrangling. The eviction case, in which his landlord claims he owes $8,928 back rent, is still pending. Tran’s attorneys filed a response to it Wednesday contending the case was filed “to retaliate against defendant [Tran] for exercising his rights under law.”

They also asked the court that he be allowed to file a cross-complaint against others, possibly the protesters, police and his landlord.

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Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.