Vietnam Security Chief To Lam hosts Acting Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific Ugo Astuto of the European External Action Service in Hanoi on Dec 14
According to the HRW, although Vietnam has decreased the number of political trials and convictions in 2015 in order to gain favor during negotiations with the U.S. over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and with the EU over the Free Trade Agreement, the country still continues to hold at least 130 political prisoners.
by Vu Quoc Ngu, Dec 15, 2015
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General To Lam, who is head of the country’s security forces, on Dec 14 held a reception for Acting Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific Ugo Astuto of the European External Action Service amid great international concerns about recent human rights violations in the communist nation.
During the meeting in the capital city of Hanoi, the two sides discussed shared concerns including law enforcement, ensuring social security and the implementation of international conventions.
The host and the guest expected the bilateral cooperation will further develop after the communist nation and the 28-country bloc signed the Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which is expected to boost trade and investment link.
This week, Vietnam and the EU will conduct bilateral dialogue on human rights. Prior to the dialogue, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the EU to press for concrete and measurable improvements on human rights at its upcoming bilateral dialogue with Vietnam.
The communist government must carry out essential reforms include ending politically motivated trials and convictions, the release of political prisoners, guarantees on freedom of association and labor rights, and religious freedom, the HRW said, adding the outcome of the dialogue should be made public.
“The EU should use this opportunity to make it loud and clear to Vietnam that friendly trade relations will be accompanied by increasing demands on human rights,” said Brad Adams, HRW’s director for Asia.
“The EU should insist that Vietnam agree to clear and verifiable benchmarks for progress, or Vietnam will simply make empty promises,” he noted.
According to the HRW, although Vietnam has decreased the number of political trials and convictions in 2015 in order to gain favor during negotiations with the U.S. over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and with the EU over the Free Trade Agreement, the country still continues to hold at least 130 political prisoners.
Other peaceful critics are simply being held without trial, such as bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam), Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, and Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (aka Nguyen Ngoc Gia), who were arrested in 2014 for their pro-democracy statements and remain in police custody. Activists who were arrested in 2015 included Nguyen Viet Dung, Dinh Tat Thang, Tran Anh Kim, and Nguyen Huu Quoc Duy.
In an apparent change of tactics from arrests to intimidation and violence, assaults against bloggers and rights activists worsened significantly during 2015. In every month pro-democracy campaigners have reported being attacked by plainclothes agents or police. Victims of government-support attacks are labor activists Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc, human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and bloggers Pham Doan Trang, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, J.B Nguyen Huu Vinh, Tran Thi Nga, Nguyen Chi Tuyen, Trinh Anh Tuan, Dinh Quang Tuyen, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Chu Manh Son, Dinh Thi Phuong Thao, Ta Tri Hai, and Tran Minh Nhat.
Last week, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in response to the brutal attack against lawyer Dai and his three fellows, called on “the international community to press the Vietnamese authorities to stop employing these thuggish methods, which have turned Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s administration into a government of gangsters.”
The Amnesty International also called on Vietnam to end a wave of brutal attack against human rights defenders and end the persistent impunity by ensuring those responsible are brought to justice. According to the London-based human rights group, Vietnam has intensified crackdown against political dissidents and human rights activists over the past 18 months.
The Amnesty International calls on Vietnam’s communist government to take immediate steps to end the pattern of attacks and violence and to hold those responsible to account. Hanoi must establish an independent and impartial body to investigate these attacks and prosecute those responsible, regardless of their status or official capacity, it said.
“The only way to stop this cycle of attacks and violence is to put an end to the impunity of perpetrators, and send a clear signal that beatings of human rights defenders are unacceptable,” said John Coughlan, Amnesty International’s Vietnam researcher.
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December 15, 2015
Vietnam Security Chief Hosts EU Official amid Int’l Concerns on Attacks against Human Rights Defenders
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
Vietnam Security Chief To Lam hosts Acting Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific Ugo Astuto of the European External Action Service in Hanoi on Dec 14
by Vu Quoc Ngu, Dec 15, 2015
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General To Lam, who is head of the country’s security forces, on Dec 14 held a reception for Acting Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific Ugo Astuto of the European External Action Service amid great international concerns about recent human rights violations in the communist nation.
During the meeting in the capital city of Hanoi, the two sides discussed shared concerns including law enforcement, ensuring social security and the implementation of international conventions.
The host and the guest expected the bilateral cooperation will further develop after the communist nation and the 28-country bloc signed the Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which is expected to boost trade and investment link.
This week, Vietnam and the EU will conduct bilateral dialogue on human rights. Prior to the dialogue, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the EU to press for concrete and measurable improvements on human rights at its upcoming bilateral dialogue with Vietnam.
The communist government must carry out essential reforms include ending politically motivated trials and convictions, the release of political prisoners, guarantees on freedom of association and labor rights, and religious freedom, the HRW said, adding the outcome of the dialogue should be made public.
“The EU should use this opportunity to make it loud and clear to Vietnam that friendly trade relations will be accompanied by increasing demands on human rights,” said Brad Adams, HRW’s director for Asia.
“The EU should insist that Vietnam agree to clear and verifiable benchmarks for progress, or Vietnam will simply make empty promises,” he noted.
According to the HRW, although Vietnam has decreased the number of political trials and convictions in 2015 in order to gain favor during negotiations with the U.S. over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and with the EU over the Free Trade Agreement, the country still continues to hold at least 130 political prisoners.
Other peaceful critics are simply being held without trial, such as bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam), Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, and Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (aka Nguyen Ngoc Gia), who were arrested in 2014 for their pro-democracy statements and remain in police custody. Activists who were arrested in 2015 included Nguyen Viet Dung, Dinh Tat Thang, Tran Anh Kim, and Nguyen Huu Quoc Duy.
In an apparent change of tactics from arrests to intimidation and violence, assaults against bloggers and rights activists worsened significantly during 2015. In every month pro-democracy campaigners have reported being attacked by plainclothes agents or police. Victims of government-support attacks are labor activists Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc, human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and bloggers Pham Doan Trang, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, J.B Nguyen Huu Vinh, Tran Thi Nga, Nguyen Chi Tuyen, Trinh Anh Tuan, Dinh Quang Tuyen, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Chu Manh Son, Dinh Thi Phuong Thao, Ta Tri Hai, and Tran Minh Nhat.
Last week, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in response to the brutal attack against lawyer Dai and his three fellows, called on “the international community to press the Vietnamese authorities to stop employing these thuggish methods, which have turned Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s administration into a government of gangsters.”
The Amnesty International also called on Vietnam to end a wave of brutal attack against human rights defenders and end the persistent impunity by ensuring those responsible are brought to justice. According to the London-based human rights group, Vietnam has intensified crackdown against political dissidents and human rights activists over the past 18 months.
The Amnesty International calls on Vietnam’s communist government to take immediate steps to end the pattern of attacks and violence and to hold those responsible to account. Hanoi must establish an independent and impartial body to investigate these attacks and prosecute those responsible, regardless of their status or official capacity, it said.
“The only way to stop this cycle of attacks and violence is to put an end to the impunity of perpetrators, and send a clear signal that beatings of human rights defenders are unacceptable,” said John Coughlan, Amnesty International’s Vietnam researcher.