December 11, 2009
A massive mining project in central Vietnam has created one of the biggest civil protest movements the country has ever seen.
Domestic media outlets are banned from reporting on the proposed Bauxite mine, which critics say threatens major environmental damage, for little economic benefit.
But Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive pictures of the site, and spoken to some of the people opposed to its development.
Al Jazeera has this report from Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
Over the past several years, Vietnamese authorities have increasingly extended their mechanisms of control and repression far beyond the country’s borders. After unleashing an unprecedented wave of repression against citizen journalists, human rights defenders, and dissident voices inside Vietnam, the communist regime, under the leadership of General To Lam, is intensifying its actions against activists and opponents living abroad.
Over the past two years, the level of repression under Communist Party Chief To Lam, who holds the rank of Police General, has increased in severity against both citizens within the country and individuals in the Vietnamese diaspora.
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Viet Tan wishes to highlight a troubling reality: there is no genuine press freedom in Vietnam. All authorized media outlets operate under the strict control of the communist regime and are subject to systematic censorship.
The newly “elected” President of Vietnam, To Lam, is making an official visit to China from April 14 to 17. This trip sends a clear political signal: Hanoi is becoming further dependent on Beijing for its legitimacy.
