Vietnam celebrates the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with Grand Parade – Radio Free Asia

Vietnam marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War with jubilation and a great military parade – but also with a message of reconciliation on Wednesday.

The agitated crowds of flag turned the streets of Ho Chi Minh Ville, formerly known as Saigon, where the conflict of several decades against the forces supported by the United States which had divided the nation ended on April 30, 1975.

The leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party in LAM struck a note of reconciliation in his speech during the rally which included a fly by hunting jets and Russian manufacturing helicopters and parades by Vietnam’s walking troops as well as China, Laos and Cambodia.

“In a spirit of closure of the past, respect for differences, the vision of the future, the whole party, the people and the army swears to ensure that Vietnam becomes a country of peace, unity, prosperity and development,” said Lam.

Beside him on the dias for the parade was the leader of the Communist Party Lao Thongloun Sisoulith and the president of the Cambodian Senate and former Prime Minister Hun Sen. leaders, only Hun Sen was dressed in a military uniform.

The fall of Saigon was an event to manufacture noise in the geopolitics of Southeast Asia. He came two years after the United States withdrew his last combat forces from Vietnam. Some 3 million Vietnamese and nearly 60,000 Americans died during the war, many of which are enlisted in the army.

The United States and Vietnam have standardized diplomatic relations 30 years ago, and economic and security ties have increased since then, although an American threat of imposing high prices by July to resolve a major commercial imbalance between the nation could reduce the relationship.

The Associated Press reported that the United States Ambassador Marc E. Knapper did not attend the celebrations on Wednesday, but the American consul general at Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns did it.