Dieu Quyen (Danlambao) - As a Vietnamese person living abroad, I often follow various events back in Viet Nam with keen interest, and with a somewhat diffrerent viewpoint. Today such an event occured in Viet Nam which made me think hard, especially when I compare it to similar events in the country where I am now residing.
For the last few days, Facebook was buzzing with the news that there would be Talk About Humans Rights Picnics held in 4 main cities, spreading from the North to the South, namely Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Nha Trang and Saigon (we refuse to call it Ho Chi Minh City... what a yucky name for such a magnificent city!) The aim was to encourage all Vietnamese people, young and old, and from all walks of life, to gather at the park, to meet new people, to make new friends, to discuss about various aspects of human's rights, to above all, to have fun ....!
Unfortunately, the Communist Government seemed to have a different idea of fun. Instead of encouraging its people to engage in such healthy and stimulating event, the Government sent out hundreds of policemen and guards, both in uniforms and in civil clothing, to try to prevent people from attending it. I was shocked and amazed at the various “low class” tactics that these government servants used against its own people, as reported by those who tried to attend the event as well as passer-bys.
How ironic that where I live, the completely opposite happens. Here the Government tries so hard to organise such events and goes to great length to encourage its people to attend. The Government here would be ecstatic to see its people wanting to learn more about world wide issues like human's rights, citizen's rights, religious freedom.. as it improves the people's knowledge and leads to a better civilisation.They would be much more concerned to see their people spending the weekends drinking or going to the casinos. A few weeks ago, there was an invitation from the Government for the people who were interested in human's rights to attend a public discussion about the situation in Syria. The event was broadcasted on national television with the whole country watching and many experts joining to make comments.
But today in Viet Nam, from as early as 7 o'clock in the morning, droves of policemen arrived on their police cars at the sites where the picnics were to be held. They erected barbed wires and metal bars to prevent people from even just getting close to the place. They then paraded the area, harassing anyone who tried to take a picture and threatening to confiscate cameras and cell phones.
At around 9:30 am, when the crowd started to gather and fliers about The World's Declaration of Human Rights were distributed by a few bloggers, the police sprung into action. They had already detained various bloggers and writers as soon as they left their houses earlier and forced them to have a picnic somewhere else, under the supervision of the police, of course! Back at the main gathering points, the police was seen harassing people, threatening them with violence, snatching their cameras and cell phones to actually beating and making arrests.
A witness upsettly reported that he saw 3 to 4 guards beating up a young student, forcing him against the side of a police car then kicking, kneeing and punching him in the face. The uniformed policemen actually formed a circle around the guards and the student, preventing people from jumping in to help the poor victim. The beating went on for more than 20 minutes. When concerned passer-bys enquired as to why he was beaten up so savagely, the police bluntly told lies that he was a drug seller then bundled him up into a sedan and sped off.
Another student complained that as soon as he sat down on a bench with a group, trying to make friends and to start a conversation about human's rights, the police ordered a park cleaner to spray them with dirty, stinky water so that they had to flee. This happened to several people. A friend of mine who attended the event later told me that he himself was surrounded and threatened by 4 policemen. One of them raised his hand to punch him while the other tried to snatch his camera. Quick thinking, he screamed "Robbers! Help me! Help me". At that the police backed off and let him run away.
That was not all, there were also reports that the police had already harrassed several well known bloggers like Me Nam, Thanh Nghien the day before... by guarding their place of residence 24/24, preventing them from leaving the house and disconnecting their cell phone service. Mrs Thuy Nga Tran, a mother with 2 young children aged 3 years and 5 months old, were last night ordered by police to leave the hotel where they were staying, forcing them to spend the night out on the street in the cold, just because they were on their way to attend the picnic this morning.
Later in the day the police arrested blogger Hoang Vi Nguyen, just for distributing fliers printed with the Declaration of Human's Rights to the passer-bys. She and several others were bundled up into police cars and took away. No one knows where they are being held and what may have happened to them.
Despite the massive effort by the police to sabotage the event, many people gathered to chat amongst themselves, to march around holding placards announcing that the ability to gather in crowds is their right and that the Communist Government should respect the people 's freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Many pictures and stories were posted on Facebook and other public media. The pictures that particular touched my heart were of two mothers, one supporting her daughter, blogger Thanh Nghiên, by having a picnic at home (they were prevented from leaving the house) and the other was at the park, kneeling down on the pavement to sign her name on a sheet that read “I protest against the government 's violation of our human's rights".
People from free countries like myself may find it hard to comprehend why a Government need to use such measures to prevent its people from discussing a healthy and simple topic. But if one follows the news, one would know Viet Nam is one of the worst offenders of human's rights in the world. Recently, the Human's Rights Watch Committee recommended that Viet Nam be put back on the CPC (Countries of Particular Concern) list because of its brutal treatments of various religious sectors. Many bloggers simply writing about true events in Viet Nam were also jailed if what they wrote upset this Government.
