In Vietnam, weary apparatchiks launch quiet revolution

BY MARTIN PETTY
HANOI Thu Nov 28, 2013

Vietnam's National Assembly's deputies press voting buttons to pass the new constitution during a meeting in Hanoi November 28, 2013.

(Reuters) - The Vietnam of today wasn't what Le Hieu Dang had hoped for when he joined the Communist Party 40 years ago to liberate and rebuild a country reeling from decades of war and French and U.S. occupation.

The socialist system of the late revolutionary Ho Chi Minh has been corrupted, he says, by a shift to a market economy tightly controlled by one political party that has given rise to a culture of graft and vested interests.

"I fought in the war for a better society, a fair life for people. But after the war, the country has worsened, the workers are poor, the farmers have lost their land," Dang told Reuters.

"It's unacceptable. We have a political monopoly and a dictatorship running this country."

Opinions like this might be normal in many countries. But in Vietnam, where politics is taboo, free speech is stifled and the image of unity in the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) sacrosanct, analysts say the significance of comrades speaking out publicly cannot be understated.

The CPV-dominated National Assembly on Thursday approved amendments to a 1992 constitution that, despite a public consultation campaign, entrench the party's grip on power at a time when discontent simmers over its handling of land disputes, corruption and an economy suffocated by toxic debt amassed by state-run firms.

Dang is vehemently against the amendments, and not alone in his views, which are of the kind that have landed dozens of people in jail as part of a crackdown that's intensified as dissent has risen and internet usage soared to a third of the 90 million population.

Draconian cyber laws were tightened further on Wednesday, when the government announced a 100 million dong ($4,740) fine for anyone who criticizes it on social media.

But what has jolted the party is that the loudest voices calling for a more pluralist system are coming not from the general public, but from within its own ranks, an open act of mutiny not seen since the CPV took power of a reunified Vietnam in 1975, after the communists' triumph over U.S. forces.

"Vietnam has entered a new phase. The existence of rivalries within the party is already known, but it's now more transparent in a way never seen in the past," said Jonathan London, a Vietnam expert at City University in Hong Kong.

"The rise of this group and its advice will influence the tenor of party discussion. What's clear is this is a period of uncertainty and competition."

CRISIS AND DEADLOCK

This year, Dang and 71 others, among them intellectuals, bloggers and current and former CPV apparatchiks, drafted their own version of the constitution, in response to a routine public feedback campaign ostensibly aimed at placating people and boosting the party's dwindling legitimacy.

Their draft was posted online and 15,000 people signed an accompanying petition calling for the scrapping of Article 4, which enshrines the CPV's political monopoly.

But lawmakers did the opposite and redrafted the article to expand the CPV's leadership role and the military's duty to protect it. In a summary of 26 million public opinions on the draft, a commission of the National Assembly said the majority of Vietnamese supported one-party rule.

"Theoretically, democracy is not synonymous with pluralism," the commission said in a report in May. "No one can affirm that multiple political parties are better than one party."

On Thursday, not a single lawmaker rejected the new draft, which expanded Article 4 to state the party is "the vanguard of the Vietnamese workers, people and nation".

A draft of the amendments, published weeks ago, outraged opponents.

The initial 72 democracy advocates were joined by others and 165 of them, including retired government officials, published a statement on the Internet two weeks ago warning lawmakers to reject the amendments.

They said if National Assembly members passed the amendments, they would be complicit in a "crime against the country and its people" and would "only push the country deeper into crisis and deadlock".

'BRIDGING ROLE'

Many of the party's open critics took part in the wars to liberate Vietnam from Western powers in the 1950s, '60s and '70s and have become new revolutionaries of sorts, confronting issues that most Vietnamese are afraid to discuss.

Nguyen Quang A was once part of an advisory think-tank which disbanded itself after the government introduced laws that limited the scope of its work five years ago.

It included former CPV members, diplomats, businessmen and academics. But they stay in touch at monthly meetings to debate social, economic and political issues, some of which they address in commentaries posted online.

"We want to create an environment to facilitate the emergence of other political forces and put forward a process to transition from dictatorship to democracy," he told Reuters.

"We hope some of our members can play a bridging role to make the party listen to us. It takes time, but we have to pressure them to change and convince people not to be afraid."

Dang and his CPV allies are going a step further. They plan to remain in the party so they can drum up support from disenchanted members to set up an opposition party to scrutinize the CPV's policies and keep it in check.

