Government of Free Vietnam.

The Government of Free Vietnam (GFVN), which is headquartered in Garden Grove, California, was founded in 1995 by Nguyen Huu Chanh, a Vietnamese émigré and former civil engineer.

The GFVN's mission is to dismantle the communist government of Vietnam and replace it with a democratic government, as well as to fulfill the mandate of the Paris Peace Accord of 1973. The GFVN is representative of organizations, composed of former South Vietnam military and government officials, that have arisen in Vietnamese American communities and see to establish resistance movements both in the United States and in Vietnam.

Organizational History

The Government of Free Vietnam (GFVN), which is headquartered in Garden Grove, California, was founded in 1995 by Nguyen Huu Chanh, a Vietnamese émigré and former civil engineer. The GFVN's mission is to dismantle the communist government of Vietnam and replace it with a democratic government, as well as to fulfill the mandate of the Paris Peace Accord of 1973. The GFVN is representative of organizations, composed of former South Vietnam military and government officials, that have arisen in Vietnamese American communities and see to establish resistance movements both in the United States and in Vietnam.

According to the organization's propaganda materials, the GFVN was an offshoot of the Bao Long Liberators, a Vietnamese resistance campaign organized in Vietnam in 1975 by Nguyen Haong Don. Chanh was appointed a co-leader of the resistance group in 1982 and was ordered to form a movement overseas. That same year Chanh left his homeland and arrived California as a Vietnamese refugee. For the next 10 years Chanh worked covertly to nurture alliances between overseas resistance groups. He also helped form the Nhan Hoa (Social Harmony) Medical Center in Orange County, which provides free medical services to the local community. Chanh's operations were discovered by the Communist regime during a 1992 trip to Vietnam. Chanh escaped Vietnam once again and fled to Cambodia where he started building the new Alliance of Resistance Forces in Indochina. When this group gained attention during a conference in Southern California, Chanh strategically introduced the formation of the GFVN, which is often described by the press as a "self-styled group of freedom fighters."

The GFVN claims 6,000 members and 100,000 supporters who were trained in secret camp locations along the Vietnam border. They also claim 75 chapters in Asia, Australia, and Europe. Although the GFVN prides itself on its widespread support, there are those who argue that the GFVN never received a true mandate to represent the Vietnamese American community. Some community members also do not condone the organization's political and paramilitary actions. The doubt and disassociation some have towards the GFVN was either initiated or reinforced by a fundraiser failure. In July of 1998, Chanh was ordered by the California Department of Corporations to cease the marketing of "gold reserve depository bearer bonds." Chanh and other members were selling gold bonds to supporters without a permit, which is illegal under state law. The authenticity of the bonds and their investment promises were also held suspect by the California Commissioner of Corporations, Dale E. Bonner. In 1999 the Unites States Securities and Exchange Commission further ruled that the GFVN engaged in false and misleading sales tactics.

The GFVN gained greater attention in 2001 when a member, Van duc Vo, was arrested at the John Wayne airport for the attempted bombing of the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok. This arrest led to an outcry by the Vietnamese government to shutdown the GFVN, FBI investigations into Chanh and the organization, and demonstrations in support of Vo from Vietnamese American communities. Chanh repeatedly stated in media interviews that Vo acted without the consent of the group and the GFVN has no intention to resort to an armed struggle with Vietnam.

Other efforts of the GFVN include a radio show entitled, Radio Free Vietnam; two news presses entitled, Tieng Dan News and Indochina News ; and a Free Vietnam youth and women's group.