Urgent: Sai Gon Police Violently Suppress Peasants' Protest

 

 

Tran, Nam

The People's Democratic Party 

 

 

Viet Nam - July 19, 2007 – At around 10PM., Sai Gon police begin to violently suppress Vietnamese peasants as they protest for their land rights. Hundreds of police have surrounded the protesters, fired tear gases and sprayed waters into the crowd and are arresting hundreds of organizers to unknown locations.

 

Since June 22, thousands of peasants from Southern provinces including Tien Giang, Binh Thuan, Can Tho, and Kien Giang have traveled to Sai Gon. They are currently camped outside of the Congress House 2, at 194 Hoang Van Thu Street , Sai Gon  in outraged protest over seizure of their land by the government.

 

Due to corruption, unlawful and arbitrary land policy. Thousands of Vietnamese peasants have lost their land, homes and other properties. Many are living homeless, poor and hungry while corrupt government officials continue to pocket peasants' compensation to fund their lavish life style.

 

The authorities have failed to solve these contentious land issues properly. Instead of engaging in direct and peaceful dialog, the government has chosen to use brutal force to suppress the protesters.

 

The People's Democratic Party strongly calls on the Ha Noi government to listen to its own people's concerns. We condemn the using force in order to suppress innocent people and hold the Ha Noi government accountable for committing these acts of violence against its own people.  We call on human rights organizations, government officials of the free world and religious leaders to raise your voices to support the struggle of the Vietnamese peasants for the right to land and property.

 

 

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