— Try to Stop Democracy Activists from Organizing
(Viet Tan Press Release)
In the latest attempt to repress Vietnam’s growing democracy movement, security police on the morning of October 15, 2006 detained Do Nam Hai, Nguyen Chinh Ket, and Phuong Thi at a coffee shop in Saigon. The three democracy activists were reportedly planning to meet Dr. Nguyen Dan Que to discuss the formation of the Democracy and Human Rights Alliance.
After being questioned all day at the public security office of Ward 9, Phu Nhuan district, Saigon, Nguyen Chinh Ket was escorted home by 20 security officials who confiscated two computers. Both he and Do Nam Hai were ordered to appear in subsequent days for further “working sessions.” Do Nam Hai, one of the principal organizers of the Democracy and Human Rights Alliance, has been repeatedly detained and interrogated. On October 11, while Do Nam Hai was away, security police tricked his parents to allow them into the family’s home and illegally remove the motherboard in his computer.
In a troubling sign, four Vietnamese democracy activists arrested in August—Nguyen Ngoc Quang, Vu Hoang Hai, Truong Quoc Huy, and Pham Ba Hai—have been formally charged with “propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam government” under article 88 of the penal code. They had signed the “2006 Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam” and engaged in discussions over the Internet supporting democracy. Meanwhile, six members of the People’s Democratic Party, including Dr. Le Nguyen Sang, journalist Huynh Nguyen Dao and Le Trung Hieu, remain in jail for also advocating peaceful democratic change.
Despite the official repression, the Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam was officially announced in a declaration dated October 16, 2006 (Vietnam time). The Alliance intends to coordinate the activities of Vietnamese individuals and groups inside and outside the country toward the common objective of achieving democracy through peaceful means.
In the coming days, the communist regime will find many ways to prevent the People Power in Vietnam from growing. This is the time when the international community must stand with the Vietnamese people and support the groundswell for democracy.