President Truong Tan Sang visiting the Culture - Tourism Village of  Vietnamese Ethnic Groups (Photo: baophapluat.vn)

Article 5 of the 2013 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam stipulates that: 1) The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a unified nation of all ethnicities living together in the country of Vietnam. 2) All the ethnicities are equal and united with, respect and assist one another for mutual development; all acts of discrimination against and division of the ethnicities are prohibited. 3) The national language is Vietnamese. Every ethnic group has the right to use its own spoken and written language to preserve its own identity and to promote its fine customs, practices, traditions and culture; and 4) The State shall implement a policy of comprehensive development and create the conditions for the minority ethnicities to draw upon/further their internal strengths and develop together with the country. This is solid legal foundation for the Party’s line and directions of ethnic issue and work to be exercised in the reality; civil rights and duty and minority ethnicities’ life to be increasingly improved. The fact shows that in Vietnam there is no “indigenous minority group” and there is no discrimination among minority groups, and all minority groups live equally. There is no political, legal and practical foundation for the so called “autonomous state” or “autonomous kingdom”, etc. The State of Vietnam has always given favorable conditions to ensure the development of each minority group and the community of the Vietnamese minority ethnicities. Article 28 of the Civil Code of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam stipulates that the ethnicity of the child shall be determined as the ethnicity of the father or the ethnicity of the mother in accordance with practices or in accordance with the agreement of the biological father and mother. Article 8 of this Code stipulates: “The establishment and performance of civil rights and obligations must ensure the preservation of national identities, respect and promote good customs, practices and traditions, solidarity, mutual affection and cooperation, the principle of every individual for the community and the community for every individual and the noble ethical values of ethnicities living together on Vietnamese soil. Ethnic minority people shall be given favorable conditions in civil relations so as to step by step improve their material and spiritual life”. Article 17 of the Law on Cultural Heritage affirms that the State encourages and creates the conditions for minority groups to carry out activities of research, collection, maintenance, communication and introduction of intangible cultural heritage in order to care for and promote the national cultural character and to enrich the treasured cultural heritage of the multiethnic Vietnamese community. Regarding to land, in Vietnam, the State and governments of all levels are forbidden to recover the minority groups’ ancestors’ land. Article 38 of the Law on Land 2003 stipulates clearly cases of land recovery by the State for objectives of national defense and security, national interest, public interest, or economic development; land is used for the incorrect purpose or used inefficiently; a land user intentionally destroys land; a land user returns voluntarily land; and a land user fails intentionally to discharge its obligations to the State. Article 42 of this Law also stipulates the compensation and resettlement for persons subject to land recovery…In conformity with the Law and to ensure the land and houses for the minority groups, for the past years, the Vietnamese Government has promulgated policies to supply building land for the minority groups, especially the poor households or people living in extraordinary difficult areas; establishing legal system and mechanism for protecting Vietnamese citizens and minority groups’ rights. In Vietnam there is no citizen to be arrested or discriminated for reasons related to religious belief, religions, minority origin or peaceful expression of opinions. The 2003 Criminal Procedure Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam stipulates that all forms of coercion and corporal punishment and all acts of infringing upon citizens’ honor and dignity are strictly forbidden. All acts of infringing upon minority discrimination and dissension, harming the great Vietnamese national unity. No person shall be considered guilty and be punished until a court judgment on his/her criminality takes legal effect. The reasons why minority people be arrested, jailed or treated are their acts of violating Vietnam’s laws. This is appropriate and in conformity with the rules and norms of international laws. Therefore, the tone saying that the minority groups in Vietnam are discriminated and differentiated, is not true and of bad purpose, and it should be rejected!

In reality, our State’s ethnic policy system has gradually come into life and is appropriate with the level of development of each minority group, each area and socio-economic development condition in Vietnam. Along with taking constant care to developing the intellectual standard of the minority groups, our Party and State has really attached importance to the building, training, fostering and bringing into full play of the minority cadres of all levels, in particular, the minority groups of less than 10,000 people to ensure the civil-political equality rights of the minority groups in building and safeguarding the Fatherland. The preservation and promotion of cultural values of the minority groups have attained important results. Traditions of hamlets, villages and mountain villages are preserved; grassroots houses of culture, folklore festivals are restored; research and dissemination of material and non-material cultural heritages of the minority groups are paid attention to; grassroots information networks, houses of culture, libraries of the minority groups are established. At present, cultural and spiritual enjoyment of the minority groups has been increasingly improved; rights to free religious belief and non-religious belief are protected by laws. Khmer minority group Theravada, Central Highland and northern provinces minority groups protestants are operating within the framework of laws, etc. Hundreds of thousands of minority households in mountainous, remote and border areas are supplied building land, houses, electricity and clean water. The State has provided finance for the Khmer group in the Southwestern region to take their production land out of pledge, providing building and production land, resettlement land for the minority groups in the socio-economic development projects, etc. Fast and sustainable poverty reduction program for the minority groups is not only supported by the people in the whole country but also highly appreciated and supported by the international community, etc. Achievements in implementing the equal right, unity and help each other for development of our Party and State are clear evidence for the rejection of the opponents’ propaganda tone and distortion of the truth of the ethnic issue and work in Vietnam. Observing the Constitution and laws is the responsibility and duty of each individual and organization to ensure the equality, unity and development of all Vietnamese minority groups. Any acts of agitation,  incitement and division of the great national unity, violation of the Constitution and laws must be condemned and punished severely.

Colonel Dang Van Huong, MA.

Chief of Department of Ethnic and Religion Affairs, Public Affairs Agency