Despite their fierce rhetoric, they insist the plan to set up the Social Democratic Party is not an attempt to overthrow the ruling party but an attempt to create a more liberal coexistence between parties that would benefit the country.

Ho Ngoc Nhuan, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the Fatherland Front, the CPV's umbrella group that manages big organizations under Marxist-Leninist principles, said the feedback campaign and constitution amendments were a "tragic comedy" that showed the party was out of touch with the people.

It was time, he said, to shake up Vietnamese politics.

"We face many problems in Vietnam, big crises, so how can we solve it with one all-powerful party? We have to get their attention, so we're calling comrades in the party to join us so we can break this chain," Nhuan said, admitting that it was proving difficult to convince them.

"The new generation can't explain socialism to us anymore. They're called the Communist Party, but they no longer believe in their own ideology."

(Editing by Robert Birsel)
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Vietnam Announces Big Fines for Social Media Propaganda

Reuters - November 27, 2013

HANOI — Vietnam will hand out fines of 100 million dong ($4,740) to anyone criticizing the government on social media, under a new law announced this week, the latest measure in a widening crackdown on dissent by the country's communist rulers.

Comments that did not constitute criminal offenses would trigger fines if held to be “propaganda against the state”, or spreading “reactionary ideology,” according to the law signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Vietnam has repeatedly drawn fire for the harsh treatment and lengthy jail terms it has given to bloggers who criticized its one-party regime. The number of arrests and convictions has soared in the last four years.

The new decree is vaguely worded and did not say what comments amounted to a criminal offense, which can be punished with prison, or an “administrative violation” that rates a fine.

Internet penetration is soaring in a country of an estimated 90 million people, a third of whom use the Internet and about 20 million of whom have Facebook accounts, a report published at a seminar on information technology in Ho Chi Minh City in September showed.

A Vietnamese Facebook user who campaigned online for the release of his brother jailed for criticizing the government fell foul of the same law and was last month sentenced to 15 months of house arrest.

Rights groups and foreign governments have come down hard on Vietnam over its draconian cyber laws, including the United States, which has urged Vietnam to improve its human rights record to strengthen its case for stronger trade ties.

Media freedom campaigners Reporters Without Borders calls the country “an enemy of the Internet.”

The law would anger social media users, said Nguyen Lan Thang, a well-known Vietnamese Internet activist, who questioned the need for it.

“How could the government be destroyed by comments and the sharing of information on personal social media?” Thang said.

The decree also said anyone posting online a map of Vietnam inconsistent with the country's sovereignty claims faced fines.

The issue is hugely sensitive in Vietnam, where China's perceived encroachment of territory generates the kind of quiet anger experts say Vietnam's government wants to rein in.
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Vietnam Wins Human Rights Seat Despite Tainted Record

The Diplomat, by Luke Hunt - November 15,2013

NGOs are skeptical about the UN’s odd choices for upcoming Human Rights Council.

Earlier this year, Global Witness scored international headlines with a telling report on illegal land grabbing in Cambodia and Laos by Vietnamese companies and the extraordinary damage these companies had inflicted on the environment from which they profited.

The report, Rubber Barons, claimed that Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) and another Vietnamese company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), were the biggest offenders and that both were partially supported by Deutsche Bank through Vietnam-based funds.

HAGL also has investment from the International Financial Corporation (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank. Both Vietnamese companies have denied any wrongdoing. Deutsche Bank and the IFC said they would study the findings.

However, Global Witness now says HAGL has failed to keep to commitments to address environmental and human rights abuses in its plantations in Cambodia and Laos and it now poses a financial and reputational risk to its investors, including Deutsche Bank and the IFC and recommends they divest.

“HAGL has been very good at making commitments but very bad at keeping them. It’s been busy telling us and everyone else it’s serious about changing its ways, but the evidence indicates that logging is still carrying on and the people whose farms were bulldozed are still struggling to feed themselves,” said Global Witness spokesman Megan MacInnes.

Both companies are state-backed by the Vietnamese government, which was also raising eyebrows this week after it was elected to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council despite its own atrocious record on the issue.

Vietnam was not the only dubious appointment and Hanoi will take up the three-year posting on January 1 alongside China, Russia, Algeria and Cuba – casting doubts on the United Nations and its ability to meet its own charter on human rights.

