3/09/2025

WEDNESDAY | SEP 3, 2025

7

Vietnam marks 80 years of independence

Key Thai party stalls on who to back as PM BANGKOK: The biggest party in Thailand’s parliament held out on Monday in deciding whom it would back to form the next government, prolonging uncertainty as two rival camps jostled for its crucial votes following the prime minister’s sacking. The People’s Party will not join any government but with control of nearly a third of the house seats, it is a potential kingmaker that can break the political deadlock caused by Friday’s dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra by the Constitutional Court for an ethics violation. Lawmakers of the People’s Party met on Monday to weigh the merits of backing Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party, or Bhumjaithai, a renegade party that quit the governing coalition in June and is mounting its own bold challenge. “There was a wide exchange of views today and the party will convene again tomorrow,” said People’s Party spokesperson Parit Wacharasindhu. “To be straight, we don’t trust either,” he said, when asked if the two camps would honour the party’s demands that a referendum be held on amending the constitution and parliament be dissolved within four months. In the latest upheaval in a two decade battle for power and patronage among Thailand’s rival elites, 39-year-old Paetongtarn became the sixth premier from or backed by the Shinawatra family to be ousted by the military or judiciary and the second in the space of a year. – Reuters Japan ruling party sec-gen offers to quit after debacle TOKYO: The secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) offered to resign yesterday following July’s disastrous upper house election. “I wish to resign from my position as secretary-general to take responsibility for the election results,” said Hiroshi Moriyama, who is the party’s number two. The July 20 election saw the LDP-led coalition lose its majority, only months after also being forced into a minority government in the lower chamber. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba must now decide on Moriyama’s fate. Moriyama’s comments were made during a meeting of the LDP to discuss the election results. Ishiba himself has defied calls from some within the LDP to quit. “I will make an appropriate decision when the right time comes,” Ishiba said yesterday. “I won’t run away from taking responsibility. I have no intention at all to cling onto my position.” Two other top LDP officials – general council chairperson Shunichi Suzuki and policy chief Itsunori Onoder – have also conveyed to Ishiba their intentions to quit, Jiji Press reported. – AFP

JAKARTA: Indonesian police had fired tear gas into crowds of protesters near two universities in a major regional city, student bodies and authorities said yesterday. Student bodies of the Islamic University of Bandung, known locally as UNISBA, and nearby Pasundan University, over 140km west of Jakarta, said on Instagram that authorities fired tear gas canisters into crowds near the campuses on Monday evening. Local police official Hendra Rochmawan said authorities did not enter the campuses but were trying to break up non-student protesters seeking protection inside university grounds, because the crowds were blocking roads in the area. UNISBA Dean Harits Nu’man echoed the police statement, adding the campus was a medical hub for protesters. HANOI: Vietnam held its largest-ever public celebrations yesterday to mark 80 years since the declaration of independence, with legions of lock stepped patriots marching under fluttering flags. Around 40,000 troops and civilians began parading in the capital Hanoi after dawn, feting the date when revolutionary Ho Chi Minh declared a “Democratic Republic of Vietnam” free from French rule in 1945. Tanks, drones and missile batteries filed through the streets as helicopters and planes streaked above crowds which were hundreds of-thousands strong in the sweltering morning sun. Pham Thanh Van, a 78-year-old veteran, wore his military uniform pinned with medals earned fighting American troops as he watched from a front row seat at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. “This will be my final memory. Don’t forget us,” he said. “I feel so proud. Independence brought development and prosperity to the country. I felt it worth fighting for.” Hanoi’s top leader To Lam marked the start of the parade with a speech as China’s number-three official, National People’s Congress Chairman Zhao Leji, looked on, alongside former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel. “In this sacred moment, we respectfully remember our ancestors,” Lam said. “Our nation has overcome countless difficulties and challenges. Our country has transformed from a colony into an independent and unified nation, steadily advancing towards modernity and deep integration.” o Parade showcases patriotism, strength

An ethnic women militia marching in Hanoi yesterday. – AFPPIC

fusion cuisine and schools where the French language is taught as a mark of prestige. But the celebrations focused on Vietnam’s independent accomplishments, including its economic transformation into a global manufacturing powerhouse. Ho Chi Minh’s 1945 independence proclamation was not recognised by France, which ruled Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as colonial assets prized for their rubber, rice and coffee. But a disastrous military defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 led to France’s full-scale retreat from the region. “We gained independence through the blood and sweat of previous generations,” said 36-year old flag vendor Dang Khoa on Saturday. – AFP

defeat of the US-backed South. The festivities, which state media called “unprecedented in scale”, also broke the record 30,000-strong show of force that the one-party state mustered for emancipation celebrations back in 1985. University student Vu Thi Trang staked out her viewing position from midnight on Sunday – a full 30 hours before the parade’s start – her spirits undampened by monsoon season downpours. “Something inside just pushed me to be here,” the 19-year-old said on Monday. “I am grateful for the sacrifices of the previous generation, so that we have peace and freedom to grow up.” French influence is still visible throughout Vietnam – in the colonial facades of Hanoi’s mansions, in its

The UNISBA student body said security forces “brutally attacked” the campus, saying the tear gas caused breathing problems for some students and accusing security forces of seeking to silence dissent. University students have long been regarded as vanguards of Indonesia’s democracy, including playing a leading role in the protests that helped topple authoritarian leader president Suharto in 1998. President Prabowo Subianto was a military leader under Suharto. The protests started in Jakarta a week ago targeting government spending such as enhanced perks for lawmakers, and have since escalated nationwide, with some rioting and looting, after a police vehicle hit and killed a gig driver. At least eight people have died in the protests, a senior minister said on Monday. Prabowo has warned the Chinese and Russian troops marched alongside their Vietnamese counterparts in the procession lasting two hours, beginning with a squadron of helicopters trailing the national yellow-star flag and hammer-and-sickle banners over the capital. Underneath, youngsters in traditional dress twirled giant floral tributes after artillery fired off a ceremonial salute, and an honour guard of police goose-stepped in pristine dress whites. “It showcased Vietnam’s strength,” said spectator 34-year-old Tran Nguyen Trung Chien. “We the people welcomed them all.” The celebrations out-scaled those staged in April to mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, when North Vietnam sealed the

Groups criticise govt response to protests

Workers cleaning debris at a burned bus stop in Jakarta yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at the Human Rights Watch, calling for investigations into alleged rights violations. Non-profit legal aid group Lokataru Foundation said its director, Delpedro Marhaen, had been arrested by police. – Reuters

police and the military would stand firm against violent escalations. International rights groups have criticised the security response to the protests. “The authorities acted irresponsibly by treating the protests as acts of treason or terrorism,” said