On the placards held by the attendees, there are several mentions of the words TU DO, which means freedom. Freedom is severely lacking in Viet Nam in its current regime, where the people tries their hardest to talk about it, and the Government tries its hardest to shut them up.
Freedom for Viet Nam!
The 88 Project - Sunday May 5th, 2013: Young Vietnamese activists organized for the first time Human Rights picnics to share documents on and discuss about human rights.
May5th, 2013: a rights discussion in Hanoi, in response to the appeal
of rights activists to organize Human Rights picnics (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
of rights activists to organize Human Rights picnics (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
The day before, before May 5th, Trinh Kim Kim and Paolo Thanh Nguyen led a group to discuss the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in front of their house to start off the event. The discussion went well, with photos and videos posted on their blogs and YouTube. But the actual picnics that were going to take place in public parks in Hanoi, Saigon, Hai Phong and Nha Trang got repressed, at times violently, by public security forces.
A group of bloggers led by Trinh Kim Kim and Paolo Thanh Nguyen
were reading the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
in front of their house. (Saigon May 4th 2012) (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
were reading the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
in front of their house. (Saigon May 4th 2012) (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
In Hanoi, the picnic went well. Bloggers could gather in a small group, holding signs that read: ”Freedom of association is citizens’ right” and copies of the UDHR.
Hanoi, 5th May 2013. The sign reads: “Freedom of association is citizens’ right.”
(source: Dan Lam Bao)
(source: Dan Lam Bao)
In Nha Trang, Blogger Me Nam (Nguyen Nhu Quynh) and her friends stayed in a coffee shop to discuss the UDHR. Public authorities had stopped them from joining the picnic outdoor.
Nha Trang, May 5th 2013: Blogger Me Nam (Nguyen Nhu Quynh) and her friends
discussing the Declaration of Human Rights in a coffee shop. (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
discussing the Declaration of Human Rights in a coffee shop. (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
In Hai Phong, local public security forces did not let people coming to former political prisoner Pham Thanh Nghien’s house to join a rights discussion. Nghien and her mother still started the discussion in their back yard.
Hai Phong, 9 am, 5 May 2013: former political prisoner Pham Thanh Nghien and
her mother in their back yard. The sign reads:
“[We have] human rights since we were born.”
(Source: Dan Lam Bao)
her mother in their back yard. The sign reads:
“[We have] human rights since we were born.”
(Source: Dan Lam Bao)
In Saigon, early in the morning, bloggers got together to distribute copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a public park. Soon after that, public security agents violently dispersed the group and arrested some of them, including Hoang Vi, Vu Quoc Anh & Vu Sy Hoang. The bloggers were reportedly violently beaten at police commissariats.
Saigon,8:30 am, Sunday the 5th of May, 2013: bloggers got together
to distribute copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
to distribute copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
By 10 pm local time, Hoang Vi continued to be held in custory at Phu Thanh ward police commissariat. Her family and fellow activists are gathering there to demand for her release and for her property to be returned.
Photo: Hoang Vi (far left) and young activists discussing the Declaration of Human Rights
at a public park in Saigon. (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
at a public park in Saigon. (Source: Dan Lam Bao)
As some young activists commented on their blogs: they could not understand why the public authorities have to mobilized that many agents and efforts to repress what activists considered to be normal and legitimate, such as a casual picnic to have a good time and talk about their rights.
Note that Vietnam is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
More detailed information (in Vietnamese), images and photos on Dan Lam Bao blog: http://danlambaovn.blogspot.com/2013/05/tuong-thuat-buoi-da-ngoai-thao-luan.html#.UYZ-0CvF3f8
©2013 The 88 Project
Tường thuật việc CA đàn áp buổi dã ngoại nhân quyền
Chiêu Anh Nguyễn - 7g30 tôi ngồi cafe đường Hàn Thuyên, không khí hôm nay không đến nỗi nóng lắm, nhưng chung quanh khu công viên thì đang nóng lên vì có quá nhiều sắc phục đứng lô nhô và cả các anh an ninh chìm đeo phone tai cầm báo đi tới lui. Ngồi hơn giờ đồng hồ và cảm giác cuộc gặp hôm nay không ổn lắm vì tôi thấy các bạn an ninh đã đẩy vấn đề lên quá nghiêm trọng, trong khi đây chỉ là một cuộc gặp gỡ thông thường để trao đổi với nhau những điều hết sức bình thường.
Tôi tiến tới và cùng đi trong không khí vui vẻ, vừa đi em Vi vừa trao đổi với những bạn ngồi chung quanh công viên về nhân quyền quốc tế và phát cho họ những bản photo tham khảo rồi mời họ cùng tham gia cho vui.
8g45 tôi dụi thuốc đứng lên băng ngang đường Lê Duẩn, phía bên kia tôi thấy em Hoàng Vi đi đầu nhóm bạn bè chừng 30 người tiến về phía nhà thờ Đức Bà.
