Fr: amsfv*BMH
THÔNG BÁO
CỦA VĂN PHÒNG TNS JIM WEBB
TNS Jim Webb cho biết Bộ Ngoại Giao Hoa Kỳ đã thông báo cho chính phủ cộng sản Viêt Nam quyết đinh NGƯNG trợ cấp ngân khoản dùng vào việc tìm kiếm tử sĩ trong cuộc chiến tranh cho đến khi nào Hoa Kỳ được bảo đảm cuộc tìm kiếm sẽ bao gồm cả tử sĩ cùa Quân Lực Việt Nam Cộng Hòa...
Ngoài ra TNS Jim Webb cũng lập lại chủ định thực hiện việc trùng tu KHU ĐẤT THIÊNG BÌNH AN (Nghĩa Trang Quân Đội Biên Hòa), như một sự tôn vinh những Chiến Sĩ QLVNCH đã hy sinh trong cuộc chiến...
Xin mời Quý Vị xem bản văn từ Văn Phòng TNS Jim Webb.
BMH
Washington, D.C
*********************
Subject: Senator Webb: State Department agrees to stop funds for Vietnamese MIAs' recovery
until program covers ARVN soldiers
For Immediate Release: Contact: Will Jenkins – 202-224-4024
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Senator Webb: State Department agrees to stop funds for Vietnamese MIAs’ recovery until program covers ARVN soldiers
Washington, DC—Senator Jim Webb, chair of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, today issued a statement regarding new developments on a U.S.-funded program to help locate and identify the remains of missing Vietnamese war dead.
“I have been informed that the State Department has communicated to the Vietnamese government that no funds will be expended on a USAID program to recover Vietnamese MIAs from the War until we have firm assurances that the program will apply equally to those who fought on all sides," said Senator Webb, who fought as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, and has revisited the country regularly since 1991.
“This is no small matter," said Webb, who has worked for years on rebuilding relations between the two countries. "It is vital to the spirit of reconciliation, and also to American concepts of loyalty and respect, that we never forget those who were with us, even as we move into the future by working alongside those who fought against us."
In the FY2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress allocated $1 million for the program, specifying in the Senate report that the funds were to be used by USAID “for the purpose of locating and identifying Vietnamese MIAs from both sides of the conflict.” But according to USAID, during subsequent negotiations the Vietnamese government indicated that those who fought for the former Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) would not be included in the program. Last week Senator Webb called on USAID to suspend the program until it could guarantee that it applied to fallen soldiers from the North Vietnamese Army, the Viet Cong, and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
"If carried out with respect for all who fought, this program of cooperation between the United States and Vietnam for the recovery of Vietnamese soldiers' remains can serve as a valuable opportunity," said Webb. "But it must honor all who served and died in the war and provide relief to all families who lost loved ones on this historic and tragic battlefield.”
Senator Webb also reiterated his intention to pursue efforts to “restore the sacred grounds” of the Binh An (formerly Bien Hoa) Cemetery, the largest cemetery in Vietnam for ARVN soldiers, as a matter of respect for all soldiers who perished during the war.
Senator Webb’s original release is available here: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2011-09-22.cfm
###
