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The Last Chapter of the Vietnam War: Normalization, Nongovernmental Actors and the Politics of Human Rights, 1975-1995

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The Last Chapter of the Vietnam War: Normalization, Nongovernmental Actors and the Politics of Human Rights, 1975-1995 University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2017 The Last Chapter of the Vietnam War: Normalization, Nongovernmental Actors and the Politics of Human Rights, 1975-1995 Amanda C. Demmer University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Demmer, Amanda C., "The Last Chapter of the Vietnam War: Normalization, Nongovernmental Actors and the Politics of Human Rights, 1975-1995" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations. 153. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/153 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE VIETNAM WAR: NORMALIZATION, NONGOVERNMENTAL ACTORS AND THE POLITICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS, 1975-1995 BY AMANDA C. DEMMER B.A., State University of New York at Fredonia, 2010 M.A., University of New Hampshire, 2012 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History May, 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2017 Amanda C. Demmer ii This dissertation has been examined and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in History by: Dissertation Director, Kurkpatrick Dorsey, Professor of History and History Graduate Program Director Lucy E. Salyer, Associate Professor of History Jessica M. Lepler, Associate Professor of History Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, Dorothy Borg Associate Professor in the History of the United States and East Asia, Columbia University Mark Atwood Lawrence, Associate Professor of History, The University of Texas at Austin On March 10, 2017 Original approval signatures are on file with the University of New Hampshire Graduate School. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii DEDICATION x ABSTRACT xi CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 I. A PROFOUND MORAL OBLIGATION: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES AND THE FALL OF SAIGON 21 New President, Old War 25 Evacuation Planning 29 Building a Consensus 38 The Vietnam War is “Finished” 55 The “Vietnamese Problem” 59 The Unfinished War 65 Conclusion 71 II. A HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATION: CARTER, U.S.-VIETNAMESE RELATIONS AND THE INDOCHINESE REFUGEE CRISIS, 1977-1980 74 An Auspicious Beginning 79 Mounting Signs of Trouble 85 Blurring the Lines Between Refugees & Human Rights Rhetoric 90 Refugees Exacerbate Southeast Sian Geopolitical Tensions 98 Entanglement of Human Rights, Refugees & U.S.-Vietnamese Relations 106 The Carter Administration Takes a Leadership Role 115 Codifying the Link Between Refugees & Human Rights 125 Conclusion 128 III. RECONCEPTUALIZING U.S. INDOCHINA POLICY: REAGAN, POW/MIAS, AMERASIANS & REEDUCATION CAMP DETAINEES 130 Failed Advocacy Efforts During the Ford & Carter Administrations 134 Continuing the U.S. Commitment to Boat & Land People 147 The Politics of Information and Images, 1980-1982: POW/MIAs 154 Amerasians 158 Reeducation Camp Detainees 162 Solidifying the Administration’s New Approach, 1983-1984 168 Conclusion 182 iv IV. PURSUING “HUMANITARIAN” COOPERATION: U.S.-SRV RELATIONS IN REAGAN’S SECOND TERM 185 1984-1986: Hanoi Holds the Cards 189 1984-1986: Nongovernmental Advocacy and the Rise of FVPPA 199 1987: Progress on “Humanitarian” Issues 209 1988: The Limits of Cooperation 228 Conclusion 237 V. BEYOND THE POW/MIA VS. BUSINESS DIVIDE: THE ROLE OF REFUGEE ISSUES IN U.S.-VIETNAMESE NORMALIZATION DURING THE BUSH YEARS 240 The Early Bush Years 244 Endings and New Beginnings 265 The Roadmap 271 Conclusion 290 VI. FROM “HUMANITARIAN” ISSUES TO “HUMAN RIGHTS” CONCERNS: U.S.-SRV NORMALIZATION DURING THE CLINTON YEARS 292 Winding Down “Humanitarian” Issues 294 Human Rights Advocacy and the Beginning of Formal Talks 308 Refugee Concerns & Normalization 315 Official Diplomatic Relations & Continued Normalization 328 Conclusion 335 CONCLUSION 338 The Unending Vietnam War 344 BIBLIOGRAPHY 352 APPENDIX A IRB APPROVAL LETTER 361 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AFSC American Friends Service Committee AHA Amerasian Homecoming Act AI Amnesty International AIA Amerasian Immigration Act AIUSA Amnesty International USA Branch ARVN Army of the Republic of Viet Nam ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CCIR Citizens Commission on Indochinese Refugees CPA Comprehensive Plan of Action FVPPA Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association IAG Inter-Agency Group on POW/MIA Affairs IMF International Monetary Fund INS Immigration and Naturalization Service IRC International Rescue Committee MFN Most Favored Nation NEZ New Economic Zone NCS National Security Council NGO Nongovernmental Organization ODP Orderly Departure Program POC Prisoner of Conscience POW/MIA Prisoner of War/Missing in Action ROVR Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Refugees SRV Socialist Republic of