Contact: Duy Hoang
+1 (202) 470-0845
Since September last year, the Vietnamese government has unleashed a concerted campaign against independent journalists and bloggers. Using charges of “propaganda against the state” and “undermining national security,” Hanoi has arrested scores of citizen journalists for criticizing the government’s mining of bauxite and handling of sovereignty disputes with China:
- • September 2008: Eight pro-democracy activists were arrested for posting articles on the internet and reportedly planning to hang banners asserting Vietnamese sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. These include Nguyen Xuan Nghia, Nguyen Van Tuc, Ngo Quynh, Nguyen Van Tinh, Nguyen Kim Nhan, Nguyen Manh Son, Pham Thanh Nghien and Vu Hung. Also in September, Blogger Nguyen Van Hai, known as Dieu Cay, was sentenced to jail for “tax evasion” after he had planned a peaceful rally against the Beijing Olympic torch relay.
- May 2009: Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, known by his blogging name ChangeWeNeed, was arrested for critical internet postings and peaceful political organizing.
- August 2009: Bui Thanh Hieu, who blogs under the name Nguoi Buon Gio (Wind Trader), was arrested for criticizing government’s policies on China. Journalist Huy Duc was dismissed from his state-run newspaper after writing about the Berlin Wall on his personal blog, Osin. Journalist Pham Doan Trang, who has a blog and writes for the online newspaper VietnamNet, was detained after criticizing the harassment of Vietnamese journalists by Chinese embassy officials. Blogger Sphinx was detained for posting on his blog a picture of himself wearing a T-shirt saying “Paracel and Spratly islands belong to Vietnam.”
- September 1, 2009: Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, alias blogger Me Nam (Mother Mushroom), was arrested. She had also posted pictures wearing a “stop bauxite mining in Vietnam” t-shirt.
Viet Tan strongly condemns this systematic campaign against freedom of expression by the Vietnamese government.
We encourage the international community to demand the Vietnamese government to immediately release all the detained bloggers and internet activists.
Supporters of human rights in the United States should encourage your representative to support House Resolution 672, calling on the Vietnamese Government to release imprisoned bloggers and respect internet freedom.
All Vietnamese citizens must have the right to broadcast information and voice their opinions on issues of national importance, whether it is corruption, the environment, or Vietnamese territorial sovereignty.
