New Horizon Radio (Chan Troi Moi) by Nguyen Hoang Thanh Tam
Saigon, July 5, 2007
Greetings all listeners, this is Nguyen Hoang Thanh Tam bringing to you with a special report and latest updates on the ongoing protest by aggrieved citizens from Tien Giang province and many nearby provinces in front of the National Assembly Office II.
Today is Thursday, July 5, 2007. The protest has extended to day thirteen. Despite going on for nearly two weeks the strength of the protest has not subsided, as you can hear from the recorded audio.
Early this morning, we were able to speak with Ms. Thao, a youth from Saigon who is present at the scene to help the aggrieved citizens and to bring us the latest news update. Ms. Thao reported that as of today, the number of people gathered here from all the local provinces has reached over a thousand. Personally, Ms. Thao was discovered by the plain-clothed police officers and they have been following her closely, monitoring her every move since this morning.
We invite you to listen to the following interview with Ms. Thao.
NHTT: Greetings Ms. Thao. Today is Thursday, 5th of July. Can you tell us what is happening around the National Assembly Office II?
Ms. Thao: This is the thirteenth day that the people have gathered here. Right behind me is a young man who’s watching me being on the phone, but there are many people around to protect me so I’m not afraid. He’s trying to listen to what I’m saying.
NHTT: Is the young man wearing a police uniform or plain clothing? Who do you think he is?
Ms. Thao: He’s wearing plain clothing. He’s wearing slacks, a chemise shirt, around 30 years old. He’s standing right next to me.
NHTT: Do you think he’s an undercover police man?
Ms. Thao: I’m sure he is.
NHTT: How are the people reacting to this?
Ms. Thao: The people are calling out slogans, protesting. This man kept following me. It (National Assembly Office II) is closed right now. No one is allowed to use the bathroom and entrance is denied. Therefore, a lot of the people are very distraught. Can you hear me clearly?
NHTT: Yes, I can hear you clearly. Earlier, we heard you speaking with a few elders standing next to you about the young man that you suspect is an undercover policeman following you around. What did the person next to you say?
Ms. Thao: Right now, there are other young men with cameras coming here to film me.
NHTT: Miss Thao, with the police monitoring the protest very closely and they are especially paying close attention to you, do you feel discouraged and want to give up what you are currently doing?
Ms. Thao: No, I am not discouraged. I am with the people who are demanding justice. I don’t mind this at all. I am with them to share their pain and suffering. Here, speak to this sister.
NHTT: Hello sister, this is Nguyen Hoang Thanh Tam calling from Australia. I am a reporter for the New Horizon Radio.
Ms. Hoa: This is Cao Que Hoa, I am a citizen from Tien Giang here asking for justice. I am one of the people that suffered the most. On June 30th, the police from the District 6 of Ho Chi Minh City conspired with the police from Tien Giang to arrest me in an unjust and brutal way. I want to expose the brutality of the police from District 6 who have conspired with the police from Tien Giang in order to exercise fear and intimidation on me, Cao Que Hoa, and Ms. Le Thi Nguyet, another Tien Giang citizen. On that day, we were forced to strip our clothes off from the police’s detention post of District 6 at 114 Dam Van Chi, all the way to the police’s detention post of Tien Giang. At Tien Giang, we were told to put on our clothes. And I was handcuffed like a criminal. To this day, they have not explained to me what crime I have committed. I’d like to end here.
NHTT: How is your health after your release from detention until now?
Ms. Hoa: I am still sick and do not feel well. All of my possessions have been confiscated by the Party members who are protected by the Justice Department of Tien Giang and by the government authority above that, the People’s Committee of Tien Giang Province. Therefore, I am very distraught. My rights were severely violated and I felt I was robbed of the democratic process and my civil rights on June 30th.
NHTT: Can you tell us what is happening right now?
Ms. Thao: Today, people are steadfastly fighting, using speakers and microphone speak their voices and protest against the corruptive authorities of Tien Giang and nearby provinces. The corruption lies within the infrastructure of the government. I don’t understand the reason why Nguyen Tan Dung goes around the world promising that he will fight corruption. But on June 30th, at the police detention post of Tien Giang, I cried “Oh Nguyen Tan Dung! Where are you fighting the corruption and why did you leave Tien Giang out of it?” I am very distraught and saddened when the police treated the aggrieved citizens in such brutal and unjust ways.
NHTT: Can you tell us how many people are present?
Ms. Hoa: There are 7 provinces present, first is Tien Giang, then Binh Duong, Ben Tre, Long An, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, An Giang. It’s very crowded, more than 1000 people here and they are all yelling “Down with the corruptive government. Down with the corruptive authorities in Tien Giang”. People from other provinces are chanting similar slogans. It is getting really noisy. They are calling “Government, help us!” in addition to “Corruptive Regime”.
NHTT: Ms. Hoa, over the last few days, we have spoken with Ms. Thao, a young woman from Saigon who came to support the people in addition to helping us delivering the news of the protest abroad. Our talk will be broadcasted back to Vietnam today. Do you have anything you would like to say to the people of Saigon listening to this special report?
Ms. Hoa: Please use human compassion and support us in the next few days so that we can claim our legal rights, claim our human rights in a legitimate way. I hope to receive the support from people inside and abroad to help us continue to have the means to claim back our legal possessions that have been illegally confiscated by the corruptive authorities.
NHTT: Greetings listeners, right after we spoke with Ms Cao Que Hoa, her phone line was cut. We tried to reconnect by calling different phone numbers of Ms. Thao, Ms. Hoa, and others who are present at the scene, but all we were able to receive was a message “The person you are calling cannot be reached at this time…” Is it possible that the police have used a device to block cell phone signal, preventing anyone from making or receiving phone calls? This is method that they have used before to prevent the democracy activists from communicating with the outside world.
We will continue to follow the events and find out what happened and will try to reconnect the communication channel in order to bring you the latest updates in the coming days.
Good bye and we will return to you soon with the next special report.
