Hugs, Cheers Greet Vietnamese Activist
A Vietnamese activist who had been jailed in South Korea for 90 days as a suspected terrorist received a hero's welcome Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport from about 150 sympathizers who see him as a freedom fighter.
Chanh Huu Nguyen, 57, who leads the Garden Grove-based Government of Free Vietnam, had been detained in Seoul since April as the government of Vietnam tried to extradite him for allegedly plotting to bomb that country's embassies in the Philippines and Thailand.
But a South Korean court ordered him released last week and he returned to Orange County's Little Saigon, where the hard-line anticommunist is regarded by many as a leader in the effort to overthrow the government of his native country.
His supporters viewed Nguyen's return home as a sign that their cause was gaining ground, despite warming relations between the United States and Vietnam.
Nguyen's arrival was delayed for three hours as he was questioned and searched by airport and immigration officials. Supporters cheered when he finally cleared customs with his wife, Nancy Bui. They waved U.S., South Korea and former South Vietnam flags and welcome home signs.
"Thanks Buddha, you are home safe!" one supporter screamed. Another yelled a Buddhist prayer in Vietnamese. The crowd gathered around him and his wife, giving them leis and flowers and taking snapshots.
"I feel very happy to be home," Nguyen told the crowd. "Vietnam are the terrorists. We are doing human rights and freedom."
When he was arrested, Nguyen was on a 10-day mission for the nonprofit U.S. International Mission to seek donations to build orphanages on Saipan for children forced into sex slavery, said Dennis Catron, president of the organization. Nguyen was arrested at his Green Leaf Plaza Hotel room April 5.
Cuong The Nguyen, spokesman for the Vietnam Embassy in Washington, D.C., said Wednesday that the country still considers Chanh Nguyen a terrorist and would continue to seek his extradition.
"He and his organization should be stopped from conducting terrorist activities against Vietnam," the embassy spokesman said. "They should be punished for what they've done. We feel that Chanh Nguyen is the leader of the group that is comprised of criminals who conduct crimes against Vietnam."
