Free Vietnam Alliance
BP 203, 75624 Paris Cedex 13, France
Tel: (33) 1 46 30 37 85 - Fax: (33) 1 46 30 34 97
Email: paris@lmvntd.org
PRESS RELEASE
June 2, 2000
In an unprecedented joint appeal dated May 19, 2000, five pro-democracy activists in Vietnam wrote to the Vietnam National Assembly to protest the government's persecution of writer Ha Sy Phu (pen name of Nguyen Xuan Tu) and call for true democracy.
Ha Sy Phu has become well known at home and abroad in recent years for his political discourses analyzing the ideological impasses of the Vietnamese Communist Party and the country's desperate need for democracy as the foundation for national development. For his unorthodox political view, Ha Sy Phu was arrested in 1995, jailed for 1 year, and put under severe isolation ever since. Public Security agents in Lam Dong province constantly harassed his family and anyone going to and from his house. They periodically searched his residence and arbitrarily confiscated his office equipment, including personal computers. Despite the absence of any proof of wrongdoing, the government's campaign of suppression culminated in Decision 07/QD, delivered on May 12, 2000, charging Ha Sy Phu with treason under Article 72 of Vietnam's Criminal Code. This charge carries the punishment from seven years imprisonment to the death penalty.
The five authors of the joint appeal are: Hoang Minh Chinh, Pham Que Duong, Nguyen Thanh Giang, Hoang Tien, and Tran Dung Tien.
Hoang Minh Chinh, 78-years old, received political training in the Soviet Union and became a leading dissident in the 1960s. Labeled an "anti-party revisionist," he has been jailed three times (1967-1972, 1981-1987, and 1996) and put under house arrest in the years between.
Pham Que Duong, a respected military historian, resigned from the Vietnamese Community Party (VCP) in January 1999 to protest the expulsion of another dissident, Gen. Tran Do, from the VCP. Pham was a colonel in the Vietnamese People's Army and editor of its "Military History Journal."
Nguyen Thanh Giang, 64-years old, is a geophysicist and prolific essayist. He was jailed without trial for two months in 1999 for allegedly "abusing democratic rights." His writings have focused on political pluralism, labor rights, and the problems of state-owned enterprises.
Hoang Tien, 67-years old, is a frequent writer on social topics and a former lecturer at the School of Cinematography in Hanoi. His reports, circulated underground in Vietnam, publicized the secretive trial of Ha Sy Phu in August 1996 as well as details of the arrest of Nguyen Thanh Giang in March 1999.
Tran Dung Tien, 71-years old, is a military veteran. He resigned his VCP membership in 1999 to protest the expulsion of Gen. Tran Do. He is known for articulating the disillusion of many long-time revolutionaries over the social repression and poverty in the 25 years since the end of the war.
Along with Ha Sy Phu, all five signatories of this joint appeal currently face varying degrees of state persecution, from heavy police surveillance to virtual house arrest.
The Free Vietnam Alliance calls on all concerned parties to support this appeal and demand the government of Vietnam:
Following is the translation of the joint appeal.
For further information, please contact :
Nguyen Ngoc Duc (France) : 33 (1) 46 30 37 85
Ngo Trong Duc (USA) : (408) 666-1925
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Independence - Freedom - Happiness
Hanoi, May 19, 2000
Respectfully Sent To: Members of the 10th National Assembly, Seventh Session
Dear Sirs and Madams
As you are attending the seventh session to discuss issues of national importance, we, a number of intellectuals, writers, journalists, scientists, veterans, and senior revolutionaries, wish all of you good health to dedicate to the service of the people and the country. On this occasion, we would like to bring to your attention an urgent matter and present the National Assembly a number of heartfelt appeals.
Dear Sirs and Madams
This is the urgency we have just learned: Dr. Ha Sy Phu (real name Nguyen Xuan Tu), residing at 4E Bui Thi Xuan street, district 2, Dalat city, Lam Dong province, has been indicted unjustly and without bases for a criminal offense.
The details are as follows: On April 28, 2000, Public Security agents, without warning, came and searched the home of Dr. Ha Sy Phu. The search did not produce any proof or document to accuse Dr. Ha Sy Phu of any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, Public Security arbitrarily confiscated his computer-- a common piece of office equipment and his personal property. (About one year ago, in a similar search of his residence, Public Security also took away and never returned his first computer). On this second computer, Public Security did not find a single piece of evidence to incriminate Dr. Ha Sy Phu or to justify their search of the house and seizure of the computer.
The story does not end there. On May 12, 2000, Public Security returned to his home and presented two decisions dated May 10, 2000, signed by Colonel Nguyen Van Do. The first decision, No. 02/QD, ordered Dr. Ha Sy Phu not to leave his residential area and to appear every day at the Public Security station for interrogation. The second decision, No. 07/QD, which was even harsher, charged him with the violation of Article 72 of the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This Article deals with treason and bears the minimum penalty of 7 to 15 year imprisonment. Heavier punishments include 20 year imprisonment, life in prison, and death.
