Undertrykkelsen i det sydøstasiatiske land nåede nye højder i fjor, bl.a. fordi kritikken af de politiske, sociale og økonomiske forhold var mere højlydt end længe – samtidig med store korruptionssager i det regerende kommunistparti.
LONDON,1. February 2013: The Vietnamese government is systematically suppressing freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and persecuting those who question government policies, expose official corruption, or call for democratic alternatives to one-party rule, Human Rights Watch said Friday in its World Report 2013.
In 2012, authorities arbitrarily (vilkårligt) arrested activists, held them for long periods without access to legal counsel or family visits, subjected them to torture, and prosecuted them in politically controlled courts that meted out long prison sentences for violating vaguely worded national security laws or other criminal provisions.
“The human rights situation in Vietnam took another step backwards in 2012, with the authorities pursuing harsh policies in defiance of growing domestic expressions of political, social, and economic dissatisfaction (utilfredshed), said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, adding;
“At a time when its ASEAN colleague Burma is undergoing significant change, the Vietnamese government stands out for its retrograde policies (bevæger sig i stik modsatte retning, red.), persecuting activists, and holding back the country’s development”.
Kritik selv mod partitoppen
Last year saw an unprecedented surge in criticisms of the ruling Communist Party.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung came under sustained attacks from within the ruling and the National Assembly, culminating in a public call by assembly member Duong Trung Quoc in November for Dung’s resignation.
The criticism came amidst arrests of well-connected tycoons and managers of state-owned enterprises for alleged corruption and other economic crimes, a fall in Vietnam’s growth rate to the lowest point in 13 years, and infighting between Dung and other senior officials, including the Party Secretary General and Vietnam’s President, Truong Tan Sang.
Bloggers and others joined in the criticism of officials and policies. This was met with a large number of arrests and prison sentences.
By the end of 2012, at least 40 activists were convicted and sentenced to many years in prison under the following articles of the penal code (straffeloven):
* 79 (subversion – undergravende virksomhed)
* 87 (undermining unity),
* 88 (propaganda against the state),
* 89 (disrupting security), and
* 258 (infringing state interests).
This is a substantial increase on the figures for 2011. At least 31 others were arrested and kept in detention pending trial by the end of 2012.
Går hårdt til ytringsfriheden på internettet
The government attempted to crackdown on internet freedom through its draft Decree on the Management, Provision, and Use of Internet Services and Information on the Network.
This threatened to outlaw posting internet content deemed to oppose the government or be contrary to national security, reveal state secrets, or promote “reactionary” ideas.
The government continued blocking access to politically sensitive websites and required internet café owners to monitor and store information about users’ online activities.
In September, Dung ordered a further clampdown, calling on the Ministry of Public Security to target blogs and websites not approved by the authorities, and to punish those who created them.
“Donorerne virker ligeglade”
“Vietnam’s donors and those interested in the country’s development have for far too long been doling out huge sums of aid and making large investments without using their leverage to insist on an end to repression,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, noting:
“For every critical public statement about the rights situation made by a foreign government, there are dozens of visiting delegations that provide photo-ops and legitimacy to a government that has a deplorable human rights record.”
Læs mere på
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/01/vietnam-crackdown-critics-escalates
