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On June 16,2013 Vietnamese police defrocked/tortured Khmer-Krom monk Ven. Ly Chanda of Prey Chop Temple in Lai Hoa, Vinh Chau, Soc Trang province. June 20,2013 Venerable Thach Thuol and Abbot Temple Lieu Ny of Ta Set temple (Soc Trang-Khleang province) defrocked and imprisoned in Prey Nokor (Saigon) city by the Viet authorities. In Phnor Dach (Cau Ngang) district, Preah Trapang/Tra Vinh) Khmer Krom prohibited from watching Cambodian TV signals.

UNPO Exposes Human Rights Abuses in Cambodia and Viet Nam

UNPO has submitted reports to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in anticipation of the Universal Periodic Review of the Kingdom of Cambodia and Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. These reports focus shed light on the marginalisation of the Khmer-Kampuchea Krom, Hmong and Degar-Montagnards.

The United Nations (UN) Universal Periodic Review is a mechanism which assess UN member countries’ human rights performance. Every four and a half years the situation of human rights within a state is assessed, and both Cambodia and Viet Nam are up for review at the 18th session in early 2014.

Despite the difference in countries, there is some overlap in the human rights issues. Specifically, in neither country has the indigenous status of any member been recognised, nor does either country possess an effective mechanism for processing land claims, and land-grabbing and dispossession and common practices. Moreover, religious persecution exists both in Cambodia and Viet Nam, and it has been associated with abuse by law enforcement officers, arbitrary arrests, indefinite detentions, extrajudicial torture, and the forced defrocking of monks.

Furthermore, in Viet Nam traditional Khmer names (of people, villages, districts and provinces) must be substituted with Vietnamese names, and the Khmer language is considered illegal under the constitution. Vietnamese authorities further repress the Khmer by censoring Khmer activist websites, and cultural and religious television broadcasts from abroad. Education in indigenous languages is also prohibited in most schools, and when allowed, textbooks are poorly written and ridden with mistakes. Imported textbooks are banned.

In Cambodia, the government bureaucracy makes it nearly impossible for Khmer Krom or Degar-Montagnard asylum seekers to be granted refugee status or identification cards. The requirement of unrealistic criteria (such as a permanent address in Cambodia) effectively prohibits the acquisition of such statuses. And when the refugees are able to satisfy the stringent criteria, often the authorities illegally force Khmer Krom to adopt a Cambodian name and perjure their place of birth to Cambodia. Additionally, the Cambodian state has pressured a refugee centre operated by the UN to shut down, decreasing transparency in how Cambodia deals with refugees.

UNPO’s reports make a series of recommendations to the HRC, including to:
[Viet Nam & Cambodia] Formally acknowledge and confirm the indigenous status of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom peoples, as well as that of the Christian Degar Montagnards;

[Viet Nam & Cambodia] Create an effective mechanism for the settlement of outstanding land claims by indigenous groups, and compensate those groups for the loss of their ancestral lands, as stipulated by Article 8 of the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

[Viet Nam & Cambodia] Commit to investigating widespread allegations of abuse by law enforcement, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial torture, and explore possible judicial remedies for victims and their families.

[Viet Nam & Cambodia] Sign and ratify International Labour Organization Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, with the aim of respecting the traditions of indigenous peoples in relation to the use of their ancestral lands;

[Viet Nam] Amend domestic law provisions that criminalizes certain religious activities on the basis of vaguely-defined crimes of national security

[Viet Nam] Permit outside experts, including those from the United Nations and independent international human rights organizations, to have access to indigenous and minority communities in Vietnam;

[Cambodia] Afford refugee status, and the protections it entails, to all individuals, including Khmer Krom and Degar individuals, who satisfy the internationally accepted definition of a refugee. This includes ceasing the forced repatriations of Degar and Khmer Krom asylum seekers;

[Cambodia] Clarify the situation regarding the granting of citizenship to Khmer Krom individuals with authorising offices and officers, including what evidence is needed and what practices are not to be tolerated.


Source: http://www.unpo.org/article/16105
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Access submits UPR report on Vietnam: Cyber attacks on civil society a key concern

3:57pm | 19 June 2013 | by Connor Gadek
Deborah Brown contributed to this post


Access has partnered with ARTICLE 19, PEN International, and English PEN on a joint submission on Vietnam to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The submission focuses on the lack of improvement of human rights, specifically freedom of expression, in Vietnam since the last UPR in 2009, and highlights the Vietnamese government’s troubling response to the recent increase in cyber attacks against civil society.

