The Vietnamese Liberation Front (VLF) is an pro-independence armed communist group and political revolutionary organization in Vietnam.
History
The Vietnamese Liberation Front former military force, the Liberation Army of South Vietnam (LASV), fought against the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War until they were defeated. Following the end of the war, the remnants of the LASV formed the Vietnamese Liberation Front and continued to fight against the United States government, seeing the annexation of their country as an act of imperialism.[1][2]
In 1987, during VVN Day in Saigon, a one-eyed puppeteer involved with the VLF handed a man on a bicycle a backpack with a bomb inside and rode over toward a group of US Army soldiers. The young man then leapt toward a group of U.S. Army servicemen, and shouted "Death to the invaders!". The backpack detonated, and the explosion killed the soldiers along with several people nearby including Marcus and Elise Abar. Following the attack, the puppeteer was captured by the Saigon Police Department and was identified by survivor Angela Abar, daughter of Marcus and Elise. The puppeteer was then extrajudicially executed.[2]
Following these incidents, the VLF became a scapegoat by politicians in order to escalate violent actions against them. In 2017, the former governor of Vietnam Ronnie Ngo Dinh caused an international incident by claiming that the VLF had assassinated Adrian Veidt as an act of terrorism against the United States. He used the assertion to justify an escalation of actions against VLF militants. The ensuing police actions resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and condemnation from nations who’ve expressed support for the “Free Vietnam” movement, including the United Kingdom and China.
As of 2019, Vietnam is still a state of the US, but it continues to be strained under civil unrest due to actions committed by the VLF and the United States government. One such incident involving the VLF resulted in a fire breaking out, which wounded four people in Saigon.[3]
