Little Saigon Residents Memorialize the Fall of Saigon

Vietnamese residents of Westminster, CA marched and chanted in remembrance of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

The Orange County Register reports that residents of the heavily Vietnamese area known as Little Saigon hold the march and rally every year on April 30th. Some of the marchers chanted “Freedom–for Vietnam.”

Westminster’s Mayor, Trin Ta, told the Register, “The Communist Party is still violent. They don’t want to give up their power for freedom. We have to work to change that.”

The evacuation of Americans from Vietnam took place on April 29, 1975. The following day Saigon was captured by forces from the Communist north. The day is still celebrated in Vietnam as a public holiday, but many Vietnamese ex-patriots refer to the day as Black April.

Vietnam has had one party communist rule since 1975. Human Rights Watch has criticized Vietnam’s lack of political freedoms including freedom of expression and assembly.

Photo: File/Wikimedia Commons