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HomeMy WebLinkAbout85C - SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS VIETNAMMEMORANDUM To: City Council From: Mayor Miguel A. Pulido Ar*P Date: November 13, 2012 Subject: RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY At my request, a Council agenda item (85) in support of the Vietnamese community will be placed on the November 19, 2012 City Council meeting agenda. Mayor Pro Tern Alvarez has also joined in sponsoring this item. The 85 item proposes that the City Council direct staff to prepare a resolution regarding official visits from the government of Vietnam to the City of Santa Ana. As you may know, after the fall of the Republic of South Vietnam in 1975, thousands of South Vietnamese refugees came to the United States with the assistance of U.S. Armed Forces to escape the tyranny of the communist regime of North Vietnam. Orange County was designated as one of several locations in the United States to serve as an entry point for South Vietnamese refugees. Santa Ana received the vast majority of these refugees and thus became the original birthplace of the Vietnamese community in Orange County. Today, Vietnamese residents constitute 7.1% of our City's population and continue to be an integral and thriving community in Santa Ana. The purpose of this resolution is to affirm our support for the Vietnamese community in Santa Ana who overwhelmingly reject the current dictatorial rule of the Vietnamese Communist Party, and to bring attention to the oppressive nature of the government of Vietnam. Additionally, the City of Westminster approved a resolution (attached) in 2004 which discourages delegations, trade groups, and officials affiliated with the government of Vietnam from visiting Westminster because of the risk to public safety these groups have brought to their City as a result of their oppressive regime. Since Santa Ana continues to be home to a significant Vietnamese population, joining Westminster in supporting a similar resolution is important to mitigate any potential public safety concerns that may arise as a result of visits by officials from the Republic of Vietnam to Santa Ana. I look forward to you supporting a resolution that will affirm our City's commitment to human rights and to the Vietnamese community by resolving that the Santa Ana City Council does not support or sanction high-profile visits by members and officials of the Vietnamese communist government. 0gue u l o Attachment c: Councilmember-elect Valerie Amezcua Councilmember-elect Roman Reyna 85C-1 85C-2 RESOLUTION NO. 3835 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER RELATING TO THE BURDENS PLACED UPON THE CITY BY REPRESENTATIVES AND OFFICIALS FROM THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM TRAVELING IN OR THROUGH THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER WHEREAS, the City of Westminster was recently informed, with less than twenty-four (24) hours notice, of a pending visit to Orange County, including specifically the City of Westminster and its Little Saigon business district and Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, by representatives and/or officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; WHEREAS, such a visit to the Little Saigon business district and the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial would be highly provocative to large segments of the population, Including veterans of the Vietnam War and Americans of Vietnamese descent, in the same manner that a visit to a Jewish Cemetery by a National Socialist war criminal would be provocative; WHEREAS, the City of Westminster was inundated by telephone calls from concerned citizens who opposed the visit, and the City of Westminster was faced with the prospect of tens of thousands of demonstrators lining the streets to protest the visit, with potential expenses to the taxpayers of tens of thousands of dollars for police overtime and reimbursement for support from neighboring law enforcement agencies; WHEREAS, the City of Westminster is home to the highest percentage of Vietnamese-American citizens and residents of any city in the United States; WHEREAS, the vast majority of American citizens and residents of Vietnamese descent residing in the United States, and particularly in Westminster, reject the current dictatorial rule of the Vietnamese Communist Party; WHEREAS, many citizens and residents of Vietnamese descent residing In Westminster risked their lives to escape from communist-occupied Vietnam following the fall of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975 and came to the United States in their search for freedom and democracy, WHEREAS, visits and proposed visits by representatives or officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to large concentrations of Vietnamese-American citizens and residents, especially in the Little Saigon area of Westminster and neighboring Garden Grove, have previously met with angry protests and demonstrations; WHEREAS, in 1999, the Vietnamese-American population was outraged by a sympathizer of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, who provoked the community by displaying a photograph of the deceased tyrant, Ho Chi Minh, and the flag of communist-oc cupled Vietnam; 3835-1 85C-3 WHEREAS, that act of provocation resulted in fifty-three (53) continuous days of demonstrations, with more than fifteen thousand (15,000) persons demonstrating in the Little Saigon business district against the symbols of the Vietnamese communist regime; WHEREAS, the City of Westminster incurred expenses in excess of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000.00) as a result, including not only the additional cost to the Westminster Police Department, but also the costs of support from neighboring law enforcement agencies which assisted in controlling the unprecedented demonstrations; WHEREAS, the demonstrations of 1999 in the Little Saigon business district, caused by the provocation by a sympathizer of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, required the services of hundreds of law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions to maintain the peace and avoid further civil disturbance and unrest; WHEREAS, the anti-communist sentiments held by members of the Vietnamese- American community in Orange County, and particularly in Westminster, are as strong, if not stronger, than those held anywhere else in the world; WHEREAS, the risk to public safety and to the community, and also to representatives and officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or their commercial or trade delegations, from stops, drive-bys or visits in or near the Little Saigon business district or the Westminster Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, particularly when inadequate notice is provided, are enormous, creating a significant threat of civil disturbance and unrest; WHEREAS, from stops, drive-bys or visits In or near the Little Saigon business district or the Westminster Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, by representatives and officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or their commercial or trade delegations, are certain to provoke, and appear to be intended to provoke, outrage and reaction by the Vietnamese-American community; WHEREAS, the City of Westminster has extremely limited financial and human resources to respond to large scale civil disturbance and unrest, which could be anticipated from such provocative acts, and this Is compounded by the current budget deficit in the State of California, which Impacts all counties and municipalities in the State, Including Westminster; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Westminster does hereby resolve, determine and find as follows: 1. The City Council does not condone, welcome or sanction stops, drive-bys or visits, by representatives and officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or their commercial or trade delegations, within the physical boundaries of the City of Westminster, which includes the Little Saigon business district and the Westminster Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, as such provocation could result in a repeat of the mass demonstrations of 1999 and the unprecedented financial burden imposed upon the City of Westminster by same; 3835-2 85C-4 2. The City Council hereby directs the city staff to write to the United States Department of State and request that the Department of State advise as to the nature, purpose and duration of visits, drive-bys or stops, by representatives and officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or their commercial or trade delegations, at least ten (10) business days before such occurrence, due to the unique experience of the City of Westminster and Its desire not to repeat the mass demonstrations of 1999 and the unprecedented financial burden imposed upon the City of Westminster by same; 3. The City Council further directs city staff, at the earliest opportunity, to -report to the Mayor and to each Council Member, notice of any such visits, drive-bys or stops, by representatives and officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or their commercial or trade delegations, once the request is received from a requesting agency or jurisdiction; 4. The City Council further directs city staff to take all further actions that city staff considers reasonable and necessary to avoid a repeat of the mass demonstrations of 1999 and the unprecedented financial burden Imposed upon the City of Westminster by same. 5. In the event of such activities as set forth hereinabove occurs within the City, all costs incurred by the City for the protection of the public welfare and safety shall be paid by the event organizers, or those who are the source of the City's costs. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall expire on April 30, 2009. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 19th day of May, 2004, by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: RICE, QUACH, FRY, MARSH, PARIS NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE c MARGIE 10 RICE, MAYOR ATTEST: MARIAN T ERA ,CITY CLERK i 3835-3 85C-5 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) ) SS. COUNTY OF ORANGE ) I, Marian Contreras, hereby certify that I am the duly appointed City Clerk of the City Council of the City of Westminster and that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at the regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Westminster held on the 1 gth day of May, 2004. ?i Mari ontrera , City CIeTc 1 I 3835-4 85C-6