The UPR was established in 2006 by the UN General Assembly to ensure the “fulfilment by each State of its human rights obligations.” The UPR is a mechanism to review the human rights record of all UN Member States and make recommendations for improvement every 4.5 years. Vietnam’s next review – when Access’ UPR submission will be taken into account – is scheduled for January 2014.

The submission notes that considerable limitations on free expression in Vietnam remain despite the fact that the Vietnamese government accepted a recommendation from the government of Sweden during its last review to “ensure that full respect for the freedom of expression, including on the Internet, is implemented.” Of particular concern is state controlled media and the lack of press freedom, restrictive legislation on freedom of expression, internet surveillance and cyber attacks on civil society, and the persecution of writers, journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders.

Cyber Attacks

In the second cycle, we highlight the fact that cyber attacks on civil society in Vietnam have recently escalated to include: Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, fake domains, account takeovers, and website defacement. The impact of these attacks extend far beyond those directly targeted. The attacks broadly infringe upon civil society’s freedom of association, freedom of expression, and right to access information which are established by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is party.

The report notes that pro-government actors in Vietnam have used DoS attacks to make independent media websites unavailable by falsely overloading the sites with internet traffic until they crash. The DoS attacks target websites that are either critical of the government or offer a platform for activists to organize, such as Facebook which is often inaccessible to many in Vietnam for varying lengths of time.

In Vietnam, pro-government actors have utilized fake domains to mirror the exact information of independent media websites while serving malware to their web visitors. The malware is used to implement key-loggers onto the visitor’s computer in order to access their private account information.

In addition, civil society organizations and activists in Vietnam have been subject to account takeovers. This is often accomplished through the use of malware-laden fake domains which breach an internet user’s digital security to access their private account information. On 26 May 2013, the government arrested Vietnamese blogger Truong Duy Nhat and his website was immediately compromised. Just after his arrest, visitors to his website would receive malware downloaded and installed onto their computers without the website visitor’s knowledge.

Website defacement has also been used in Vietnam as a tactic to suppress speech by changing the content of independent media websites’ to promote alternative views to the original content. These attacks are meant to delegitimize independent media and hinder activists’ ability to peacefully organize against government policies.

Recommendations

The UPR submission makes several important recommendations to the Vietnamese government on how to improve its treatment of digital rights and free expression. These include allowing online anonymity, allowing internet users to access blogs and websites outside of Vietnam, ending arbitrary surveillance of internet users, and ending any use of cyber attacks.

The review also requests that the Vietnamese government allow UN human rights experts, known as special rapporteurs, on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and on the situation of human rights defenders to visit and evaluate the current situation in Vietnam.

The UPR is the first mechanism put in place by the UN to address all human rights issues in all countries. This process is one of the few ways for NGOs to work with governments to improve human rights and hold them accountable to international law. Access is concerned by the ongoing violations of freedom of expression in Vietnam and the specific targeting of Vietnamese civil society, who use the internet to exercise their fundamental rights. We view Vietnam’s UPR as a valuable opportunity to engage the government on the global stage and to raise international pressure on Vietnam to protect and promote human rights, both online and off.
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Vietcongs police arrest anti-government blogger

HANOI | Fri Jun 14, 2013 5:06am EDT

Blogger Pham Viet Dao
(Reuters) - Vietnamese police have arrested an author and blogger for posting anti-government comments online, according to authorities, the latest in a crackdown on critics of the country's Communist rulers.

Pham Viet Dao, 61, was arrested on Thursday at his Hanoi home and accused of breaching a law prohibiting "abuse of democratic freedom" and "infringements against the state", according to the Ministry of Public Security.

If the case goes to trial and Dao is found guilty, he could face seven years in prison.

Dao has long been critical of Vietnam's one-party system. Like other bloggers bold enough to test the limits of Vietnam's constitutionally enshrined free speech, Dao has gained notoriety as internet usage grows and discontent simmers over the government's handling of a stale economy and rampant graft.

His arrest follows that of former journalist Truong Duy Nhat on May 26, who was also held under the same law.

The authorities have taken a harsh line on dissent, with arrests and convictions on the rise in the past three years and bloggers increasingly targeted as the number of web users soars to a third of Vietnam's estimated 90 million people.

