Picture of Ly Tong,Courtesy of USVN

Support for Ly Tong, Vietnamese-American Freedom Fighter
By Elnora M. Mercado
December 12, 2000

The Unified Nationalist Vietnamese Committee of Colorado (UNVCC) held a meeting to rally support for Ly Tong. The meeting has held at the Khoa Nam Center, Alameda Square in Denver on December 2, 2000.

Attended by mostly Vietnamese-Americans and also leaders of various Asian communities and organizations, the meeting was called by Sum Cong Nguyen, UNVCC President, to gather signatures for a petition to the Thai authorities asking for the immediate release of Ly Tong.

Ly Tong is the Vietnamese-American freedom fighter who flew over Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) on November 16 and dropped 50,000 leaflets denouncing communism and urging people to support freedom and democracy. On his flight back, he was arrested by Thai authorities in U-Tapao, Thailand, on November 17, 2000. Nguyen Van Thang welcomed the attendees and served as the emcee for the event. Sum Cong Nguyen (UNVCC President) welcomed the guests and introduced everyone as they came in.

Nguyen Anh Tung, Vietnamese American activist, spoke passionately about Ly Tong’s life and how he fought for freedom in Vietnam. Nguyen Anh Tung was in the U.S. Air Force in 1983. An anti-communist activist, he was elected vice-president of the Vietnamese Community in Northern California. He also worked with the Taiwanese, Chinese and Tibetan activists

Other speakers who spoke on justice and human rights and how we should work together included: Yang Chee (President, Lao-Hmong Coalition), Nguyen Que (Director, Channel 8 and 57), Nestor Mercado (Editor, Philippine/Asian American Times), Manu Raval (President, Asian RoundTable), Michelle Lippert (Colorado Friends of Tibet), Wendy Chao (Colorado Chinese News), Wes Lov (Vietnam Veteran), Nai-Li Yee (President, Denver Chinese Cultural Center), Michael Kemp, (English Teacher), Nguyen P. Hoang, (President, Vietnam Restoration Party), and Rod Utech, (Producer, KHNC 1360 AM, Greeley).

Similar rallies of support were also staged in various parts of the United States where there are many Vietnamese Americans. A printout of a news item by John Gittelsohn entitled "Daring hero gets jail" which was recently published in the Orange County Register in California, described Ly Tong’s daring feat. "Admirers call him "Black Eagle" of "James Bond of Vietnam. The Vietnamese government calls him "a dangerous international terrorist."

The meeting ended at noon with a luncheon courtesy of Sum Cong Nguyen, the very active President of the United Nationalist Vietnamese Committee of Colorado.

*Elnora M. Mercado is Managing Editor of Philippine/Asian American Times and former President of the Filipino-American Community of Colorado. For more information about Philippine/Asian American Times, please check our website: www.philasian.com To advertise/subscribe call: Tel./FAX: 303-427-8109 e-mail: nora@philasian.com