Human Rights Watch
| Dealing with dissidents the Vietnamese way |
Events of 2011
The Vietnamese
government systematically suppresses freedom of expression, association, and
peaceful assembly. Independent writers, bloggers, and rights activists who
question government policies, expose official corruption, or call for
democratic alternatives to one-party rule are routinely subject to police
harassment and intrusive surveillance, detained incommunicado for long periods
of time without access to legal counsel, and sentenced to increasingly long
terms in prison for violating vague national security laws.
Police
frequently torture suspects to elicit confessions and, in several cases, have
responded to public protests over evictions, confiscation of land, and police
brutality with excessive use of force. Anti-China protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City in 2011 were dispersed and protesters were intimidated, harassed, and in
some cases detained for several days.
The 11th Vietnam
Communist Party Congress in January 2011 and the stage-managed National
Assembly election in May determined the leadership of the party and government
for the next five years. During both, there was no sign of any serious
commitment to improve Vietnam’s abysmal human rights record. Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung began his second term in July, enjoying strong support from the
Ministry of Public Security and other hard-liners.
Repression of Dissent
2011 saw a
steady stream of political trials and arrests, likely spurred in part by
Vietnamese government concerns that pro-democracy Arab Spring movement might
reach Asia.
During the
first 10 months of 2011, the authorities sent at least 24 rights activists to
prison. All but one were convicted of “conducting propaganda against the state”
(penal code article 88), “undermining national unity” (article 87), or
“subversion of the administration” (article 79). These three vaguely defined
articles have been employed to imprison hundreds of peaceful activists in the
last decade. In addition, the police arrested at least 27 political and
religious advocates in 2011. Blogger Nguyen Van Hai, known by his pen name Dieu
Cay, has been held incommunicado since October 2010. Two other pro-democracy
internet writers, Nguyen Ba Dang and Phan Thanh Hai, have been detained since
2010 without trial.
In a major
trial in April 2011, prominent legal activist Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu was convicted of
conducting propaganda against the state and sentenced to seven years in prison.
The sentence was upheld on appeal.
In May the
People’s Court of Ben Tre convicted seven peaceful land rights activists,
including Mennonite pastor Duong Kim Khai and Hoa Hao Buddhist member Tran Thi
Thuy, for subversion and sentenced them to long prison terms.
Authorities
continue to harass, interrogate, and in some cases detain and imprison online
critics. In January 2011 police arrested human rights blogger Ho Thi Bich
Khuong. In May democracy advocate Nguyen Kim Nhan was arrested for allegedly
conducting propaganda against the state, five months after he was released from
prison on the same charge. In August blogger Lu Van Bay was sentenced to four
years for his pro-democracy articles published on the Internet. Also in August
blogger Pham Minh Hoang was sentenced to three years for subversion.
Ethnic minority
activists also face arrest and imprisonment. In January the Lang Son provincial
court sentenced blogger Vi Duc Hoi, an ethnic Tay, on charges of conducting
propaganda against the state to eight years in prison, reduced to five years on
appeal in April. In March land rights activist Chau Heng, a member of the Khmer
Krom minority group, was sentenced to two years in prison in An Giang on
charges of “destruction of property” and “causing public disorder.” The
People’s Court of Gia Lai imprisoned eight Montagnard Protestants in April to
sentences between eight to twelve years for violating article 87 of the penal
code, which outlaws “undermining unity policy.”
Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and Information
The government
does not allow independent or privately-owned domestic media to operate and
exerts strict control over the press and internet. Criminal penalties apply to
authors, publications, websites, and internet users who disseminate materials
deemed to oppose the government, threaten national security, reveal state
secrets, or promote "reactionary" ideas. The government blocks access
to politically sensitive websites, requires internet cafe owners to monitor and
store information about users’ online activities, and subjects independent
bloggers and online critics to harassment and pressure.
In August
anti-China protests in Hanoi were dispersed with force. Protesters were
intimidated, harassed, and detained for peacefully marching near the Embassy of
China and around Hoan Kiem lake. Government media, including newspapers and
television stations, continually cast negative images of protesters and labeled
them “reactionary.”
Freedom of Religion
The government
restricts religious practices through legislation, registration requirements,
and harassment and surveillance. Religious groups are required to register with
the government and operate under government-controlled management boards.
Despite allowing many government-affiliated churches and pagodas to hold
worship services, the government bans any religious activity that it
arbitrarily deems to oppose “national interests,” harm national unity, cause
public disorder, or “sow divisions.”
Local police
continue to prohibit unsanctioned Buddhist Hoa Hao groups from commemorating
the anniversary of the death of Hoa Hao founder Huynh Phu So. During Buddhist
festivals in May and August, Da Nang police blocked access to Giac Minh and An
Cu pagodas and intimidated Buddhist followers. Both pagodas are affiliated with
the un-sanctioned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.
