Recently, there have been some organizations and individuals in the USA and Europe using their old prejudices to make false accusations against Vietnam of “human rights violations”, especially the freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of press, freedom of conscience and religion! So what are their objectives?
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On November 12, 2013, Vietnam was elected to the UN Human Rights Council
with the most votes (Photo: vietnamplus.vn).
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It has been cited in the Vietnam section of the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of the US Department of State (released on 19th April 2013) that: “The most significant human rights problems in the country continued to be severe government restrictions on citizens’ political rights, particularly their right to change their government …”. It has also been cited in the annual report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (released on 30th April 2013) that: “Religious conditions remains very poor despite some positive changes over the past decade…” and recommended that “US government should designate Vietnam as a country of particular concern (CPC)”.
Speak with one voice, on the 11th April 2013, at the Office of the US Congress, Senator Christopher H.Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, slandered Vietnam “without freedom of religion” and cited the case in which 14 Christians in Vinh city were imprisoned. On 4 June 2013, at the House of Representative, Smith hosted a hearing on Vietnam human rights and proposed “Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2013” (H.R. 1897).
It should be noted that documents on human rights, such as the so called “report”, “hearing”, “Act”…mentioned above are regulated in the US institutions and law. This is a private right of each nation. However, in terms of legality, these documents only govern activities of the US’ law enforcement agencies. Therefore, the above mentioned actions are interferences in other nation’s internal affairs, causing negative impacts on the US’ relations with other countries in the world, including Vietnam.
In support of that voice, some overseas anti-Communism organizations and individuals pushed up distorting, and slandering human rights in Vietnam. Members of these organizations are overseas Vietnamese holding American, French, German, Australian, Canadian… citizenship and belong to “Vietnam War Generation”. For different reasons, they still stick to old-fashioned viewpoint. For them, acting against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is both a political activity and a job (as said by the majority of Vietnamese in the US). These organizations operate in the name of parties, associations, funds, blocs…, for example, Vietnam Reform Party (dang Viet Tan) acts both politically and violently and is regarded as a terrorist group. “Montagnard Foundation, Inc”, based in South Carolina (USA) and led by Kok Ksor, is an organization that acts against the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the name of “protecting the lives and culture of the Montagnard people in the Central Highland”. “Saigon for Saigon” an organization led by Nguyen Huu Le and Tran Quoc Bao, with its main operations in South California (USA), aims primarily to smear the life, revolutionary cause, thought and moral example of President Ho Chi Minh and denies all the achievements gained by Vietnamese revolution, especially in the war of resistance against U.S. aggression and for national salvation.
Inside the country, taking advantage of the social openness, territorial disputes in the East Sea, dissenters, bloggers who claim themselves as “fighters for democracy and human rights” have had writings smearing Vietnam Communist’s leaders, distorting policies and undertakings of the country in relation with neighbor countries. So what are the contents, methods, ploys and objectives of those accusations?
On the content: Those accusations distort and slander that Vietnam violates human rights in the fields of civilian, politics, economic, society and culture; the focuses of which are the freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of Internet…
On methods and ploys: They usually use distorted information about political, economic situation, especially criminal courts against some individuals, organisations being charged with national security invasion to make reports or bills such as: the case of members of “Free journalist club” including Nguyen Van Hai (blogger Dieu Cay), Ta Phong Tan and Phan Thanh Hai; the trial of Dinh Nguyen Kha and Nguyen Phuong Uyen for “propagandizing against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and the recent arrest of blogger Pham Viet Dao and Truong Duy Nhat, owner of “A different view” Blog; Or the case of Pham Viet Dao, a blogger who was prosecuted by the Article 258 of the Penal Code 1999 of the actions to “abuse the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of belief, religion, assembly, association and other democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens”. In their opinion, these are “violations” of the 1966 International Convention on civil and political rights including “freedom of speech” that Vietnam has signed.
