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HOW TO PROMOTE HUMAN
RIGHTS AND
By
Nguyen Thanh Trang
The violations of
human rights in Vietnam have been well documented by such reputable
organizations as the Human Rights Watch, the Amnesty International,
the Reporters Without Frontiers and the United Nations High
Commission for Human Rights. Since 1945, year after year, these
rights have been continuously and systematically violated, not by
some low level cadres as isolated acts, but rather by the hierarchy
of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as a matter of national
policies.
AN OVERVIEW OF
POLITICAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS CONDITION IN VIETNAM
Present
Political Situation
Vietnam, as it
stands today, remains a one-party State, ruled and controlled by the
Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). As history has proven time and
again, power controlled by the few and denied the many, corrupts
without question. The current Vietnamese government is no exception.
It has repeatedly pursued a policy of intimidation, imprisonment,
harassment, and violence to suppress peaceful dissention.
The Constitution
of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, written and adopted by no one
else but Communist Party leaders, guarantees the party’s dominant
role in all aspects of life. It also assures the Communist Party of
absolute power over the people and the country. Besides Article 4 of
the Constitution that asserts the Communist Party supremacy, Article
9 also gives the Communist Party total control of all branches of
the government.
Furthermore, the
Vietnamese Government can also issue un-democratic Decrees such as
Administrative Detention Directive 31/CP which authorizes police and
security forces at local levels to arrest and detain any persons
without trials for up to 2 years for “security reasons”
The Vietnamese
Government permits no public challenge to the legitimacy of the
one-party State. It prohibits independent political, labor, and
social organizations. It continues to arrest, detain and imprison
any person for the peaceful expression of dissenting religious and
political views. Their victims include Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, Prof.
Nguyen Dinh Huy, Father Nguyen Van Ly, Dr. Pham Hong Son, Mr. Nguyen
Vu Binh, Mr. Tran Dung Tien, Dr. Pham Hong Son, Mr. Nguyen Khac Toan
and Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, among others.
Human Rights
Violations
The violations
can be classified into four categories:
Violations of
Labor Rights. Workers’
rights are so severely restricted that no independent trade unions
are allowed despite the communists’ claim that they represent
workers. The only labor organization in existence is the General
Labor Federation of Vietnam, created and run by the Communist Party,
is used as a vehicle to control workers, not to advance their
interests. The existing Labor Law forbids strikes at enterprises
vaguely considered vital to national security and defense, while a
related Decree issued on August 29, 1996, bans labor strikes in 54
industries.
Violations of
Freedom of Expression. Many
laws and decrees have been issued to arbitrary limit the right to
free expression. No private citizens are allowed to publish
newspapers or magazines, or to operate radio or television stations.
Hanoi, while maintaining that there are more than 500 newspapers and
magazines in circulation as an indication of freedom of the press,
conveniently ignores the fact that none of them is independently
owned and run by private citizens! In 1978 Dr. Nguyen Dan Que was
arrested and jailed for 10 years for expressing his concerns about
human rights violations by the government. He was jailed the second
time in 1990 for over 8 years for having issued a Manifesto calling
for the abolition of the Communist Party’s monopoly of power and the
recognition of people’s rights of self-determination. Another
infamous case happened in January 1999 involved the late General
Tran Do who was expelled from the party because of his criticism
concerning corruption and the lack of democracy in Vietnam. His
request in July 1999 to publish a newspaper was coldly rejected.
Violations of
Freedom of Religion. All
religious activities are systematically suppressed through various
means: dissolution of religious organizations, confiscation of
numerous churches and temples, prohibition of religious
publications, and persecution of monks and priests.
- The United
Buddhist Church of Vietnam, one of the largest religious
denominations in Vietnam, was declared illegal in 1981. The
government confiscated its temples and persecuted its clergy for
refusing to join the state-sponsored Buddhist organizations. For
more than two decades, the government has detained and confined top
Buddhist leaders, including the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang,
the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, the Venerable Thich Tue Sy, and
others.
- The Catholic
Church continues to face significant restrictions on the training
and ordination of priests and bishops, resulting in insufficient
number of clerics to support the growing Catholic population in
Vietnam. Father Nguyen Van Ly was convicted and sentenced to jail in
a closed trial in 2001 after publicly criticizing religious
repression by the Government of Vietnam.
- The Montagnards
in the Central Highlands of Vietnam continue to face significant
repression by the Government of Vietnam; their practice of Christian
Faith are severely curtailed. More than 100 Montagnards have been
sentenced to prison terms of up to 13 years for claiming land right,
organizing Christian gatherings, or attempting to seek asylum in
Cambodia.
- During
Eastern weekend in April 2004, thousands of Montagnards gathered to
protest their mistreatment by the Government of Vietnam, including
confiscation of tribal lands and ongoing restriction on religious
activities. The protests were met with violent response. Numerous
demonstrators were arrested, injured, and dozens were killed.
Violations of
Personal Freedoms
- Privacy.
No citizens can enjoy privacy. Mail is censored, parcels searched,
telephones tapped and access to the internet is curtailed and
strictly controlled. Residence can be disturbed at nights without
court order.
-Association.