Vietnam TEWA Trading With the Enemy Act WSAG Washington Special Actions Group UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a pleasure to acknowledge the many individuals and institutions that helped make this project a reality. While I would like to express my gratitude to the entire history department at the University of New Hampshire, no one has been more instrumental to my intellectual development or this project than Kurk Dorsey. If I wrote Kurk a thank-you card for every time his advice improved this dissertation, I am confident that he would have more cards than this dissertation has pages. In every respect, Kurk has been an ideal mentor; I will forever be thankful for his pragmatism, humor and humanity. Lucy Salyer has also left an indelible impression on this project and the way I think about history. Completing coursework and examination fields with Lucy opened my eyes to the vast historiographies in migration studies and human rights that made this project possible. Lucy’s good cheer, discerning eye and vast expertise improved this dissertation at every stage and I am very grateful to her for reading multiple iterations of each chapter, even while teaching abroad. I would also like to thank the rest of my committee, Jessica Lepler, Lien-Hang T. Nguyen and Mark Atwood Lawrence. From my first semester at UNH, Jess has been an invaluable resource and I am thankful for all the time she took to answer my many questions over the years. I met Hang at a Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations Conference, where she helped convince me that the “article” I was writing on U.S.-Vietnam normalization was actually a dissertation. I am indebted to Hang for this nudge and her suggestion to enroll in the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute for Vietnamese language study, which I did in the summer of 2013. My conceptualization of this project also benefitted from early vii conversations with Mark, and I am thankful for his enthusiasm about this project and his valuable late stage feedback. I have received generous funding from a number of institutions, without which this project would not have been possible. Thank you to the Robert J. Dole Archive & Special Collection for the generous Research Fellowship, which enabled me to consult the rich holdings in Lawrence, Kansas. Audrey Coleman and Sara D’Antonio’s guidance and hospitality made my trip especially productive and enjoyable. This project also received critical, early support from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in the form of the Gerald R. Ford Scholar Award (Dissertation Award) in Honor of Robert M. Teeter. I would like to express my thanks to Library Director Elaine Didier and to Elizabeth Druga, who provided timely assistance before, during and after my stay. The Hoover Institution in Stanford, California houses two of the collections most central to this project. Thank you to the Hoover Institution for a Silas Palmer Research Fellowship and to the Steelman History Fellowship Fund for enabling me to spend the later portion of summer 2015 in California. Finally, thank you to the UNH Graduate School for two years of summer support and a Dissertation Completion Fellowship, which permitted me to complete this project free from the burden of teaching. There are no words to express the depth of my gratitude to my large, loving family. My parents nurtured my love for reading and writing from an early age, but also made sure I learned those things one cannot acquire from a textbook. Mom, Scott, Dad and Janet, thank you for your unconditional love and support, it has meant the world. My sisters, Felecia and Kristy, and brother and sister-in-law, Jake and Beth, inspire me far more than I think they realize; thank you all for making me a better person and bringing viii such joy into my life. My grandparents have also been a source of unfailing love and support. Thank you, especially, to Momma for calling me every week to wish me a “happy Friday;” our chats have grounded and sustained me more than I can say. When delineating the family support that has been instrumental to seeing this project through to completion, I must also include my in-laws, Jim and MaryBeth, and three brothers-in-law, Jim, Pete and Ben, who have always made me feel like family. Finally, my colleagues in the history department and friends near and far have kept me smiling and sane throughout this journey. Thank you to Jenn Trudeau for always being there and to Laura Beaudin and Brian McMorran for hosting me when I completed research trips in Rhode Island and California, respectively. While this project bears the imprint of so many others, none has shared in the joys and burdens of this process more than my husband, Tom. When we started dating almost twelve years ago, neither he nor I had any inclination that I would pursue a Ph.D. and remain in school for another decade. Throughout it all, Tom has been endlessly patient and understanding, has saved the day with his technological prowess more than once and has kept our apartment well stocked with chocolate.
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