Protestant
pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was arrested in January on unknown charges. Three
Catholic Ha Mon Montagnard activists—Blei, Phoi, and Dinh Pset—were arrested in
March. Two Hoa Hao activists, Nguyen Van Lia and Tran Hoai An, were arrested in
April and July.. Also in April Protestant pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh was arrested
and charged with “undermining national unity.” At least 15 Catholics affiliated
with Redemptorist churches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, including bloggers Le
Van Son and Ta Phong Tan, were arrested in July, August, and September.
In July
prominent religious and democracy campaigner Father Nguyen Van Ly was sent back
to prison after approximately 16 months of medical parole/house arrest. Father
Ly suffers from partial paralysis resulting from strokes previously suffered in
prison and there continue to be serious concerns for his health.
Criminal Justice System
Police
brutality, including torture and fatal beatings, continues to be reported in
all regions of the country. At least 13 people died in police custody within
the first 10 months of 2011.
Political and
religious detainees and others whose cases are considered sensitive are
frequently tortured during interrogation, held incommunicado prior to trial,
and denied family visits and access to lawyers. Vietnamese courts remain under
the firm control of the government and the Vietnam Communist party, and lack
independence and impartiality. Political and religious dissidents are often
tried without the assistance of legal counsel in proceedings that fail to meet
international fair trial standards. Defense lawyers who take on politically
sensitive cases are intimidated, harassed, debarred, and imprisoned.
Vietnamese law
continues to authorize arbitrary “administrative detention” without trial.
Under Ordinance 44 (2002) and Decree 76 (2003), peaceful dissidents and others
deemed threats to national security or public order can be involuntarily
committed to mental institutions, placed under house arrest, or detained in
state-run "rehabilitation" or “re-education” centers.
People
dependent on illegal drugs can be held in government detention centers where
they are subjected to “labor therapy,” the mainstay of Vietnam’s approach to
drug treatment. In early 2011 there were 123 centers across the country holding
some 40,000 people, including children as young as 12. Their detention is not
subject to any form of due process or judicial oversight and routinely lasts
for as long as four years. Infringement of center rules—including the work
requirement—is punished by beatings with truncheons, shocks with electrical
batons, and being locked in disciplinary rooms where detainees are deprived of
food and water. Former detainees report being forced to work in cashew
processing and other forms of agricultural production, including potato or
coffee farming; construction work; and garment manufacturing and other forms of
manufacturing, such as making bamboo and rattan products. Under Vietnamese law,
companies who source products from these centres are eligible for tax
exemptions. Some products produced as a result of this forced labor made their
way into the supply chain of companies who sell goods abroad, including to the
United States and Europe.
Key International Actors
Vietnam’s
complicated relationship with China plays a key role in both domestic and
foreign affairs. Domestically, the government has been increasingly criticized
on nationalist grounds by many activists and some retired military officials
for weak responses to what is widely seen in Vietnam as China’s aggressive
behavior in the disputed Spratly and Paracel Islands. The government in 2011
worked to silence this increasingly public and audible anti-China chorus.
Internationally,
the government has attempted to increase cooperation with the US, India, Japan,
and neighboring Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries as a regional
counter-balance China’s influence.
Despite Japan’s
considerable leverage as Vietnam’s largest bilateral donor, it has repeatedly
failed to publicly comment on Vietnam’s deteriorating rights record.
The
relationship between Vietnam and the US continues to grow closer. In September
Vietnam opened a new consulate in New York, and the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh
City expanded with the opening of an American Center. The US and Vietnam are
also among those currently negotiating to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a
multilateral free trade agreement.
In January and
May United Nations independent experts who had visited Vietnam in 2010
published their findings. The UN special rapporteur on human rights and extreme
poverty issued a broadly positive report but urged the government to ratify and
implement major human rights treaties, including the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment. The UN special rapporteur on
minority issues issued a more critical report, acknowledging some progress but
raising concerns about the potential denial of religious freedom and “other
serious violations of civil rights.” The rapporteur also pointedly noted that
obstacles during her visit “impeded her ability to obtain perspectives other
than those in consonance with official Government positions.”
CORRECTION: The
English version of the Vietnam chapter of the 2012 World Report incorrectly
stated that, “Two Cao Dai activists, Nguyen Van Lia and Tran Hoai An, were
arrested in April and July.” In fact, they are not Cao Dai activists, but
rather Hoa Hao Buddhist activists. The corrected version should read,
“Two Hoa Hao activists, Nguyen Van Lia and Tran Hoai An, were arrested in April
and July.” This has been corrected in the on-line version of the chapter.
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