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Huge parade marks Hanoi millennium
MUSCLE FLEXING:Vietnam has a proud military history dating
back more than 1,000 years to the defeat of Chinese occupiers, with modern
victories against France and the US
AFP, HANOI
Female militia personnel march during a
military parade yesterday at Ba Dinh Square celebrating the 1,000th anniversary
of the founding of the settlement that became the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Thousands of goose-stepping soldiers marched past the tomb of
Vietnam¡¦s founding president Ho Chi Minh yesterday as part of the country¡¦s
largest military display in years.
The parade, part of a ceremony for the city of Hanoi¡¦s millennium celebrations,
is a display of national pride that also sends a subtle message to China, with
the two sides in dispute over territory in the South China Sea, an analyst said.
A cross-section of society including workers, youth, ethnic and religious groups
joined the parade, which officials said involved almost 40,000 people.
¡§A lot of blood flowed ... to have a Hanoi as we have today,¡¨ Vietnamese
President Nguyen Minh Triet told the gathering. ¡§The Vietnamese people love
peace ... but do not submit to brute force and violence.¡¨
The display began under overcast skies when 10 Russian-made military helicopters
flew past carrying the national flag and the communist hammer-and-sickle banner.
Communist Party leaders waved from their perch atop Ho Chi Minh¡¦s mausoleum as
white-gloved troops and police in an array of green, blue, white and brown
uniforms followed in tightly formed blocks.
The troops included fatigue-clad special forces members with assault rifles and
ethnic--minority militia women in traditional dress with rifles slung over their
shoulders.
There were no heavy weapons and the military component occupied only a part of
the 90--minute program which included lion dances and depictions of Vietnamese
history.
However, the parade sends a message that ¡§Vietnam is not a place that you want
to attack,¡¨ said Carl Thayer, a Vietnam specialist at The University of New
South Wales in Australia.
Much of Vietnam¡¦s military hardware is antiquated but it is seeking to upgrade
its forces as the sovereignty dispute simmers with China.
In December, Vietnam and Russia signed a major arms deal reported to involve the
purchase of six submarines.
That agreement was followed in July by Russia¡¦s announcement that it would sell
20 Sukhoi SU-30MK2 fighter planes to Vietnam.
Hanoi last week demanded the release of a vessel and its crew seized by China
one month ago while fishing in the Paracels archipelago.
The two sides have conflicting claims to sovereignty over the Paracels and
Spratlys, two potentially resource-rich archipelagos in the South China Sea.
Although the dispute is a long-running one, China¡¦s increasingly assertive
presence has sparked concern not only in Vietnam but neighboring nations as well
as the US.
Vietnam routinely celebrates major anniversaries with pomp and ceremony as a way
for the ruling party to affirm its legitimacy, but also to help shape national
identity and pride, said Thayer.
For Nguyen Thi Binh, deputy head of a high school, the parade showed ¡§our
military power. I feel very moved.¡¨
Thousands crowded city streets hoping to catch a glimpse of the procession and
many, such as Nguyen Van Tuan, 42, had come from the countryside.
¡§It was a 1,000-year opportunity to watch,¡¨ Tuan said.
Vietnam has a proud military tradition dating back more than 1,000 years to the
defeat of Chinese occupiers. More recently, communist forces defeated French
-colonialists in 1954 and then beat the US to reunify the country in 1975.
¡§The military is popular. It¡¦s a people¡¦s army,¡¨ Thayer said.
King Ly Thai To moved the capital of Vietnam to Hanoi in 1010 and called it
Thang Long, or ¡§soaring dragon,¡¨ symbolizing the desire for independence after a
millennium of Chinese domination.
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