Talk:Nguyễn Hữu Có

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HO CHI MINH CITY JOURNAL; 'Re-educated' 12 Years, An Ex-General Reflects

By BARBARA CROSSETTE, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES

LEAD: In April 1975, when the Republic of South Vietnam was on the edge of collapse, Nguyen Huu Co, a retired general and former Defense Minister, took stock of his options.

In April 1975, when the Republic of South Vietnam was on the edge of collapse, Nguyen Huu Co, a retired general and former Defense Minister, took stock of his options.

I thought first of leaving, he recalled. I had many American friends to help me. But the situation changed too fast.

I failed to get out by plane because I had no priority, he went on. I went to Vung Tao and tried to leave by ship, but it was too risky. I had 11 children with me, and I couldn't accept the risk.

Less than two months later, with Hanoi's army in control of this southern capital, Mr. Co was told to report for re-education. 'Money and Clothes for Month'

They were very clever, he said. The announcement in the press and on television said that all people going to camp should bring enough money and clothes for one month.

He was to remain in prison camps for more than 12 years. This September, at 62 years of age, he was released, the highest-ranking member of the former Government to be freed to date, officials say.

Diplomats and other foreigners in the country with contacts among Vietnamese officals believe that the release of Mr. Co and other generals shows some lessening in Hanoi's fears of former South Vietnamese military officers. Vietnamese acknowledge there was concern in the late 1970's that there would be a strong resistance in the South.

Some diplomats say that the highly publicized recent trial of guerrillas charged with trying to infiltrate the country through Laos under the leadership of a former South Vietnamese admiral might be a warning to those now being freed. Describes His Experiences

Mr. Co, who met reporters at his home in the presence of a Government interpreter, although he speaks both English and French fluently, was relaxed as he described his experiences.

His account, if not complete, nevertheless provides information on conditions of important political prisoners serving long terms. It also documents the many shifts in prison procedures over the years that some diplomats in Hanoi think may have been at least in part related to political fluctuations.

In Mr. Co's experience, prisoners shifted from one ministry's control to another and moved from camp to camp more half a dozen times. Thousands of Vietnamese remain in these political prisons more than a decade after the Communist takeover. An Exile in Hong Kong

Mr. Co, who was trained as a soldier by the French and Americans, was active in politics in the early 1960's, when he joined in overthrowing Ngo Dinh Diem, who, he said, made so many mistakes. Among these, he said, were promoting Roman Catholics from central Vietnam at the expense of southern Buddhists, and rewarding military men for loyalty, not merit.

By 1967, Mr. Co, then a Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister, had fallen out with Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky, whom he considered immature. He was sent into exile in Hong Kong for three years.

When President Nguyen Van Thieu allowed him to return in 1970, Mr. Co steered away from politics and became a commercial banker and later a businessman.

When he was arrested in June 1975, however, he was included in a group of 32 generals, and was treated as a military man in prison. Sudden Move to the North

Mr. Co was first held at Quang Trung, about nine miles north of Ho Chi Minh City, as Saigon was soon renamed. Conditions were good, he said. Prisoners could read and watch television. There were political lectures.

In June 1976, he was suddenly moved at night by air to Yen Bay, 120 miles north of Hanoi. Handcuffed, Mr. Co calculated his new position by counting the hours of flying time -four - and by noting that the sun was rising to his right.

In 1978, he and other generals were moved to Ha Tay, in the Red River delta east of Hanoi, to an Interior Ministry camp. Hard labor ceased. Instead, Mr. Co said, they were asked to write everything they knew about the South's military strategies and the functioning of its Government. Education and Labor

In 1979, Mr. Co says he was moved alone twice - to Nam Ha and Thanh Lam - and experienced a period of combined political education and manual labor. Military and civilian political prisoners were mixed.

By 1981, he had been returned to Ha Tay and the other former generals. His last move, in 1983 was back to Nam Ha, until his release.

The last four years were not so hard, he said. I read books sent by my family. I wrote them letters, but they took a long time - sometimes three months - to reach them.

A Christian, he also prayed inside myself, he said, and thought. Wife Began to Work

What I thought about most was the condition of life, and how I could take care of my family. His wife, Nguyen Thi Tin, who had never worked, had begun to knit for factories. It was different, but I got used to it, she said. My spirits were high.

Mr. Co said he also thought about Communism and democracy.

In both systems there are some things good and some things bad, he said. We have to teach each other to take advantage of the good points and eliminate the bad.

Mr. Co, who attends a Baptist church three or four times a week now, is trying to make contact with friends and relatives abroad who could advance him money to start a business. His daughter Lau Nguyen Ward in Alhambra, Calif., has already provided some assistance.

Ultimately, the Co family will have to decide whether to apply to emigrate under the Orderly Departure Program. Mr. Co says he cannot think of going unless all his family, now including 15 grandchildren and a daughter of 21 suffering from Down's Syndrome, can come. He has lost too many years of family life to want to strike out on his own.

We pray to God to lead me, he said. If he wants me to go out, he will arrange everything for me and my family. If things are difficult, that means God blocks our way.Bnguyen (talk) 19:38, 26 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

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