VIETNAM: RULING COMMUNIST PARTY ELECT NEW POLITBURO

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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Vietnamese/Nat Vietnam's ruling Communist Party has decided to keep its three aging leaders in power while giving more seats at the top level to army and police officers. The party's National Congress ended by unanimously electing a new Politburo and adopting resolutions meant to guide the nation through the next five years. But despite the show of unity, the final session failed to conceal divisions in the party. Monday's final day ended on the themes that had already emerged from the party's four-day congress: continuity and vigilance. Vietnam's ruling Communist Party named renamed the 18-member Politburo with the same men in the top three positions, but put more members of the army and security forces in top leadership positions. The creation of a five-member Standing Committee inside the Politburo caused a rare public controversy at the carefully staged Congress. One delegate from Ho Chi Minh City rose to force a public vote on the new body. The Standing Committee includes Vietnam's top three leaders plus an army general and a deputy interior minister. 75-year-old President Le Duc Anh represents conservatives who fear economic reforms are weakening the party's grip on power, creating corruption and bringing in foreign influences that Vietnam has fought throughout its history. Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet -- aged 73 -- is the only economic reformer on the Standing Committee, representing those who want to push economic reform even harder. He wants to separate the Communist Party from government and create a firm legal system for private enterprise and foreign investment. The 79-year-old General Secretary, Do Muoi, is thought to represent a balance wheel between the two factions. Muoi said Vietnam's future lay in the hands of the committee. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) "The outcome of the Congress is of decisive significance for the nation's destiny and the country's future as we are about to enter the 21st century." SUPER CAPTION: Do Muoi, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary The gathering, the first in five years, set ambitious goals including annual economic growth of 9-10 percent and eradicating hunger by the year 2000. But it also stressed the need to maintain strong party and state control and guard against foreign ideas that might undermine the party's power. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) "It goes without saying that as other members of the Political Bureau have a responsibility in leading the country". SUPER CAPTION: Nguyen Manh Cam, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nong Duc Manh, one of the youngest members of the leadership at the age of 55, was elevated to the number four spot on the Politburo but wasn't given a spot on the Standing Committee. He's considered a rising star who might someday replace Do Muoi. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) "It's hard to say for me personally, but I think the highest leader should have the top qualifications and capacities. When I say about qualifications and capacities, I mean that they should be knowledgeable, with virtue acting as the basis. And if I am selected as one of the leaders, I will try to educate and train myself to reach those standards." SUPER CAPTION: Nong Duc Manh The Party Congress also demonstrated Vietnam's new international status, with delegates attending from many nations, including for the first time the U-S. And Chinese Premier Li Peng's visit demonstrated that two of the world's last ruling Communist Parties are drawing closer together, as both sides played down their history of enmity. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) "Our strong friend, a relationship with China, together with our joining of ASEAN, are also very much in mind with our current policy and the common trends in the world." You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5516b730a429b26f4adad78b562fdfd4 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork