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HO CHI MINH CITY : Vietnam held an emotional public funeral on Sunday for former prime minister Vo Van Kiet, who led the communist nation's return to the world arena after decades of war and isolation.
Tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets to honour Kiet as his coffin was carried in a procession of military vehicles through Ho Chi Minh City to be cremated.
The country's political elite had earlier paid their respects in Reunification Palace, where Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh headed long lines of mourners who filed past Kiet's coffin from early Saturday.
As his body lay in state, the palace hall was filled with incense smoke and funereal music played by an army band.
Kiet, who died on Wednesday in a Singapore hospital aged 85, was a chief architect of the doi moi (renewal) market reforms of the late 1980s and 1990s that tackled dire poverty in Vietnam and ushered in an era of economic growth.
During his 1991-97 term, he battled hardliners to push through reform, reopening Vietnam's doors to foreign tourists and investors, and normalising relations with former enemies the United States and China.
In retirement, Kiet - a revolutionary veteran of the wars against the French and Americans - remained an outspoken commentator who frequently advocated greater openness in politics, society and the media.
In an interview with the BBC last year he questioned whether Communist Party members were true patriots, saying: "The motherland of Vietnam doesn't belong to one person, one party or one group only."
In his final weeks, Kiet also spoke out against the expansion of the capital Hanoi and expressed concern whether Vietnam could protect itself against rising sea levels caused by global warming.
The communist government - after waiting 36 hours to announce his death - declared two days of mourning from Saturday, with flags flying at half-mast.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, a southerner like Kiet, wrote in the condolence book: "You are a Communist Party member, devoted, unwavering and heroic. You have devoted all of your life to the country and the people."
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem told AFP that Kiet "was very dynamic in setting policy in the renovation period, and I think his contribution will stay with the Vietnamese people forever."
US Consul General Kenneth Fairfax said Kiet was "the person who opened the door to renewed US-Vietnamese relations, and I think the people of Vietnam continue to benefit today from the openings that he introduced."
Fairfax called Kiet "a real source of pride for the people who are looking to push forward Vietnam and to bring it to the next level of development.
"He actively favoured development and openness on all levels. He spoke about the economy, about the society, about the protection of the poor."
Polish Consul General Przemyslaw Jenke said Kiet "was one of these fortunate people who lived long enough to see his dream come true."
Kiet, who was born in the Mekong delta in 1922, joined the anti-French revolution as a teenager, became a senior Viet Cong revolutionary in the former Saigon, and lost his first wife and two children to US bombing.
One of his comrades in arms, Tran Quoc Huong, former head of intelligence for the Viet Cong network in South Vietnam, wrote in the condolence book: "I was deeply moved by your death. You were my comrade, my friend, and my brother."
Younger Vietnamese also expressed their sadness in thousands of letters to newspapers and in blogs.
Nguyen Thinh wrote on VietnamNet online: "Why did you pass away at this time, when the people and the country need your frank opinions for the government and the party to overcome this difficult period?" - AFP/ac/ms
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