Given Vietnam’s negative attitude toward dissent, directed at bloggers in particular, their appointment should be the cause of acute embarrassment for the world body and the countries that do their best to adhere to international standards on human rights.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, said he believed Vietnam could only play a negative role.

“I hope the government of Vietnam will prove me wrong, but up to date we haven’t seen any sort of indication that the government of Vietnam is going to change its policies because (of) the election to the Human Rights Council,” he told Voice of America.

Given Hanoi’s attitudes to its own companies – like HAGL and VRG – and the shenanigans they’re responsible for on the international business front, groups like Human Rights Watch and Global Witness have good reason to be cynical about Vietnam’s appointment to the coveted seat.
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Vietnam's deputy prime ministers: Party People

The Economist - Nov 18th 2013, 3:24 by M.I. | HANOI

Nguyen Tan Dung, Truong Tan Sang, Nguyen Phu Trong (left to right)

SOME Western advocacy groups imply, in their regular harangues of Vietnam's human-rights record, that the country is run by an all-powerful and well-oiled authoritarian regime. The truth, however, appears to be more complicated.

It is clear to analysts that the Ministry of Public Security operates a vast surveillance apparatus designed to silence political dissident—even on Facebook—and that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has major influence over key policy decisions. To wit: his emergency directives earlier this month helped to evacuate successfully nearly 800,000 people from coastal areas ahead of Typhoon Haiyan. Relief agencies praised his efficiency and foresight.

Yet the government is also, like a schoolyard, full of turf wars. Some provincial officials chafe at central directives, for example, while ministries openly undercut each other. And inside the ruling Communist Party, Mr Dung is said to be embroiled in a tug-of-war with a rival party faction led by Truong Tan Sang, the president, and Nguyen Phu Trong, the party's general secretary. Adam Fforde, a Vietnam specialist at Victoria University in Australia, wonders aloud if the country is a "land without a king."

However, the state-controlled press occasionally tosses out crumbs of information that indicate which politicians are advancing, or vice versa, through Hanoi’s opaque bureaucracies and vast patronage networks. A case in point was the appointment by the National Assembly, on November 13th, of two new deputy prime ministers. With the apparent blessing of Mr Dung and the Communist Party’s elite Politburo, the assembly chose Vu Duc Dam, a former assistant to a previous prime minister, and Pham Binh Minh, the current minister of foreign affairs. A current DPM, Nguyen Thien Nhan, has been dismissed and moved to the comparatively unglamorous position of heading the Homeland, or Fatherland, Front, an organisation tasked with mobilising support for the regime and selecting National Assembly candidates.

Seasoned observers say the reshuffle suggests a few interesting things about Vietnamese politics. The main takeaway is that Mr Dung appears to be reasserting his influence after rebounding from months of heavy internal criticism. A year ago he was forced by his rivals to publicly apologize for mismanaging the economy, but he is now filling his cabinet with loyal and highly competent allies. He may have his eye on 2016, when he will step down as prime minister but could remain in the Politburo. Although not all DPMs are Politburo members, the general view is that it certainly wouldn’t hurt Mr Dung to have some of his closest associates in top government positions.

Neither Mr Dam or Mr Minh are in the running for the premiership in 2016, in analysts’ view, and Mr Minh never will be because he is a career diplomat who doesn't have a wide-enough political base. But Mr Dam, who was until recently chairman of the government office—the rough equivalent to an American president's chief of staff—could eventually become a candidate for both the top job and a seat on the 16-member Politburo. Tuong Vu at the University of Oregon, in America, says the politician with a better chance of becoming prime minister in 2016 is the current first DPM, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is already a Politburo member.

However, Mr Minh has retained his position as head of the foreign ministry, and his DPM election could help allay lingering concerns among top Vietnamese officials that the country can't pursue an effective foreign policy if its foreign ministry lacks pull in the Politburo. Mr Minh, who has a graduate degree in law and diplomacy from Tufts University, in America, and has served as a diplomat in both New York and Washington, is not yet a candidate for the Politburo, and he may never be. But Professor Vu said last week that Mr Minh’s DPM appointment would be a “compromise solution” designed to raise the ministry’s profile.

It is difficult to predict whether or to what extent Mr Minh's new title will have any direct bearing on Vietnam's human-rights record or its negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an American-led free-trade agreement involving a dozen countries. (America’s treasury secretary, Jacob J. Lew, visited Hanoi on November 14 to help drum up support for it.) Equally unknown is who will get the premier nod in 2016. Analysts say it probably won’t be Nguyen Thien Nhan, the recently departed DPM. Some see Mr Nhan’s dismissal as both a sidelining and a reflection on his allegedly poor performance as education minister.