The search of his residence and the computer hard drive and floppy disks produced no evidence of wrongdoing and yet Dr. Ha Sy Phu was charged with a count under Article 72. This is absolutely appalling , completely without cause, and in total disregard of the laws and the Constitution.
Dr. Ha Sy Phu, as everyone knows, is an intellectual, a scientist specialized in biology. He has studied under the socialist school system since childhood and was trained for his doctorate at the Sciences Academy of the former Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia.
Beside his scientific research, he is also well known at home and abroad for a series of profound political discourses including "Walking Hand in Hand in the Direction of Our Own Intellect," "Reflections of a Citizen", and "Farewell to Ideology." These discourses carry his heart and soul on a single subject : the urgency of democratization for the sake of the country. The prosperity of the people, the well being of the country, and the equality and advancement of society depend on true democracy.
Such sincerity, displayed throughout these discourses, however, has brought havoc to his life . He was jailed for 12 months. After being released from prison, he has been continuously placed under strict house arrest in Dalat. His phone has been disconnected and Public Security agents surround his home. All those measures are yet inadequate [in the eyes of the authorities]. For many consecutive months late last year and so far this year, he has been ordered to report daily to the Public Security station for "interrogation and philosophical debate." And now he has been charged with the violation of Article 72 of the Penal Code which carries the maximum penalty of a death sentence.
Dear Members of the National Assembly
The illegal actions against Dr. Ha Sy Phu are piling up quickly. They typify the disturbing condition of [citizens'] civil and human rights being seriously violated.
One of the primary causes of these violations, which can occur at any time and place, and to any innocent citizens, is the Directive 31/CP, issued on April 14, 1997. This directive bestows upon the government offices from the province to the prefecture and village levels the power to detain any citizens suspected of being a possible security threat, without the need for a judicial trial and without regard for the right of the accused to defend themselves. Directive 31/CP, thus, poses a serious threat to the people. This directive is in open violation of our country's Constitution. Given its destructive role on society, this directive should have been abolished immediately. It is still here, however, and continue to blatantly violate the Constitution.
We believe the strategy of great solidarity-with-true democracy and freedom of Ho Chi Minh is not limited to just national defense but also applied to the national rebuilding effort today. It gives Vietnam hope in the war against backwardness and in the race to join the world.
The essence of the Great Solidarity - Great Success strategy is democracy. True democracy. From the valuable lessons of applying Ho Chi Minh's strategy to today's situation, the development of democracy should be moved to a higher level. In other words, democracy must be vigorously promoted and ensured with concrete measures to multiply the strength of our people.
Developing democracy is responding to and quenching the proper and natural aspiration of the people -- the true masters of the country. They want and have the right to participate in the management of the government and society. Only democracy can ensure the sincere great solidarity [among people] and in return, true solidarity will be the highest assurance for political and social security. A true democracy which is vigorously promoted through concrete measures does not carry the side effect of causing instability.
Reality in countries around the world, including Western countries, have shown that the actual rights to direct and universal suffrage, freedom of faith and religion, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of association have co-existed for hundreds of years and those countries continue to live with stability and security -- politically and socially. These facts deserve consideration in the effort to build a true democracy in our country to meet the standards set by the strategy of Great Solidarity - Great Success by Ho Chi Minh.
Dear Members of the National Assembly
As constituents who voted for the 10th National Assembly; on the occasion of the National Assembly's meeting to discuss the most pressing issues facing our nation today; and in response to the National Assembly's requests for opinions from citizens, as well as joining Secretary General Le Kha Phieu's emphatic request that the National Assembly needs to listen to the voices of the constituents, and along with the Secretary General's desire to further democratize the country in order to promote domestic strength and to acquire more external support to create the favorable conditions for our people to advance in every sphere, with all sincerity, we present you with the following appeals:
1. [We] must democratize truly and vigorously every aspect of our society. Democratization in today's conditions means promoting domestic strength, fostering unity among the people, [upholding] equality without any discriminatory treatments, abrogating all forms of economic, political and social monopolies. Those measures build the fundamental resources for national development and guarantee social and political stability.
2. The National Assembly should review and abolish immediately the two groundless decisions, No. 02/QD and No. 07/QD on May 10, 2000, by Colonel Nguyen Van Do. [The National Assembly] also needs to abolish Directive 31/CP which has served as the permit for illegal, arbitrary and groundless arrest and detention.
Best of wishes to the National Assembly and all the delegates!
Respectfully,
Persons issuing the appeal.
(In alphabetical order)
Hoang Minh Chinh
Former secretary-general of the Vietnamese Democratic Party
Tel: 8.249.252
Pham Que Duong
Journalist, Colonel in the Vietnamese People's Army
Tel: 8.231.372
Nguyen Thanh Giang
Academy Fellow, Geophysicist
Tel: 8.586.012
Hoang Tien
Writer
Tel: 5.530.377
Tran Dung Tien
Tel: 8.586.321