The United States is keen to boost trade with Vietnam but has urged improvements in its human rights record as a prerequisite before strengthening defense and diplomatic ties.

In a June 5 address to Congress, the U.S. State Department's envoy for democracy, Daniel Baer, described Vietnam's crackdown on bloggers as part of "a years-long trend of deterioration".

(Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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Vietnam’s Prime Minister Slammed in Rare Confidence Vote

RFA - June 11,2013

Nguyen Tan Dung (L), Nguyen Phu Trong (C), Truong Tan Sang (R) in Hanoi, May 20, 2013.
Nearly one-third of Vietnam’s lawmakers have expressed dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s performance in the first ever confidence vote, state media reported Tuesday, amid reports of a power struggle within the leadership of the ruling communist party.

Several Vietnamese citizens told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that the vote was a sham, intended to cover up the government’s weaknesses and criticism over accountability, and reflected infighting within the administration.

Dung and 46 other top-ranking ministers and officials faced a vote of “high confidence,” “confidence,” or “low confidence” by secret ballot from the 498-member National Assembly, the country’s rubber stamp parliament, according to the official Vietnam News Agency.

Dung received more than 160 negative votes, representing more than 32 percent of assembly members—the third worst rating received by an official in the rare display of scrutiny.

President Truong Tan Sang, who is seen as the main political opponent to Dung, received only 28 negative votes. He also received the third highest number of “high confidence” votes compared to Dung’s rank of 25th.

Dung’s poor rating follows his admission last October that he had failed to effectively lead Vietnam’s economy out of turmoil just one week after he effectively escaped a leadership change at a crucial ruling Communist Party central committee meeting where he was publicly rebuked over a string of scandals that were traced back to the country’s leadership.

The vote provides a rare glimpse into how Sang’s popularity has grown while Dung struggles through his second term as prime minister, which will end in 2016.

Reports have said that the party is split between factions aligned with either the president or the prime minister.

The highest number of negative votes went to Nguyen Van Binh, Vietnam’s central bank governor, who received 209. The country’s education minister, Pham Vu Luan, was given 177 low confidence votes. The economy and the poor standard of schooling are the two highest items on the list of public concerns.

No officials received a rating of low confidence from two-thirds of the assembly which, according to ballot rules, could lead to their forced resignation.

The ballot also lacked a “no confidence” option for voters from the legislative body, where more than 90 percent of lawmakers are card-carrying members of the Communist Party.

The Vietnam News Agency quoted Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung as praising the vote, saying it “reflected exactly the current situation of the country, covering all aspects from society, foreign policy to national defence, security and justice.”

Official infighting

But sources told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that the general public considered the vote an indication of political infighting at the top levels of leadership, and otherwise offered no solution to the country’s problems.

“I think they are preparing for some kind of internal conflict and that the people don’t care about the vote,” said journalist Truong Minh Duc.

“The people do not participate in the National Assembly, so this is just for internal purposes … This is a vote by the Communist Party representatives, not by the people.”

Architect Tran Thanh Van, a prominent intellectual in Hanoi, called for a reevaluation of the system that places officials in positions of power so that the people are better represented.

“The issues of the voting system, how officials stand for election, and for the selection of candidates and representatives need to be addressed,” he said.

“The lawmakers need to be elected by the people before any votes take place within the National Assembly.”

A teacher named Pham Toan, called the vote “a mere joke” that failed to take the public sentiment into account.

“Why is the vote of confidence conducted by lawmakers that the people don’t have any confidence in,” Toan asked.

“The vote should have been taken by representatives that the people trust.”

Other sources complained that the government had provided no clear explanation of how it would deal with officials who received low confidence ratings.

‘Voiceless people’

In addition to its failure to right an ailing economy and education system, the Communist Party has faced criticism in January for proposing a constitutional revision widely seen as undemocratic.

Vietnamese authorities have also come under fire from human rights groups and some Western governments for jailing and harassing dozens of activists, bloggers, and citizen journalists since stepping up a crackdown on protests and freedom of expression online in recent years.

A female farmer who has repeatedly petitioned the government over losing her land without any resolution said that many Vietnamese had given up hope of having any say in their political future.

“We people at the bottom don’t know what is what. All we can do is hope that those at the top vote with our best interests in mind,” she said, speaking to RFA on condition of anonymity.

“We voiceless people can’t do anything.”

Reported by Viet Long for RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Long. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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