Tôi tiến tới và cùng đi trong không khí vui vẻ, vừa đi em Vi vừa trao đổi với những bạn ngồi chung quanh công viên về nhân quyền quốc tế và phát cho họ những bản photo tham khảo rồi mời họ cùng tham gia cho vui.
Chúng tôi vẫn tiếp tục đi trong rất nhiều ánh mắt của các bạn an ninh và các bạn mặc sắc phục. Sau đó chúng tôi quây quần lại với các bạn trẻ mới quen và cùng hát bài nối vòng tay lớn, không khí rất hòa nhã. Lúc em Vi cầm tờ Tuyên Ngôn Quốc tế Nhân Quyền lên để đọc những dòng đầu tiên thì bất ngờ sau lưng chúng tôi có một người mặc đồ công nhân vệ sinh dùng vòi xịt vào chỗ chúng tôi ngồi, chúng tôi đành nép vào nhau đứng về một phía cho họ làm việc thì lại tiếp tục xuất hiện một người khác cũng mặc đồ công nhân vệ sinh dùng vòi xịt thẳng vào chỗ chúng tôi đứng, lúc đó chúng tôi đành giãn ra để đi tìm một nơi khô ráo đủ để ngồi lại với nhau.
Khi tôi quay lưng đi thì bất ngờ tôi nghe tiếng la thất thanh của một ai đó, quay lại tôi phát hiện bên hông đường Lê Duẩn chừng 4 chiếc taxi chờ tới từ lúc nào. Các lực lượng an ninh đã đẩy một số người trong nhóm chúng tôi lên xe, tôi phát hiện ra Hoàng Vi và Hành Nhân bị khống chế, và họ dằng co rất dữ theo quán tính tôi lùi lại vệ cỏ và đứng nhìn, thêm một số nữa cũng bị khống chế hai tay lôi đi như tội phạm trong mắt ngỡ ngàng của các bạn trẻ đứng đó. Tôi đứng như trời trồng nhìn họ và không lùi lại nữa.
Lúc đó trong đầu tôi chỉ có một ý nghĩ phải quay về để thông tin gấp cho các bạn. Tôi quay ra và gặp Hành Nhân phờ phạc đi lướt qua tôi, em nói "chị về đi thông tin cho mọi người", không hiểu sao khi về tới tôi lại nghe tin em ấy bị bắt lại ??
Chúng tôi chỉ muốn nói chuyện như một buổi gặp mặt bình thường và chia sẻ với nhau những điều hết sức bình thường. Không biết sau hôm nay những bạn trẻ chứng kiến cảnh bắt bớ vô lý như thế có đặt dấu hỏi gì về chính quyền không ?
Phải nó là nguyên một quảng trường nhà thờ Đức Bà và dinh Độc Lập sáng nay tràn ngập các bạn an ninh và công an lẫn barie và xe bít bùng, lạ thật có cần làm tới mức đó không ? Trong khi chúng tôi chỉ là một số ít những người chỉ muốn đi với nhau làm một buổi gặp gỡ trao đồi về quyền tối thiểu của con người... Lạ quá!
Chiêu Anh Nguyễn
Bên lề buổi dã ngoại nhân quyền 5/5 tại Nha Trang
"Sau khi em kiểm tra thì biết máy chị bị chặn hai chiều vì lý do an ninh, mời chị ra cửa hàng Mobifone.." - Đoạn ghi âm bằng chứng an ninh can thiệp vào máy điện thoại Mẹ Nấm
Mẹ Nấm - Tôi không có thói quen chụp hình công an hay an ninh, những người đã đang và phải theo tôi vì nhiệm vụ của họ, bởi nguyên tắc của tôi là tôn trọng nghề nghiệp của mọi người.
Tôi cũng không nói gì về việc hơn 6 người canh gác, đeo bám và theo sát tôi từ hôm thứ 5 (02/05/2013) cho đến sáng nay, bởi đó là việc bình thường.
Nhưng không nói không có nghĩa là tôi chấp nhận việc tự do của mình bị xâm phạm. Tôi không có gì phải giấu các anh chị khi công khai toàn bộ việc mình sẽ đi picnic hôm nay, và cũng đã để các anh có nhiệm vụ đối thoại với tôi tìm hiểu xem tôi định nói gì hôm nay qua câu chuyện về Quyền Con Người mà mình mang theo.
Buổi dã ngoại có thể đã không diễn ra ngoài trời như tôi hy vọng, nhưng bằng chứng là vẫn có các anh, chị quan tâm đến nhân quyền cùng tham dự với tôi và các anh an ninh. Tôi cảm ơn tất cả mọi người đã ôn hòa, nhẹ nhàng và thoải mái với nhau.
Và tôi cũng hy vọng các bạn an ninh trẻ hiểu rằng, tôi luôn muốn mọi thứ nhẹ nhàng, vui vẻ như cái vẫy tay chào các bạn sáng nay trước khi rời công viên
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