[MORTARDUDE]

Bill promoting S. Vietnam flag dies in Va. legislative committee after federal pressure

JUSTIN BERGMAN, Associated Press Writer Monday, February 17, 2003

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(02-17) 16:33 PST RICHMOND, Va. (AP) --

A bill in the Virginia legislature that promotes the flag of the former South Vietnam died in a subcommittee after federal officials warned lawmakers it could damage relations between the United States and Vietnam.

Sen. Malfourd Trumbo said Monday that the bill will not face a vote before Monday's midnight deadline for action.

The measure sparked concern among officials in Vietnam and the State Department after it passed the House of Delegates last month. State Department officials urged several legislators to kill the bill.

In a Feb. 5 letter addressed to bill sponsor Del. Robert Hull, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the legislation could have "potentially serious adverse consequences" on the way the United States conducts foreign policy, and could encourage similar action by other aggrieved ethnic groups living in the United States.

"The United States has made great strides in overcoming the aftermath of war with Vietnam," Armitage wrote. "Passage of this legislation would set back the progress we have made over the past decade."

On Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a letter to Vietnamese officials assuring them the State Department had expressed its concerns to the Virginia Legislature.

Hull criticized the federal intervention.

"If the State Department had not contacted the members of the Senate, it wouldn't have reinforced the international implications, and they wouldn't want to shy away from it," Hull said.

The Democrat said the bill was requested by his Vietnamese-American constituents, who find the current Vietnamese flag -- a yellow star on a crimson background -- an insult.