HANOI, April 18 (Reuters) - Some 30 Vietnamese staged a rare pro-democracy street protest near the ruling Communist Party's headquarters in Hanoi on Tuesday, witnesses said.
The noisy demonstration took place as the party's powerful 170-member central committee was convening a 10-day plenum inside the main party building on Hanoi's Ba Dinh Square.
Witnesses said the protesters were from southern Dong Thap province. They shouted and raised a white banner with red lettering that read: ``People from Sa Dec town, Dong Thap province are depressed. (There is) no democracy.''
Plain-clothes security police tried to calm the protesters and there appeared to be no arrests, witnesses said. Uniformed police prevented anyone from getting near the protest, which lasted for about an hour.
Farmers often come to Hanoi to lodge complaints about local corruption, abuse of power and disputes over land. But actual street protests in Vietnam, which has a large security apparatus, are rare.
Last May around 100 Vietnamese farmers held a protest outside the National Assembly while the legislative body was in session.