Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Feb. 8 (VNA) -- The Viet Nam-U.S. Society has vehemently condemned and protested against the bill recently approved by the U.S. state of Virginia to hoist the former Sai Gon administration's flag in public schools.

In a statement released on Saturday, the society requires Virginia's legislators not to approve such an erroneous bill. "We call upon political circles, public opinion and the American people not to allow forces undermining the relations between the two countries to take such an action in the future, for the fundamental and long-lasting interest of the two nations," the statement says.

"It is known to everybody that the gold-starred red flag has been the only flag representing the independent and unified State of Viet Nam since 1945. It has been recognised and respected by the international community," the statement notes.

It adds that the U.S. Government has officially recognised the gold-starred red flag as Viet Nam's national flag since July 12, 1995 when the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the United States of America established full diplomatic relations.

"The friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries have been improved and developed in the recent past. In this context, the deed by a number of Virginia's legistators completely runs counter to the international law and practices, hurts the sacred sentiments of the entire Vietnamese people inside and outside the country," the statement stresses.

It adds that such a move harms the Vietnamese and American people's efforts for peace and friendship between the two nations.

Virginia's House Bill has also been condemned by the Ha Noi's press.

Nhan Dan daily, in Saturday's commentary entitled "An erroneous and ridiculous decision," says : "With goodwill and wish to put the past behind and develop the friendship and cooperation for the interest of the two peoples, we strongly condemn the Virginia House of Representatives' decision and demand the U.S. Government and Congress as well as Virginia's legislative and executive agencies to prevent such an erroneous and ridiculous bill from being approved."

For its part, Ha Noi's daily, Ha Noi Moi, runs a commentary titled "A serious mistake by Virginia House of Representatives," saying: "Not only the Vietnamese people but also all nations loving national independence, freedom and sovereignty strongly condemn such a bill."

The army paper, Quan doi Nhan dan, says in a commentary that "All attempts run counter to the positive development trend of history and the Viet Nam-U.S. friendly and cooperative ties; this is like an attempt to revive a dead body in Virginia State and will surely fail in the same way as history did by burying the former Sai Gon administration.