8 vietnamesiske forfattere er blandt de 48 skribenter fra 24 lande, der modtager Hellman/Hammett prisen som belønning for, at de har vist mod og overbevisning i kampen mod politisk forfølgelse, oplyser Human Rights Watch onsdag.
BANGKOK, 14 September 2011: “Vietnamese writers are frequently threatened, assaulted, or even jailed for peacefully expressing their views.”
So said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, which administers the annual Hellman/Hammett awards.
“By honoring these brave writers, who have suffered so much, are persecuted, fired, and even imprisoned, we’re giving an international platform to those the Vietnamese government wants to silence.”
This year’s Vietnamese award-winners have all seen their writing and activism suppressed by the government in an attempt to restrict free speech, control independent media, and limit open access and use of the internet.
The grant winners have all been arrested and detained, now or in the past. Some have been attacked and injured by officially sanctioned mobs, or denounced and humiliated in orchestrated public meetings.
Every single one has been targeted by government actions that disrupted their personal and professional lives, ranging from cutting their telephone lines and restricting their movements to pressuring family members to urge them to cease their activities.
The award winners include Cu Huy Ha Vu, a legal advocate; Ho Thi Bich Khuong, a human rights activist; Le Tran Luat, a former lawyer; Nguyen Bac Truyen, a former political prisoner; Nguyen Xuan Nghia, a free speech activist; Phan Thanh Hai, a legal activist; Ta Phong Tan, a blogger; and Vi Duc Hoi, a former party official.
Cu Huy Ha Vu, Nguyen Xuan Nghia, and Vi Duc Hoi are currently in prison. Ho Thi Bich Khuong was arrested on January 15, 2011, on an unknown charge and remains in detention.
Phan Thanh Hai has been detained since October 18 for allegedly conducting propaganda against the state. Ta Phong Tan was arrested on September 5 on an unknown charge.
Nguyen Bac Truyen, after serving 42 months in prison, is living under a post-release order that severely restricts his freedom of movement. Only Le Tran Luat is not in detention, but he faces intrusive police surveillance every day.
“I passionately hope that freedom and democracy will come to my people so that everybody can enjoy human rights like in other progressive countries,” Ho Thi Bich Khuong said. “In this struggle, your support is not only a source of encouragement, but also a contribution to the nation and the people of Vietnam.”
The Hellman-Hammett grants are given annually to writers around the world who have been targets of political persecution or human rights abuses. A distinguished selection committee awards the cash grants to honor and assist writers whose work and activities have been suppressed by repressive government policies.
The grants are named for the American playwright Lillian Hellman and her longtime companion, the novelist Dashiell Hammett. Both were questioned by US congressional committees about their political beliefs and affiliations during the aggressive anti-communist investigations inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. Hellman suffered professionally and had trouble finding work. Hammett spent time in prison.
In 1989, the trustees appointed in Hellman’s will asked Human Rights Watch to devise a program to help writers who were targeted for expressing views that their governments oppose, for criticizing government officials or actions, or for writing about subjects that their governments did not want reported.