It is clear, however, that Vietnam’s 90m people won't be consulted on the Party’s next choice of prime minister, or for that matter, anything else; the government still does not allow free elections. Party congresses are effectively closed to the media, and following Hanoi politics is perhaps a bit like watching a football match through the wrong spectacles: The pitch and the general outlines of the action are clear enough, but not the footwork or the tackles.
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U.N. Court Rules for Cambodia in Temple Dispute With Thailand

By THOMAS FULLER
Published: November 11, 2013

BANGKOK — The International Court of Justice on Monday handed Cambodia a partial victory in its territorial dispute with Thailand over the land surrounding an ancient temple along the country’s border.

The court, the top judicial body of the United Nations, said in its judgment that Cambodia had sovereignty over the immediate area around Preah Vihear Temple — the promontory on which it sits. But the court left unresolved who controls a larger disputed area, where Cambodian and Thai troops have clashed in recent years.

Thailand, the court said, is “under an obligation to withdraw from that territory the Thai military or police forces, or other guards or keepers, that were stationed there.”

Nationalist groups have urged the Thai government not to respect the verdict. In a nationally televised speech after news of the decision, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the government would negotiate further on the issue with Cambodia.

Ownership of the temple and its surrounding areas, a dispute that dates back decades, is an emotional one and has been used by politicians on both sides of the border to stoke nationalist feelings.

Cambodia was awarded sovereignty over the temple itself in a 1962 decision by the same court, based in The Hague, and Monday’s judgment clarified that decision.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia was drawn by French officials in the early 20th century.

News services reported that Cambodia’s foreign minister, Hor Namhong, had said the ruling was “good enough.”

Yuthasak Sasiprapha, Thailand’s deputy defense minister, said Thai troops stationed near the border would “stay where they are,” pending further talks with Cambodia.
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VOA Exclusive: US Official Says Vietnam Must Progress on Rights to Deepen US Ties

Michael Lipin, VOA News
November 06, 2013

A senior U.S. diplomat says Vietnam must make "demonstrable progress" on human rights in the coming months, if it wants to deepen its relationship with the United States, a former wartime foe.

In an exclusive interview with VOA, acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Scott Busby said he stressed the importance of human rights to Vietnamese officials on a trip to Vietnam last week.

Busby visited the country from October 29 to November 2, traveling to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to meet representatives of the government and Vietnamese civil society groups.

US calls for action

In an interview Wednesday, Busby said the United States needs Vietnam to show signs of progress on human rights in the "near term."

"Such signs would include releasing some people who have been detained or imprisoned for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression; signing, ratifying and implementing the convention against torture, lifting any and all restrictions on the Internet, enhancing the state of religious freedom, and allowing civil society to operate freely," said Busby.

Busby said he also "strongly encouraged" Vietnam to begin working with four international rights investigators appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The Vietnamese government's Washington embassy did not provide a comment on the talks with Busby when contacted by VOA.

Vietnam's position

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang recently said his government has made "sustained efforts to protect and promote human rights." He made the comment in a landmark meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on July 25.

The meeting earned Sang the honor of being only the second Vietnamese leader to hold talks with a U.S. president in Washington since the former enemies normalized relations in 1995.

Sang said Vietnam and the United States still have differences on human rights and held "straightforward, open discussions" on the matter.

Some U.S. lawmakers and rights groups accuse the Vietnamese government of intensifying repression of political dissidents and religious figures in recent years.

Focussing on arrests

Busby said arrests and harassment of Vietnamese social activists were a "primary topic" of his meetings with government officials.

"They did share some information about who was arrested and who was in custody and why they were in custody. I would say, as a general matter, the government officials characterized all of their actions as efforts to enforce their laws and to protect their national security," he said.

He said protecting the work of Vietnamese civil society groups is a high priority for Washington.

"We are stressing to the government the importance of the activities that civil society is engaged in, whether it is religious practice, exercising rights to free speech, working on human rights issues, or organizing humanitarian activities. We have clearly indicated the esteem in which we hold these activities. We do provide some programmatic support to civil society as well, although I can't get into the details," said Busby.

Engaging Vietnamese activists

Busby said he met with a "wide array" of civil society members and was impressed by what he called their "energy, optimism and courage" in the face of government restrictions.

