Local Vietnamese protest Kerry

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by margaret Reist

Members of Lincoln's Vietnamese community gathered Sunday at Antelope Park to celebrate their heritage, to remember what brought them to America and to speak their collective political mind.

Their opinion of the presidential race was clear: They oppose Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry, the Massachusetts senator, Vietnam veteran and anti-war activist.

"We don't like John Kerry very much," said Dau Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese Community of Lincoln.

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Trung Pham holds a sign in protest of Sen. Jonh Kerry's treatment of Vietnam at the Auld Recreation Center Sunday evening.

Trung Pham holds a sign in protest of Sen. Jonh Kerry's treatment of Vietnam at the Auld Recreation Center Sunday evening.

Nguyen said members of the organization disagree with Kerry's anti-war activities and the fact that he blocked a bill that would have linked U.S. aid in Vietnam to the improvement of human rights conditions.

Signs, carried at a rally held inside because of the rain, voiced the group's opposition but made clear they don't oppose all Democrats.

"He doesn't like our community," Nguyen said.

The Lincoln event coincided with a similar rally inWashington, D.C., and earlier rallies in California by Vietnamese groups, Nguyen said.

The Vietnamese Community of Lincoln, an organization created last year, is cultural, political and educational. A way for a younger generation to understand their culture and the history of their homeland.

Sunday's event is one of the group's first forays into the political world.

The group also voiced opposition to the hiring of two North Vietnamese scholars by the William Joiner Center at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

The hiring several years ago spawned a class-action lawsuit by members of the Vietnamese community who felt the north Vietnamese scholars would have a biased perspective of what has happened in their country.

Part of Sunday's event was spent encouraging people to register to vote, a push that will continue, Nguyen said.

Many Vietnamese people don't know how to register, or they have transportation problems, he said.

"We will do that kind of job. That's why we have a community."

But the Sunday event was more than just politics. Through performances and speakers, the group remembered Vietnam's first king, who some 4,000 years ago staked claim to the land that is now Vietnam.

Nguyen said the king was a young man, a message to young people of what they can accomplish, he said.

The group also remembered April 30, 1975, when the United States pulled out of Vietnam and Saigon fell.

Said Thuy Tang, 21, who performed at Sunday's event:"I think it's a wonderful moment because we can gather and share our ideas, we are able to communicate what we are thinking about."

Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@;journalstar.com.