Hanoi attacks foreign media
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) Feb. 03, 1997-- Vietnam lashed out at U.S.-run Voice of America on Monday, saying a recent report on Vietnamese restrictions on religion and democracy was inflammatory.
Voice of America quoted Vietnamese-American protesters as citing a series of human rights violations in Vietnam, including the suppression of religion and the forced re-education of priests, said The People, the newspaper of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party.
The newspaper did not deny the protesters' complaints, but instead criticized VOA for reporting the protest.
"We can tell ... right away that the trick of slandering and provocation has lost its effect," The People said.
There was no immediate response from the Voice of America, an international broadcast organization run by the U.S. government.
It was the second time in less than a week that Vietnam's tightly controlled state-run news media attacked foreign broadcasters for coverage relating to Vietnam.
Last week, The People said VOA and the BBC had distorted facts on Hanoi's policy on compulsory labor projects.
In its latest attack on VOA, the Communist Party said the broadcaster was interfering in Vietnam's internal affairs.
"What (VOA) calls freedom and democracy was the freedom to instigate and impose conditions to force others to follow their totalitarian orders," The People said.
After more than a decade of isolation, Vietnam is slowly adjusting to international scrutiny through the news media.
Foreign news outlets have been permitted to open bureaus in the capital, Hanoi, but the movement of journalists is restricted and constantly monitored.
In October, Vietnam refused to renew the visa of a Hanoi-based foreign correspondent working for the Far Eastern Economic Review.
Since then, the Communist Party has come forward with a series of regulations aimed at limiting the actions of foreign journalists.