January 20, 2010
A group of democracy activists are facing the death penalty in Vietnam, accused of carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the communist regime. Their trial, which began on Wedensday has sparked international outrage, with politicians from Europe and the United States calling for their immediate release.
Presenter: Girish Sawlani
Speakers: 
Dr Phong Nguyen, Central Committee member Vietnam Reform Party Viet Tan Professor Carl Thayer, University of New South Wales
SAWLANI: It’s one of the highest profile cases involving democracy activists in Vietnam. Nguyen Tien Trung, Le Cong Dinh and Tran Huynh Duy were arrested in Ho Chi Minh City between May and July last year. The initial charge was spreading propaganda against the state. A fourth man, Le Thang Long was also arrested but on a lesser charge of assisting his fellow defendants. According to Vietnamese state media, Trung, Dinh and Duy are now facing the death penalty – after prosecutors pushed for more serious charges of subversion.
The Thanh Nien daily reports the three main defendants allegedly prepared dozens of anti state documents and blogs – and propagated the liquidation of the communist party by 2020. Vietnam analyst, Professor Carl Thayer from the University of New South Wales, says any efforts to overthrow the single-party regime would bring about stern reactions.
THAYER: These four dissidents have taken pro-democracy advocacy a step further by organising a political party, the Democratic Party of Vietnam, meeting overseas in Thailand with representatives of organisations that the Vietnamese government considers reactionary or terrorist. Mapping a peaceful political strategy and tactics to challenge the Communist Party at the time of the global financial crisis and specifically to target dissidents within the Communist Party in the hopes of winning their support. From the security apparatus’ point of view, peaceful evolution or an attempt at a colour revolution that’s overthrown socialist regimes, and thus the harsh reactions.
SAWLANI: Democracy activists abroad have reacted angrily to the latest developments, and believe the four defendants won’t receive a fair trial. Dr Phong Nguyen is a Sydney-based central committee member of the outlawed Vietnam Reform Party.
NGUYEN: These trials are closed door trials and it’s a completely kangaroo court. Basically, all the charges are pre-determined and the sentences are pre-determined. There will never be any witness to be called and international observers are rarely permitted. So these trials will never be fair.
SAWLANI: He says his party will continue to push for democracy from within and beyond Vietnam.
NGUYEN: We are calling on the international community to exert more pressure on the Vietnamese government to respect freedom of speech and freedom of expression. And also we are actively working with people inside the country as well, to support them, and basically extend our influence by empowering the people to express themselves and basically able to engage in more political discussion and civic engagement.
SAWLANI: The international community has indeed reacted, with condemnation from the United States and the European Union. But the Vietnamese government appears intent on sending a clear message to dissidents in an effort to protect the state’s communist ideology….as Vietnam Analyst Professor Carl Thayer explains.
THAYER: A year from now, Vietnam will hold its 11th National Party Congress and during the course of this year, a political pre-selection process will occur to select delegates and that will occur at grassroots provincial level. In the past, liberals or progressives inside the party have used the National Congress and its policy documents to push the envelope of reform and non-party dissidents and pro-democracy activists on the outside have used the opportunity to comment on policy documents to urge change. And so my estimation is that conservatives and ideologues in the party are using this trial to silence ad pre-empt that discussion.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/asiapac/stories/201001/s2797323.htm
