Clinton tells Vietnam that old enemies are bound by 'shared suffering'

HANOI, Vietnam - Moving beyond a painful past, President Clinton encouraged Vietnam to become a more open society Friday and said of the two nations' warring history: ''We must not forget it but we must not be controlled by it.''

In a city rebuilt after American bombing, Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong welcomed the prospect of ''immense'' cooperation between the old enemies, and thousands greeted Clinton with great curiosity and some excitement.

Clinton visits a rice paddy Saturday where searchers are looking for remains from the downing of a U.S. warplane 33 years ago.

Vietnamese leaders welcomed the prospects for greater cooperation between the two nations but were cool to his measured call for greater freedoms.

''It is necessary that our two governments take positive action and create a favorable environment to exploit these immense potentialities,'' Luong said in a state dinner toast Friday night.

Clinton said that guaranteeing the right to religious worship and political dissent builds confidence in the fairness of institutions. Vietnamese officials did not agree, saying that they have different interpretations of human rights, according to Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger.

Clinton was the first American president to visit Hanoi, an enemy capital during the Vietnam War, which ended 25 years ago with a communist victory over U.S.-backed forces.

''The history we leave behind is painful and hard,'' Clinton said in his toast. ''We must not forget it but we must not be controlled by it.''

Earlier he presented 350,000 pages of documents about battle dates and locations, along with medical records, to help Hanoi determine the fate of 300,000 missing Vietnamese.

The president promised a million more pages of documents by the end of the year. Clinton praised Vietnam for its help in trying to account for 1,498 missing Americans.

''No two nations have ever before done the things we are doing together to find the missing from the Vietnam conflict,'' Clinton said.

Thousands of curious onlookers watched and occasionally waved as Clinton's motorcade rode along streets usually teeming with motorcycles and bikes. There was an embarrassing glitch when the president spoke at Vietnam National University to urge a more open society and economy, along with greater freedom and human rights.

Students stirred restlessly during his remarks, broadcast on live television, and some removed their translation headsets. White House officials said later that the translator assigned by the U.S. Embassy spoke in a southern dialect that was hard to understand in the north.

''In our experience, guaranteeing the right to religious worship and the right to political dissent does not threaten the stability of a society,'' Clinton said, picking his words carefully.

''In our experience, young people are much more likely to have confidence in their future if they have a say in shaping it, in choosing their governmental leaders and having a government that is accountable to those it serves.''

But he said: ''Only you can decide how to weave individual liberties and human rights into the rich and strong fabric of Vietnamese national identity.''

At the MIA recovery mission that Clinton was visiting Saturday, Vietnamese workers haul bucket after bucket of mud from a suspected crash crater and force it through mesh screens. American experts are combing the debris for any particle of human remains.

The site is where Air Force Capt. Lawrence G. Evert, of Cody, Wyo., is believed to have crashed in an F-105 fighter-bomber on Nov. 8, 1967. He was flying one of four planes in a bombing raid on a railroad bridge 17 miles northwest of Hanoi.

''I'm hit hard,'' Evert exclaimed in his last radio transmission. Witnesses said his plane was downed by anti-aircraft fire. Wreckage is buried deep in thick clay, complicating the recovery. It is one of six sites currently being excavated in Vietnam.

Clinton's visit was meant to underscore the administration's commitment to accounting for as many war dead as possible and to thank the communist government for its cooperation. During Clinton's presidency, 283 missing servicemen have been accounted for - nearly half the total accounted for since 1973, when U.S. troops completed their withdrawal and the last known POWs were sent home.

The president said Vietnam's cooperation on the MIA issue was essential. ''Vietnam's willingness to help us return the remains of our fallen servicemen to their families has been the biggest boost to improve ties,'' he said.

Clinton said that as a result of the MIA efforts, the United States decided to support international lending to Vietnam, resume trade, establish diplomatic relations and reach a pivotal trade agreement.

The president met separately with Luong and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. They spoke about the painful legacy of the war, such as missing servicemen, unexploded ordnance and the use of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange, Berger said.

Clinton pledged to give Vietnam a computer system with information on where Agent Orange ''may have been stored or present during the war,'' Berger said.

In his address to students, Clinton did not mention his youthful protests against the war or efforts to avoid the draft. The war claimed 3 million Vietnamese and 58,000 American lives, and Clinton praised the ''brave soldiers and civilians'' on both sides.

''This shared suffering has given our countries a relationship unlike any other,'' the president said.

He said it links the 1 million Americans of Vietnamese ancestry, the 3 million U.S. veterans and others who served during the conflict, and ''are forever connected to your country.''

Clinton said Vietnamese cooperation in tracing missing Americans made possible the resumption of trade in 1994, of diplomatic relations in 1995, and a new trade agreement in 2000.

''Finally, America is coming to see Vietnam as your people have asked for years, as a country, not a war,'' Clinton said. He said it is a country ''emerging from years of conflict and uncertainty to shape a bright future.''

Clinton said, ''Let us acknowledge our importance to one another. Let us continue to help each other heal the wounds of war'' by embracing a spirit of reconciliation.

Late Saturday, Clinton will fly to Ho Chi Minh City, known as Saigon until the communist takeover. He will speak Sunday to Vietnamese in their 20s and 30s working in business, government, academia, the media and the arts.