Statement from the Vietnamese Museum Australia
The Vietnamese Museum Australia Ltd (VMA) is an organisation set up to build and operate a world class museum that tells the story of the escape to freedom and successful settlement of the Vietnamese refugees in Australia.
The VMA has an independent board of directors that reports to its two company founding members – the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Victoria Chapter Inc (VCA Vic) and Vietnamese Community in Australia (VCA Fed).
The VMA seeks to work with all pro-Republic of Vietnam groups within the Vietnamese communities across Australia. The VMA does not criticise any groups, organisations or individuals within the community. Further, the VMA does not facilitate, endorse or condone the criticising of any group, organisation or individual in the name of the VMA by any individual or group nor the use of any forum (whether a public rally, social media, traditional media or otherwise) to engage in such activities.
In our public announcement on 6 February 2023, by stating that the VMA does not get “involved in Vietnamese Australian community politics”, the VMA meant that we do not get involved in disputes or conflicts between individuals or groups within the Vietnamese communities. Unfortunately, this statement was misunderstood by some readers that it implies that the VMA does not respect nor accept that the vast majority of Vietnamese Australians are ‘political’ refugees. For this, we apologise for any misunderstanding.
VMA acknowledges that the initial translation of this announcement (rectified within 24 hours) contains discrepancies from the English version. These were mistakes made in rushed translation and we apologise for any misunderstanding, offence or confusion caused or any increase in tensions within the community as a result of these errors.
The VMA also re-iterates that it solely recognises the yellow flag with three red horizontal stripes, and strongly defends the anti-communist, pro-democratic values. Our activities always will uphold the fundamental principle that the VMA promotes human rights, democracy and freedom in Australia, Vietnam and other places in the world, as expressly set out in the VMA’s constitution.
Our sole aim is to tell the stories of the escape to freedom and settlement in Australia by Vietnamese Australians. The VMA is committed to working with all pro-Republic of Vietnam organisations within the Vietnamese communities across Australia to help realise the vision of a museum that tells these inspiring stories. We wish to work with the community at all levels to form a partnership to achieve the vision. We will redouble our efforts to form partnerships and constructive dialogue so the Museum is a project around which the Vietnamese communities across Australia unite.
Yours faithfully,
Bruce Mildenhall
Chair of the Board of Directors Vietnamese Museum Australia Ltd
