Radio Free Asia, April 21, 2017
A group of farmers locked in a standoff with authorities over a land dispute in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi have released one of 20 officials held for nearly a week, citing health concerns, state media reported Friday.
Dang Van Canh, deputy head of the Publicity and Education Committee in My Duc district—where the showdown is underway some 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of central Hanoi—was released by the farmers in Dong Tam commune “owing to my health,” he told the official Vietnam News Service.
“I was treated well during the last few days; the villagers treated decently all the other people that they held hostage,” Canh said.
“I wish the locals would keep calm,” he added.
The Dong Tam standoff was sparked by an April 15 clash between police and the farmers, who say the government is seizing 47 hectares (116 acres) of their farmland for the military-run Viettel Group—the country’s largest mobile phone operator—without adequately compensating them.
Police had arrested several farmers for allegedly causing social unrest, and other farmers responded by detaining 38 police officers and local officials, and threatening to burn them alive with petrol if security personnel attack again. Local media said that the farmers who were arrested have since been released.
By April 17, villagers freed 15 police officers, while three other detainees managed to escape by themselves. Nineteen people are still being held in Dong Tam, where farmers have erected barricades to prevent anyone from entering, and authorities have said that those responsible for detaining them will be dealt with according to the law.
Hanoi mayor Nguyen Duc Chung invited the farmers to the My Duc district People’s Committee building on Thursday to resolve the situation, but the farmers have said they want Chung to meet with them in Dong Tam because they fear arrest if they leave the area.
Instead, Chung told district officials at the People’s Committee building that the city government will investigate the land dispute and called on villagers to assist with the inspection, which is expected to take 45 days. He promised that the issue would be addressed “properly,” unlike previous instances when residents submitted complaints to no avail in recent years.
Chung also urged the farmers to remove blockades and release the detainees, assuring them that authorities will not launch an attack.
On Friday, Tien Phong newspaper reported that Chung might visit the commune on April 22 to speak with the farmers as part of a bid to secure the release of the remaining detainees, citing an anonymous source. RFA was unable to confirm the report.
In the meantime, the mayor has ordered Viettel to cease construction on the disputed land until a resolution is reached.
The authorities maintain that the farmers have illegally occupied land earmarked for the military nearly 40 years ago, which was allocated to Viettel in 2015 to build a defense-related project.
The farmers believe the land is zoned for agricultural, rather than military, purposes and say Viettel has no right to use it. They have suggested that they will vacate the land if the central government confirms it as military-zoned—provided they are adequately compensated.
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April 22, 2017
Vietnam Land Dispute Farmers Free One Captive Official, Citing Health Concerns
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
Radio Free Asia, April 21, 2017
A group of farmers locked in a standoff with authorities over a land dispute in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi have released one of 20 officials held for nearly a week, citing health concerns, state media reported Friday.
Dang Van Canh, deputy head of the Publicity and Education Committee in My Duc district—where the showdown is underway some 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of central Hanoi—was released by the farmers in Dong Tam commune “owing to my health,” he told the official Vietnam News Service.
“I was treated well during the last few days; the villagers treated decently all the other people that they held hostage,” Canh said.
“I wish the locals would keep calm,” he added.
The Dong Tam standoff was sparked by an April 15 clash between police and the farmers, who say the government is seizing 47 hectares (116 acres) of their farmland for the military-run Viettel Group—the country’s largest mobile phone operator—without adequately compensating them.
Police had arrested several farmers for allegedly causing social unrest, and other farmers responded by detaining 38 police officers and local officials, and threatening to burn them alive with petrol if security personnel attack again. Local media said that the farmers who were arrested have since been released.
By April 17, villagers freed 15 police officers, while three other detainees managed to escape by themselves. Nineteen people are still being held in Dong Tam, where farmers have erected barricades to prevent anyone from entering, and authorities have said that those responsible for detaining them will be dealt with according to the law.
Hanoi mayor Nguyen Duc Chung invited the farmers to the My Duc district People’s Committee building on Thursday to resolve the situation, but the farmers have said they want Chung to meet with them in Dong Tam because they fear arrest if they leave the area.
Instead, Chung told district officials at the People’s Committee building that the city government will investigate the land dispute and called on villagers to assist with the inspection, which is expected to take 45 days. He promised that the issue would be addressed “properly,” unlike previous instances when residents submitted complaints to no avail in recent years.
Chung also urged the farmers to remove blockades and release the detainees, assuring them that authorities will not launch an attack.
On Friday, Tien Phong newspaper reported that Chung might visit the commune on April 22 to speak with the farmers as part of a bid to secure the release of the remaining detainees, citing an anonymous source. RFA was unable to confirm the report.
In the meantime, the mayor has ordered Viettel to cease construction on the disputed land until a resolution is reached.
The authorities maintain that the farmers have illegally occupied land earmarked for the military nearly 40 years ago, which was allocated to Viettel in 2015 to build a defense-related project.
The farmers believe the land is zoned for agricultural, rather than military, purposes and say Viettel has no right to use it. They have suggested that they will vacate the land if the central government confirms it as military-zoned—provided they are adequately compensated.