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Vietnam sees rare public mourning for hero general
The death of wartime Gen
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he death of wartime Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap has triggered public mourning in Vietnam the likes of which have been unseen since Ho Chi Minh passed away more than four decades ago. And given the current leaders, it may not be witnessed again, according to many of the 150,000 people who lined up to pay respects to the so-called "Red Napoleon."
The ruling Communist Party orchestrated the sendoff for Giap, emphasizing his leadership in the wars first against France and then United States. But it ignored his later years, when the general's popularity allowed him to air rare public criticism of the ruling elite.
Still the death of the country's last old guard revolutionary inevitably stirred reflection by some on the country's current leaders, only one of whom fought against the Americans. Giap's passing comes as the government is struggling against public dissatisfaction over corruption and a faltering economy.
"I'm not sure we will have a third leader like Giap and Uncle Ho, " said Tran Thi Thien, who rose at 3:00 a.m. to pay tribute outside the Giap family home in Hanoi this past week. "I hope the current leadership would look at how people love and respect Gen. Giap to improve themselves and better lead the country."
On Saturday, Giap's body was laid in state in Hanoi. The country's top leaders, along with veterans, diplomats and ordinary people paid their final respects ahead of Giap's funeral Sunday in his home province. The country's flag was flown at half-staff, and unrelated public events were cancelled.
The mourning period has gone smoothly in a country where very little happens in public without the blessing of the ruling party. State media coverage projects a united nation, bolstering a government whose legitimacy still rests in part on its history of expelling foreign invaders.
But here and there, cracks have appeared: news of Giap's death first spread over Facebook, a wrinkle that would have underlined to the old guard how information now flows beyond their control. The public mourning was also unscripted. Some 150,000 people lined up over four days outside Giap's house to pay their respects, an outpouring of emotion that surprised his family, according to Giap's personal secretary.
Giap is best remembered for leading Vietnamese forces to victory over the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
His Chinese advisers told him to strike elite French forces fast and hard, but Giap changed plans at the last minute and ordered his jungle troops, clad in sandals made of old car tires, to besiege the French army. The French were defeated after 56 days, and the unlikely victory led not only to Vietnam's independence, but hastened the collapse of colonialism across Indochina and beyond.
"He was an outstanding general, but he was a very simple man and very down to earth," said Nguyen Chan, a 78-year-old who fought in Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and on Saturday was gathering in a park watching the coverage of the mourning on a big screen. "For us, he was a commander in chief, a teacher and also a father."
