Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Aug. 21 (VNA) -- A group of Vietnamese exiles in the U.S. are not in a position to object to the printing of Viet Nam's national flag on the cover of a pamphlet published by the U.S. Postal Service, the national daily Nhan Dan (People) says in a commentary today, Aug. 21.

The paper points out that those people who have rejected the flag have counted themselves out of the Vietnamese community, because to the Vietnamese people, the Red and Golden Star Flag is a most sacred symbol.

The paper says that the U.S. Postal Service's re-collecting thousands of copies of the pamphlet titled "A World of Services to Meet Your Needs" whose cover was printed with many countries' flags, including Viet Nam's, due to the above-said objection is at variance with international law and the current level of relations between Viet Nam and the United States.
The action is blameworthy as it took place at a time when the entire Vietnamese people, including millions of overseas Vietnamese, have been celebrating the 56th anniversary of the August Revolution, Aug. 19, and the National Day, Sept. 2, the paper notes.

It cites the fact that recent years have seen signs of improvement in bilateral relations between Viet Nam and the United States. The two countries are in the process of ratifying their bilateral trade agreement, ushering in a new stage of more fruitful bilateral relations. The above-said action by the U.S. Postal Service, a governmental agency, is not in the interest of the bilateral relationship, the paper affirms.

Commenting on this event, Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh on Aug. 20 said any intention to remove Viet Nam's Red and Golden Star flag from U.S. official publications relating to Viet Nam is at variance with international law and Viet Nam-U.S. relations and will cause doubt about the U.S. policy of building friendly relations and mutual understanding and respect with Viet Nam.--VNA