Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 26, 1999.
Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Government continued to arrest and detain citizens arbitrarily, including arrest and detention for the peaceful expression of their political and religious views. The 1990 Criminal Procedures Code provides for various rights of detainees, including time limits on pretrial detention and the right of the accused to have a lawyer present during interrogation. However, in practice the authorities often ignored these legal safeguards. Moreover, a 1997 directive on administrative detention gives security officials broad powers to monitor citizens closely and control where they live and work for up to 2 years if they are believed to be threatening "national security."
The Government continued to utilize its 1997 decree on "administrative detention," which gives authorities extremely broad powers to place persons under surveillance, to monitor citizens closely. The regulations, however, define administrative detention as an administrative penalty imposed on persons who break the law and violate national security, as determined by the definition of crimes in the Criminal Code, but whose offenses are not yet at the level that warrants "criminal responsibility." Persons under administrative detention must live and work in a designated locality and remain subject to the management and education of the local authorities and population. There are reports that these measures are used against suspected political dissidents. The time span of administrative detention ranges from 6 months to 2 years; the regulations apply also to persons under 18 years of age. The Ministry of Public Security is the lead agency in implementing the decree.
The Supreme People's Procuracy approves the issuance of arrest warrants, but law enforcement officials appear able to arrest and incarcerate persons without presenting arrest warrants. Once arrested, detainees often are held for lengthy periods without formal charges or trial. Nguyen Hoang Linh, a newspaper editor, was convicted on October 21 of "taking advantage of democracy to damage the State" because of articles that he had published that exposed corruption in the Customs Department. He was released immediately after his conviction, since he already had served his sentence of 1 year, 13 days. In general, as in Linh's case, time spent in pretrial detention counts toward time served upon conviction and sentencing.
The Government detained two Cao Dai believers in Giang province in October.
There were reports that the Government detained a number of Hmong Evangelical Protestants in the northwestern provinces for their involvement in church activities (see Section 2.c.) Among those believed to be held at year's end for political or religious activities are: UBCV monks Thich Thien Minh, Thich Hue Dang, and Thich Thanj Tinh; Catholic priests Reverends Mai Duc Choung, Nguyen Dinh Huy, Reverend Pham Ngoc Tan, Nguyen Van Chau, and Pham Tran Anh.
There were credible reports that authorities moved juvenile offenders from reform schools to labor camp prisons without legal due process, upon their reaching the age of majority.
Those arrested for the peaceful expression of views opposed to official policy were subject to charge under any one of several provisions in the Criminal Code that outlaw acts against the State.
No official statistics are available on the percentage of the prison population that consists of pretrial detainees or the average period of time that such detainees have been held. It is difficult to determine the exact number of political detainees, in part because the Government usually does not publicize such arrests and because the Government does not consider these persons to be detained for political reasons.
The Government pressured several released prisoners, including Doan Viet Hoat and Dong Tuy, to leave the country and go into exile as a condition for their release. Dong Tuy remained in the country after his release. Others were permitted to remain in the country. The Government continued to employ internal isolation to restrict the movement of certain political and religious dissidents. The leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, Thich Huyen Quang, remained under administrative detention in Quang Ngai province and was prohibited from returning to his home pagoda in Hue. The Government claimed that he is not under any legal restrictions but did not permit outsiders to verify his status.
Denial of Fair Public Trial
Although the Constitution provides for the independence of judges and jurors, in practice the Party controls the courts closely at all levels, selecting judges primarily for their political reliability. Credible reports indicate that party officials, including top leaders, instruct courts how to rule on politically important cases. The National Assembly votes for candidates that are presented by the President for Supreme People's Court, president and Supreme People's procurator. The President appoints all other judges.
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The Government continued to hold persons for the peaceful expression
of dissenting religious or political views. For example, Nguyen Van Thuan
and Le Duc Vuoug continued to serve lengthy prison sentences for publishing
a reformist newsletter. Nguyen Dinh Huy remained in prison for trying to
organize a conference on democracy in Ho Chi Minh City in 1993. Two of
the seven imprisoned priests from the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix
were released. Some political prisoners were denied visitation rights.
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Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution provides for the right to privacy of home and correspondence; however, the Government restricts this right significantly. It operates a nationwide system of surveillance and control through household registration and block wardens who use informants to keep track of individuals' activities. Citizens must register with police when they leave home, remain in another location overnight, or when they change their residence (see Section 2.d.). However, these requirements are not enforced consistently; many citizens move around the country to seek work or to visit family and friends without being monitored closely. The authorities continued to monitor citizens, but with less vigor and efficiency than in the past, as they focused on persons whom they suspected of involvement in unauthorized political or religious activities. There have been reports that some families have been unable to obtain household registration or residence permits, causing serious legal and administrative problems. In urban areas, most citizens were free to maintain contact and work with foreigners, but police questioned some individual citizens and families of citizens with extensive or close relations with foreigners.
The Government opened and censored citizens' mail, confiscated packages,
and monitored telephone, electronic mail, and facsimile transmissions.
The Party exerted little pressure on citizens to belong to one or more
mass organizations, which exist for villages, city districts, schools,
workers (trade unions), youth, veterans and women. Membership in the VCP
remains an aid to advancement in the Government or in state companies and
is vital for promotion to senior levels of the Government. At the same
time, diversification of the economy has made membership in mass organizations
and the VCP less essential to financial and social advancement.
Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, but in practice the Government severely limits these freedoms, especially concerning political and religious subjects. Reporters and editors practiced self-censorship on sensitive subjects.
Both the Constitution and the Criminal Code include broad national security and antidefamation provisions that the Government used to limit such freedoms strictly. The party and Government tolerate public discussion and permit somewhat more criticism than in the past. For example, citizens could and did complain openly about inefficient government, administrative procedures, corruption, and economic policy. However, the Government imposed limits in these areas as well. In September 1997, the Government adopted a directive requiring journalists to obtain approval from the Ministry of Culture and Information before passing any information to foreign journalists. In October 1997, the party Politburo issued a circular underscoring that media activities are "under the leadership of the State and the management of the party." Also in October 1997, journalist Nguyen Hoang Linh, the editor of a business newspaper, was arrested and charged with revealing state secrets. He was convicted in October, then released for time served for publishing articles detailing alleged corruption among customs officials.
Retired General, war hero, and former party member Tran Do ignored government pressure to cease his critical writings against the Government and the party.
The Government continued to prohibit free speech that strayed outside narrow limits to question the role of the party, criticize individual government leaders, promote pluralism or multiparty democracy, or questioned the regime's policies on sensitive matters such as human rights. There continued to be an ambiguous line between what constituted private speech about sensitive matters, which the authorities would tolerate, and public speech in those areas, which they would not. Several authors whose works attracted official censure in past years continued to be denied permission to publish, speak publicly, or travel abroad. Security forces harassed novelist Duong Thu Huong, and authorities revoked her passport.
In November 1997, in connection with a demonstration in Thai Binh province, the Government imposed a temporary news embargo (see Section 2.b.).
The party, the Government, and party-controlled mass organizations controlled all print and electronic media. The Government exercises oversight through the Ministry of Culture and Information, supplemented by pervasive party guidance and national security legislation sufficiently broad to ensure effective self-censorship in the domestic media. With apparent party approval, several newspapers engaged in investigative reporting on corruption and mismanagement as well as in open and sometimes heated debate on economic policy. The Government occasionally censors articles about the country in foreign periodicals that are sold in the country. The Government generally did not limit access to international radio, except to Radio Free Asia, which it jammed (see Section 1.f.).
Foreign journalists must be approved by the Foreign Ministry's Press Center and must be based in Hanoi. The number of foreign staff allowed each foreign press organization is limited. The center monitors journalists' activities and decides on a case-by-case basis whether to approve their interview, photograph, film, or travel requests, all of which must be submitted 5 days in advance. Foreign ministry officials no longer accompany foreign journalists on all interviews. The Government censored television footage and delayed export of footage by several days.
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Freedom of Religion
Both the Constitution and government decrees provide for freedom of worship; however, the Government continued to restrict significantly those organized activities of religious organizations that it defined as being at variance with state laws and policies. The Government generally allowed persons to practice individual worship in the religion of their choice, and participation in religious activities throughout the country continued to grow significantly. In some respects, conditions for religious freedom improved. In many areas, Buddhists, Catholics, and Protestants reported an increase in religious activity and observance. However, government regulations control religious hierarchies and organized religious activities, in part because the party fears that organized religion may weaken its authority and influence.
Religious organizations must obtain government permission to hold training seminars, conventions, and celebrations outside the regular religious calendar, to build or remodel places of worship, to engage in charitable activities or operate religious schools, and to train, ordain, promote, or transfer clergy. These powers lie principally with provincial or city people's committees, and local treatment of religious persons varied widely. In some areas, such as Ho Chi Minh City, local officials allowed religious persons wide latitude in practicing their faith, including allowing some educational and humanitarian activities. However, in other areas such as the northwest provinces, local officials allowed believers little discretion in the practice of their faith. In general, religious groups faced difficulty in obtaining teaching materials, expanding training facilities, publishing religious materials, and expanding the clergy in training in response to increasing demand from congregations.
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In October the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor, visited Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, and Tay Ninh provinces. He met with government officials and representatives of the government-sanctioned Central Buddhist Church, the Catholic Church, Cao Dai, and the small Muslim community. However, Amor was prevented by security officials from meeting several senior representatives of the non-government-sanctioned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), including Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do, despite repeated requests to do so.
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Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
Citizens do not have the right to change their government. Party control over the selection of candidates in elections for the National Assembly, the Presidency, the Prime Ministership, and local government undermines this right. All authority and political power is vested in the VCP; political opposition movements and other political parties are not tolerated. The VCP Central Committee is the supreme decisionmaking body in the nation, with the Politburo as the locus of policymaking. A standing board, consisting of the five most senior members of the politburo, oversees day-to-day implementation of leadership directives. The Government limited public debate and criticism to certain aspects of individual, state, or party performance determined by the VCP itself. No public challenge to the legitimacy of the one-party state is permitted; however, there were isolated instances of letters critical of the Government being circulated publicly (see Section 2.a.).
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Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The Government does not permit private, local human rights organizations to form or operate. It generally prohibits private citizens from contacting international human rights organizations. The Government permitted the UNHCR and international visitors to monitor implementation of its repatriation commitments under the Comprehensive Plan of Action and carried on a limited dialog with foreign human rights organizations based outside Vietnam.