The launch of a US-backed university during President Barack Obama’s visit to Vietnam last week was meant to symbolise reconciliation and the potential for the two nations to deepen their relationship.

巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统上周访问越南期间揭牌成立的一所美国支持的大学，本意是为了象征和解以及两国间深化关系的潜力。

But there has been a backlash against the decision to hand the chairmanship of Fulbright University Vietnam to a former US senator accused of involvement in a Vietnam war massacre.

但是，对于越南富布赖特大学(Fulbright University Vietnam)的信托委员会主席一职被授予一名曾被指在越战期间参与杀戮平民的美国前参议员，一些人表示了反对。

Bob Kerrey, a former Democratic senator and governor of Nebraska, has expressed remorse about the 1969 raid on a Communist-controlled village in which his elite Navy Seal platoon killed at least 13 unarmed women and children. The attack was made public in 2001 following an investigation by CBS News and the New York Times.

前民主党参议员、前内布拉斯加州州长鲍勃•克里(Bob Kerrey)已对1969年突袭一个共产党控制村庄的军事行动表示反悔。在那次行动中，他所在的精锐的海豹部队的一个排杀死了至少13名没有武装的妇女和儿童。这件事2001年在哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)和《纽约时报》(New York Times)进行调查后被公诸于众。

However, his selection as chairman of the trustees of FUV, Vietnam’s first private not-for-profit university, has stirred up painful feelings about a war in which more than 1m Vietnamese died.

然而，选择由他担任越南第一所民营非营利大学——越南富布赖特大学的信托委员会主席，激起了人们对越南战争的痛苦回忆，那场战争导致100多万越南人死亡。

“I know that Mr Kerrey wants to heal the pains of the war, both his and the Vietnamese people’s,” said Thai Bao Anh, a Vietnamese lawyer. “However, I wonder if he has ever asked himself [whether] his appointment, in fact, is opening an old wound in Vietnamese people’s minds.”

“我知道克里先生希望抚平战争的痛苦，包括他本人的痛苦和越南人民的痛苦，”越南律师Thai Bao Anh表示。“不过，我不知道他有没有这样问过自己，他的任命是不是实际上在越南人民的脑海中揭开了一个旧伤疤？”

Mr Thai, who won a prestigious Fulbright scholarship to the US in 2003, said he could not forgive Mr Kerrey.

曾在2003年赢得著名的富布赖特奖学金到美国留学的Thai表示，他不能原谅克里。

Most of Vietnam’s state-controlled media painted the university as a symbol of deepening US-Vietnam co-operation but Zing, a popular online news outlet, prompted a more critical reaction after it published a story looking into the massacre. It said on its Facebook page that the choice of Mr Kerrey to head the FUV was “difficult to understand”.

越南官方控制的媒体大多把这所大学描绘成深化美越合作的象征，但人气颇高的在线新闻网站Zing发表了一篇回忆上述杀戮事件的报道，从而引发更具批评色彩的反应。Zing在其Facebook页面上表示，挑选克里执掌越南富布赖特大学的决定“令人难以理解”。

In comments posted below the article, Vietnamese were divided. Lieu Ngo argued that the “generation who faced Bob Kerrey on the battlefield” did not want to live with hatred: “Let’s support Bob Kerrey to help his Fulbright university project in Vietnam succeed.”

越南读者在上述报道底下的留言中意见分歧。Lieu Ngo认为，“当年在战场上面对鲍勃•克里的那一代人”并不希望一直带着仇恨生活下去，“让我们支持鲍勃•克里帮助他的越南富布赖特大学项目获得成功”。

Mr Kerrey told the Financial Times he understood the criticism and would “gladly step down” if his participation put the success of FUV at risk. “I have faced my past squarely and honestly,” said Mr Kerrey, who lost part of his right leg during the war. “I did something terrible and will live with it all my life. But I do not live in the past. I live in the present and am trying to do what I can to help Vietnam build a better future.”

克里对英国《金融时报》表示，他理解人们对他的批评，如果他的参与危及越南富布赖特大学的成功，他将“乐意卸任”。“我已经诚实地面对我的过去，不躲不闪，”在战争中失去一部分右腿的克里表示。“我做了一些可怕的事情，将为此抱憾终生。但我不活在过去。我活在当下，我正在试图尽我所能，帮助越南打造一个更美好的未来。”