Relating to the so called “violation of freedom of belief and religion”, in many bills and reports… they “accuse” Vietnam of arresting, imprisoning many Christians who are normal religion practitioners, for example the case of 14 Christians in the province of Nghe An, or the one of 22 Christians in Phu Yen… So what is the truth? The fact is, 14 Christians in Nghe An have been arrested because of their crime aiming to overthrow people’s authority (according to Article 79 of the Penal Code 1999) but not of their religious practices. These people had been admitted, deployed abroad, trained, nicknamed, tasked, provided with money and equipment by Viet Tan. Then, they returned and carried out their plan to overthrow the state. When arrested and brought to the court, they admitted that they had carried out their coup against the state with “non-violent” methods. The same things had been done by those in Phu Yen province. This group set up an eco-tourist enterprise to camouflage their illegal actions against the state. They devised documents with disorted contents slandering guidelines, policies of the Party and State… At the same time, they set up regulations, rules, political program, authorities…with the aim to overthrow the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and establish the so called “Dai Nam Kinh Chau State”. The “accusers” said those actions were mild and non-violent. However, according to Vietnam law, “non-violent” activities against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with concrete evidence, are illegal and must be punished. For this manner, they were sentenced in the right way.
In the case relating to Article 88, Article 258 of the Penal Code 1999, those who consider themselves as “fighters for democracy and human rights of Vietnam” had distorted the event, cut out the evidence and uploaded online. For example, to defend for 2 defendants in Long An, who had committed crime against Article 88 of the Penal Code 1999, they have cut out important evidence such as: writing banner slandering the Communist Party of Vietnam, preparing flags, leaflets…calling for actions against the State, and said “they are just patriots”(!). As of the detainees who had violated Article 258 of the Penal Code 1999, they said that: those bloggers were arrested because of their “condemn against the Government” and because they see the society from “A different view”, and that these bloggers just want to “do good for the system”. However, the reality is in contrast. In these bloggers’ writings, they only showed their “advice” to abolish Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thought with ironic and outrageous words. It should be noted that Marxist and Leninism, as well as Ho Chi Minh thought have been ruled in Article 4 of the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Some western organizations, and some bloggers advocated for the detainees who they consider as “patriots”, “fighters against corruption”… But police’s evidence proved that those writings distorted the war of resistance against aggression and for national salvation to safeguard the Fatherland. One even wrote that the war of resistance against U.S. aggression and for national salvation is a “fratricidal war”. This is totally contrast to the country’s history. They have used sophism arguments, shifted and prevaricated to defend the opponents and law violators.
When the National Assembly of Vietnam publicizes its draft amendment to the 1992 Constitution for the whole people’s discussion, some political opportunists argued that a political reform should be carried out to match the market-based economy and international integration, and called for the abolition of Article 4 (defining the leading role of the Communist Party of Vietnam), the “pluralism” and the “tripartition of power”, the disloyalty of the Army to the Party, the change of national name, the omission of “socialism-orientation” in the concept “socialist-oriented market economy”… Besides, making use of the patriotism of the people, especially when there is tension over the East Sea, some hostile individuals and groups both at home and abroad have triggered demonstration, caused public disorder and slandered our Party and State; they suggest that Vietnam should turn into pluralism to get support from Western countries.
On purposes: there’s such a system of aims, both direct and indirect ones, in the accusations against Vietnam. At home, they aim to degrade people’s belief in the Party and State and in the good virtues of the socialism; create solid base for reactionary forces to set forth their actions, prepare troops, seize the opportunity to overthrow socialism in Vietnam. In term of international relations: they want to destroy the Party’s policy on international relation of “independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; diversification the relations, active and positive in international integration; being a trustful friend and partner and a responsible member in the international community; serving for the nation’s benefit and a prosperous Vietnam”; spoil the State’s political credit and isolate its diplomacy; causing difficulties and hindering Vietnam from integrating comprehensively into the world; destroy the county’s policy on settling disputes over the East Sea with concerned countries on the basis of international laws and maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.
In short, what hidden beneath the accusation against “Vietnam’s violation of human rights” is the plot to wipe out the leading role of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, turn Vietnam from a socialist state into a capitalist one, and put the country into the orbit of the group of western-dominated countries.
Trung Nguyên