Jubilant Protesters Declare Victory

For Orange County’s Vietnamese community, it was a moment every bit as powerful as the fall of the Berlin Wall.

With the removal of a simple blue sign over a Little Saigon video store Thursday, about 200 Vietnamese Americans marked the end of a two-month protest by erupting into cheers and shouts of “Down with communists! Down! Down! Down!”

The removal of Hi Tek TV & VCR’s sign by workers for the building owner symbolized victory for the thousands of protesters who had been enraged by store owner Truong Van Tran’s display of a Communist Vietnamese flag and picture of Ho Chi Minh.

The actions came a day after Tran--who also faces arrest in a video-piracy case that sprouted from the flag controversy--acknowledged defeat in the eviction case filed by his landlord.

With the sign down, protesters then rolled up their giant Vietnamese and American flags and dismantled the altar and photo exhibits that had sat in front of the Bolsa Avenue store since January.

“I’m happy,” said Bich Nguyen, one of the protesters. “He fell down into his own trap.”

But even with the symbols of their anger removed, the community’s fight continues.

The Committee for Just Cause, which helped organize the protests, has leased an office on Moran Street, just down the block from the video store, where it plans to open a museum on communism and alleged human-rights violations in Vietnam. The space also will serve as headquarters for the effort to recall Westminster Councilman Tony Lam, seen by many as a traitor to the community by not joining the protests.

Lam has said that he is simply following the instructions of the city attorney to stay neutral in the dispute.

“Frankly, I have been torn,” Lam said in a written statement released to the media Thursday. “On one hand, I am extremely sympathetic with those who have protested--by and large peacefully--against the repugnant acts of Truong Van Tran and against the government of Vietnam.

“But on the other hand, I also have sympathy for and a responsibility to the merchants in the shopping center and the residents of the neighborhood whose businesses and lives have been affected by such large crowds.”

Protest organizer Ky Ngo said some were thinking of staging a new Tet celebration, to make up for the one that was clouded by the controversy.

Ngo said he hopes the people of Vietnam living under Communist rule will take heart from seeing the successful efforts here.

“I hope very soon we will witness the fall of Vietnam,” Ngo said.

Westminster city officials and neighbors breathed a sigh of relief on hearing the protest was over, saying they have had to endure too much in terms of noise and traffic.

“It’s been too long,” Councilwoman Joy Neugebauer said. “I’m pleased to hear that it is ending, and that that neighborhood can enjoy their homes and their businesses, and other members of the community can travel through that area.”

The end of the protest does not mark the conclusion to the controversy. Although the eviction case has ended, a separate court case filed by Tran’s landlord that originally sought to force him to take down the Communist display remains active. Tran’s attorneys have said they may use that case to file a ‘lawsuit against protesters, the city of Westminster and the landlord for violating his 1st Amendment rights and forcing him out of the store.