Tam Toa Church might not be bombed by Americans and even if it was Vietnam could not escape its responsibility for the bombing.
The Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army Daily) on Sunday Aug. 2, accused Bui Tin, a former colonel in Vietnamese Army, of "being traitor to his country" for his statements regarding the Tam Toa church incident.
Recently Tin, while condemning the brutality of police against Tam Toa parishioners, disclosed that “two anti-aircraft missile systems were installed right at Tam Toa Church”.
Citing Vietnam laws, Tin strongly argued: “It’s illegal to use the church as a site of War Memorial for future generations to remember American War Crimes."
Tin had served for decades as the Vice Chief Editor of the People's Daily (Nhân Dân, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of Vietnam) before deciding to leave Vietnam in 1990 and live in exile in Paris, France, in order to express his growing dissatisfaction with Vietnam's Communist leadership and their political system.
The daily was extremely upset with Tin as he disclosed in details Vietnam’s policy to persecute against Catholics that has been applied for decades.
After attacking Tin, the Peole’s Army Daily went as far as stating the incident at Tam Toa was “a plot of hostile forces attempting to cause social unrest and divide the country, to interfere in Vietnam’s internal affairs, to undermine the country’s national unity, territorial integrity or sovereignty” calling for severe punishments against arrested Catholics.
An article on the People's Daily on July 22 stated that “the church of Tam Toa had been struck 48 times by American Air-Force before being destroyed during a bomb drop on Feb. 11, 1965.” However, there have been growing arguments suggesting that Vietnam could not escape its responsibility for the destruction of the Tam Toa church.
“The church of Tam Toa was converted into a military base in order to lure American pilots to attack it and therefore give Hanoi something to serve for its anti-Americans propaganda,” said Nguyen Quang Binh a local resident.
“Bullet holes on the wall of the bell tower indicated that American pilots had tried their best not to bomb the church. They had tried to use aircraft mounted guns 48 times before deciding to use bombs to destroy the church, which had been converted into a military base,” he added noting that the probability that the church was destroyed by Vietnamese mines for propaganda purposes could not be excluded.
“Anyway, for me, the Tam Toa church has became a site of Persecution Memorial where Catholic priests and faithful were beaten to bleeding by Vietnamese police when they were erecting a makeshift tent as a temporary place for worshiping services right on the ground of their church,” said Fr. Joseph Nguyen from Hanoi.
The Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army Daily) on Sunday Aug. 2, accused Bui Tin, a former colonel in Vietnamese Army, of "being traitor to his country" for his statements regarding the Tam Toa church incident.
Recently Tin, while condemning the brutality of police against Tam Toa parishioners, disclosed that “two anti-aircraft missile systems were installed right at Tam Toa Church”.
Citing Vietnam laws, Tin strongly argued: “It’s illegal to use the church as a site of War Memorial for future generations to remember American War Crimes."
Tin had served for decades as the Vice Chief Editor of the People's Daily (Nhân Dân, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of Vietnam) before deciding to leave Vietnam in 1990 and live in exile in Paris, France, in order to express his growing dissatisfaction with Vietnam's Communist leadership and their political system.
The daily was extremely upset with Tin as he disclosed in details Vietnam’s policy to persecute against Catholics that has been applied for decades.
After attacking Tin, the Peole’s Army Daily went as far as stating the incident at Tam Toa was “a plot of hostile forces attempting to cause social unrest and divide the country, to interfere in Vietnam’s internal affairs, to undermine the country’s national unity, territorial integrity or sovereignty” calling for severe punishments against arrested Catholics.
An article on the People's Daily on July 22 stated that “the church of Tam Toa had been struck 48 times by American Air-Force before being destroyed during a bomb drop on Feb. 11, 1965.” However, there have been growing arguments suggesting that Vietnam could not escape its responsibility for the destruction of the Tam Toa church.
“The church of Tam Toa was converted into a military base in order to lure American pilots to attack it and therefore give Hanoi something to serve for its anti-Americans propaganda,” said Nguyen Quang Binh a local resident.
“Bullet holes on the wall of the bell tower indicated that American pilots had tried their best not to bomb the church. They had tried to use aircraft mounted guns 48 times before deciding to use bombs to destroy the church, which had been converted into a military base,” he added noting that the probability that the church was destroyed by Vietnamese mines for propaganda purposes could not be excluded.
“Anyway, for me, the Tam Toa church has became a site of Persecution Memorial where Catholic priests and faithful were beaten to bleeding by Vietnamese police when they were erecting a makeshift tent as a temporary place for worshiping services right on the ground of their church,” said Fr. Joseph Nguyen from Hanoi.