Busby said those constraints affected how he conducted his meetings.

"One does have to tread carefully. The government is not allowing civil society to do all that it wants to. And indeed there were some individuals who were not able to meet with me because of those restrictions. We did not inform the government of whom we were meeting with. We went ahead and tried to meet with whoever was willing to meet with us," he said.

One Vietnamese blogger who met the U.S. official in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday is Pham Chi Dung. Speaking to VOA by phone, Pham said he tried to help Busby understand what he and other activists want to achieve.

Rights movement's aims

"The main goal of civil society in Vietnam is to help resolve social, economic and political issues. 'Civil society' helps to voice people's concerns regarding the nation's sovereignty, basic human rights, land rights of farmers and legitimate rights of workers, as well as [their concerns about] corruption," said Pham.

Pham said those who want to help Vietnamese activists should be careful about the kind of assistance they provide.

"Vietnam's civil society does not want financial support from the United States or any foreign country, but rather moral support for civil society-related activities such as establishing civic culture or civic forums both online and offline. If we get support financially, we will be accused of receiving money from foreign countries with the aim of overthrowing the government," he said.

Burma's example

Pham said he told Busby that Burma is the best regional model for Vietnam to follow in terms of democratic development. A Burmese civilian government took office in 2011, ending decades of military rule and initiating political reforms that have won growing support from the West.

Busby said he discussed Burma as one model of a transition from an authoritarian to a free society.

"I don't remember discussing it as the best [model], because there are other examples like Indonesia that I think could be drawn on. We did talk about the positive developments in Burma and what might be learned from how that could be applied to Vietnam," he said.

UN cooperation

Busby said Vietnamese officials also promised to receive a visit from one of the U.N. investigators whom he encouraged them to co-ordinate with: the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Farida Shaheed of Pakistan.

The other three investigators include Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression Frank La Rue of Guatemala, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association Maina Kiai of Kenya, and Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Gabriela Knaul of Brazil.

Vietnam is seeking a seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council in a U.N. General Assembly vote to be held on November 12.

The U.S. diplomat said the Vietnamese government told him it would like U.S. support for its candidacy. But, he said Washington does not divulge how it is going to vote on such matters ahead of time.

Additional agenda items

On other issues, Busby said Vietnam "reaffirmed its commitment" to joining the U.N. convention against torture.

Busby also asked officials and activists about the government's August decree restricting Internet access. He said he learned that the measure is "still in the process of being implemented" and was not aware of any cases to which it has been applied so far.

In the area of religious freedom, the diplomat said he urged Vietnam to speed up the registration process for churches throughout the country.

Busby said he hopes to return to Vietnam next year.

Editor's note:
Busby spoke about his visit with Pham Chi Dung only after the Vietnamese blogger had talked about the meeting in an earlier interview with VOA. Busby wouldn’t provide details about the meetings he held with other activists in Vietnam.


This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Vietnamese service. Tra Mi contributed from Washington.
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Electing the New UN Human Rights Council

By Elliott Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations
November 6, 2013

Next week, on November 12, new members of the UN Human Rights Council will be elected. Among the candidates are nations that should never be allowed on the Council, and indeed whose presence will make the Council a mockery: Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, and Vietnam.

Perhaps the United States cannot prevent countries with the human rights records of these five from being elected. There are two things we should do, however. First, we should fight, trying to organize resistance to the election of any of these five human rights abusers. Even if they cannot be kept off, a very substantial number of no votes will be a useful embarrassment to them, showing that many countries condemn their records.

Second, we should announce that the United States will vote no on all five. The UN Human Rights Council was created in 2006 because the UN Human Rights Commission was a disgraceful mockery of support for human rights. Under the Bush administration the United States refused to join until the new entity proved itself to be different. In 2009 the Obama administration announced it would seek election, and did join the Council. The announced goal, part of the “new era of engagement” about which President Obama often spoke, was to strengthen both human rights and the Human Rights Council: then-UN ambassador Susan Rice stated at the time that “Those who suffer from abuse and oppression around the world, as well as those who dedicate their lives to advancing human rights, need the Council to be balanced and credible.” The addition of human rights abusers like Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, and Vietnam does not make the Council more credible, and it makes the place more balanced only if the balance is supposed to be between human rights defenders and human rights abusers. If all five of these abusers are elected, the Council will be tilting hard toward abusers. The United States should say so.
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