Plainclothes agents and militia deployed by Thanh Tri district to block the house of activist Nguyen Tuong Thuy on March 5
by Defend the Defenders, March 05, 2017
On Sunday March 5, Vietnam’s security forces arrested dozens of peaceful demonstrators in Ho Chi Minh City and placed under de facto house arrest many other activists in Hanoi and other localities on the day of national protest.
In the early morning of the holiday, tens of activists gathered at the Notre Dame Saigon Church in the center of HCM City to hold a demonstration to protest the government’s bad management of socio-economic issues and its increasing suppression of local dissent. Since mid-February, former prisoner of conscience Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly and other activists have called for a nationwide general protest on March 5 to oppose the Communist government.
Shortly after the activists gathered, security forces in HCM City detained them and forced them into buses which left the scene for an unknown location. As of Sunday evening, police were keeping the detainees in custody.
Plainclothes agents also kidnapped two Catholic priests, Truong Hoang Vu and Le Xuan Loc, when they were on their way to the Notre Dame Saigon Church. The two priests said they were ill-treated by police officers before being released several hours later.
Some activists nonetheless held small demonstrations in the outskirts of the country’s biggest economic hub with banners calling on all Vietnamese citizens to take action to rescue the country’s sea and environment as well as to fight for human rights and multi-party democracy.
Many activists, including labor activists Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc, could not join the protest since their private residences had been blocked by plainclothes agents several days prior to Sunday.
In Hanoi and other localities, authorities successfully prevented local activists from gathering by sending numerous plainclothes agents to station around the private residences of local activists, effectively placing them under de facto house arrest.
Also on Sunday, thousands of Catholic followers in Song Ngoc, Phu Yen and Manh Son parishes in Quynh Luu district and Vinh Hoa parish in Yen Thanh district of Nghe An took to the streets to protest the polluting Formosa steel plant. On February 14, many Song Ngoc residents were beaten by security forces in Nghe An as they were on their way to Ha Tinh province to file lawsuits against the Taiwanese plant, which illegally discharged industrial toxic chemicals into the Vietnamese sea, causing the mass death of fish on 200 kilometers of coastline in the central region.
In Ha Tinh, thousands of Catholic followers from Du Yen and Dong Yen held protests near the Formosa plant. Vietnam’s authorities deployed thousands of heavily-armed commandos and police officers to protect the plant.
It seems the Formosa steel plant continues to release toxic substances into Vietnam’s sea despite its pledge not to repeat its harmful actions.
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March 5, 2017
Dozens of Peaceful Demonstrators Detained in Saigon, Activists in Other Localities under House Arrest
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
Plainclothes agents and militia deployed by Thanh Tri district to block the house of activist Nguyen Tuong Thuy on March 5
by Defend the Defenders, March 05, 2017
On Sunday March 5, Vietnam’s security forces arrested dozens of peaceful demonstrators in Ho Chi Minh City and placed under de facto house arrest many other activists in Hanoi and other localities on the day of national protest.
In the early morning of the holiday, tens of activists gathered at the Notre Dame Saigon Church in the center of HCM City to hold a demonstration to protest the government’s bad management of socio-economic issues and its increasing suppression of local dissent. Since mid-February, former prisoner of conscience Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly and other activists have called for a nationwide general protest on March 5 to oppose the Communist government.
Shortly after the activists gathered, security forces in HCM City detained them and forced them into buses which left the scene for an unknown location. As of Sunday evening, police were keeping the detainees in custody.
Plainclothes agents also kidnapped two Catholic priests, Truong Hoang Vu and Le Xuan Loc, when they were on their way to the Notre Dame Saigon Church. The two priests said they were ill-treated by police officers before being released several hours later.
Some activists nonetheless held small demonstrations in the outskirts of the country’s biggest economic hub with banners calling on all Vietnamese citizens to take action to rescue the country’s sea and environment as well as to fight for human rights and multi-party democracy.
Many activists, including labor activists Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc, could not join the protest since their private residences had been blocked by plainclothes agents several days prior to Sunday.
In Hanoi and other localities, authorities successfully prevented local activists from gathering by sending numerous plainclothes agents to station around the private residences of local activists, effectively placing them under de facto house arrest.
Also on Sunday, thousands of Catholic followers in Song Ngoc, Phu Yen and Manh Son parishes in Quynh Luu district and Vinh Hoa parish in Yen Thanh district of Nghe An took to the streets to protest the polluting Formosa steel plant. On February 14, many Song Ngoc residents were beaten by security forces in Nghe An as they were on their way to Ha Tinh province to file lawsuits against the Taiwanese plant, which illegally discharged industrial toxic chemicals into the Vietnamese sea, causing the mass death of fish on 200 kilometers of coastline in the central region.
In Ha Tinh, thousands of Catholic followers from Du Yen and Dong Yen held protests near the Formosa plant. Vietnam’s authorities deployed thousands of heavily-armed commandos and police officers to protect the plant.
It seems the Formosa steel plant continues to release toxic substances into Vietnam’s sea despite its pledge not to repeat its harmful actions.