All gatherings require permits, and political meetings are strictly
forbidden. Any protest, though peaceful or legitimate in nature, is
deemed a challenge to the authority of either the Communist Party,
or the Government. Thus, it is illegal and subject to harsh
suppression. A well-known example is the brutal crackdown in May of
1996 by security forces against protesters from the Kim No village,
outside of Hanoi, who had gathered to oppose the government’s
decision to take away their farmland and sell it to foreigners
turning it into a golf course. The repression resulted in the death
of one young woman, ruthless beating of many, and imprisonment of
their leaders.
-
Self-Determination.
Self-determination does not exist in Vietnam. The Communist Party
holds the supreme and absolute power over the entire population. The
Government, through Article 4 of the Constitution, delegates
absolute political power to the Communist Party which oversees and
controls all national institutions, including the Cabinet and
National Assembly.
- Election.
All candidates running for National Assembly must be approved by the
Fatherland Front, the Communist Party’s frontal organization. No
opposition is permitted. Demands for freedom and democracy are
responded with arrests. Heavy jail sentences were handed down to
Prof. Doan Viet Hoat, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, Prof. Nguyen thanh Giang
and journalist Nguyen Vu Binh as well as many other dissidents,
solely for their peaceful expression of the desire for political
reform.
- Due Process
for Fair Trials.
In Vietnam today, the government does not respect the law of the
land. Trials and sentences are completely at the discretion of
officials or judges, who actually receive orders from the Communist
Party leaders. Violations of due legal process include secret
trials, imprisonment without trials, trials without legal counsel
and defense, disrespect of fundamental rights, extended detentions,
tortures, and house arrests.
PROBLEMS FACED BY
PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS
- Telephone
lines can
be intercepted and cut off any time by the Police and security
- Internet is
severely curtailed and strictly controlled by the Government.
Vietnam
- No
Freedom of the Press.
The Government does not allow private citizens to
- No
Freedom of Assembly.
All gatherings require permits, and political meetings
- No
Freedom of Association.
Labor Unions and Political Parties are strictly
- No
Freedom of Religion.
Religious activities are curtailed and controlled by the
- The
Vietnamese Communist Party maintains
total control of all three branches of - The Government of Vietnam and the Vietnamese Communist Party do not comply with the Constitution and the Laws of the Land.
- No
security.
The administrative detention Directive 31/CP authorizes police and
STRATEGIES FOR
OVERCOMING THE ABOVE PROBLEMS
Improving
condition for freedom of expression
- Increasing
the use of cell phones for better communication between pro –
democracy activists.
- Increasing
the use of Internet for buying, selling products and services and
also for better communication among pro-democracy
activists.
- Encouraging
people to listen to radio broadcasting programs overseas such as
BBC, VOA, RFI, Radio Free Asia, and radio programs produced by
Vietnamese overseas.
- Using
the Internet to broadcast news and commentaries as surrogated radio
programs to bring update news worldwide and human rights violations
in Vietnam.
Taking
small steps for improving basic human rights
- Publishing
professional and religious News Letters without applying for
permission.
- Promoting
Youth activity programs, such as Soccer Teams, Boy Scouts and Girl
Scouts, Buddhist Youth Groups, etc.
- Establishing
professional groups, such as Lawyers Association, Accountant
Club, Chambers of Commerce, Lyons Clubs, Rotary Clubs, etc.
- Establishing
local and regional groups of human rights activists, and whenever
possible, trying to build a nation-wide network.
Reaching out
to the World
- Working
hand in hand with overseas Vietnamese human rights groups
and international human rights organizations for promoting human
rights and democracy in Vietnam.
- Working
with other human rights organizations throughout Asia and forming
human rights and democracy networks within the entire region.
- Lobbying
various international financial institutions to demand that Hanoi
respect human rights as a condition for receiving their financial
assistance programs.
-
CONCLUSION
Although, by
various measures, political situation and human rights conditions in
Vietnam have deteriorated in recent years, there are some prospects
for optimism.
First, the
movement of human rights and democracy in Vietnam has grown
significantly during the last few years and pro-democracy and human
rights activists in Vietnam have received strong support from world
opinion and many international organizations as well as the
Vietnamese overseas, especially those from the human rights groups;
Second, the
appearance in recent years, at about the same time a series of
courageous and knowledgeable dissidents in their thirties, such as
Dr. Pham Hong Son, Lawyer Le Chi Quang, Reporter Nguyen Vu Binh,
Veteran Nguyen Khac Toan, etc., who dare to risk their life to speak
up what they think the Vietnamese people should know about how badly
the country is being run, and how gloomy the future of the country
will be if there is no political improvement. If survived, these
young dissidents may be the seed for future opposition groups which
will move and shake the country with followers from the mass.
Third, the
continued trade and diplomatic pressure worldwide has forced the
Government of Vietnam to recognize that it can not increase trade
with the West or join the World Trading Organization (WTO) and still
remains in political isolation at the same time. This twenty first
century has no future for any dictatorial regimes. Peoples and
nations all over the world are on the strong march towards Human
Rights and Democracy.
Everyone of us
here know very well which way the wind is blowing, but one important
question still remains to be answered: ”The Berlin Wall came
tumbling down in 1989, when will the Bamboo Curtain fall?”.
Nguyen
Thanh Trang
December 16, 2004
Vietnam Human Rights Network |