In January 1990, when Professor Doan Viet Hoat began publishing the underground newspaper titled "Freedom Forum" (Dien Dan Tu Do), he noted: "A new struggle has started. It is the war against poverty, backwardness and arbitrariness. It is the aspiration towards a rich, strong, progressive, free and democratic Vietnam. And in this new struggle, there can be only one winner, the nation and people of Vietnam; and only one loser, the forces of dogmatism, arbitrariness and backwardness." By November 1990, after four issues of "Freedom Forum" had been published, authorities arrested Professor Doan Viet Hoat and a number of associates.

At the time, "Freedom Forum" was a bold attempt to start an independent media in Vietnam. While both freedom of the press and freedom of expression are enshrined in the Constitution, the message and medium represented by "Freedom Forum" met a violent reaction from authorities nonetheless.

Throughout the history of communist Vietnam there has never been a shortage of newspapers. Currently, there are over 500 newspapers and magazines devoted to diverse subjects. The one commonality is that they are all published by the Vietnamese Communist Party or one of its affiliate organizations. The newspaper with the widest printing is the "People" (Nhan Dan), which is the official daily of the Communist Party. Other publications with wide distribution include the "Labor" (Lao Dong), published by the state-sponsored labor organization; the "Youth" (Tuoi Tre), published by the state-sponsored youth organization; the "Saigon Liberation" (Saigon Gia Phong), published by the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; and the "People's Army" (Quan Doi Nhan Dan), published by the armed forces.

All of the official publications in Vietnam, through a policy of self-censorship reinforced by the watchful eye of security officials, end up toeing the official Party line. The powerful Ministry of Interior has a press wing devoted to monitoring and controlling media coverage. Consequently, writers or editors who dare to deviate in their reporting usually receive stiff punishments. A recent example is that of Nguyen Hoang Linh. The former editor-in-chief of the "Enterprises" newspaper (Doanh Nghiep) was imprisoned for a year without trial after he ran a series of articles in May 1997 detailing corruption in high levels.

Ever since "Freedom Forum," the efforts to achieve an independent media in Vietnam have become more frequent, achieved greater recognition inside the country and abroad, and risen in effectiveness. This struggle has taken on two main approaches.

The first approach lies in the open calls from prominent party dissidents for a free media. Because of their revolutionary credentials, these party dissidents are able to raise the heretofore taboo issue, while avoiding direct arrest by authorities. When the late Nguyen Van Tran wrote a book titled, "Writing to Mother and the National Assembly," in 1995 and concluded with the request to open a private newspaper, the party leadership found itself in a quandary. How to deal with a well-respected life-long revolutionary with over half a century of service to the party? The communist leadership found itself in the same predicament when retired General Tran Do, a former member of the Party Central Committee, released a 13-page letter in early 1998 calling for free elections and a free press. The typical response of the communist leadership has been to heavily criticize these dissidents in internal party gatherings and indirectly on the state press, to pursue various forms of harassment (e.g. the home of Nguyen Van Tran was ransacked and he was involved in a staged auto accident), but never to acknowledge or respond directly to the demands.

The second approach taken by other democracy activists has been to achieve a de facto free media through the publication of underground newspapers (called "samizdat" in the former eastern bloc). Together with the open letters, the underground newspapers have initiated an unprecedented public discourse, rapidly swamping the ability of authorities to suppress the free flow of information and eroding the so-called bamboo curtain over the country.

Perhaps the best known "samizdat" was the "Saigonese" (Nguoi Saigon), which produced over 30 issues from the spring of 1996 until mid-1997. The "Saigonese" used humor and sarcasm to expose deep secrets of the Communist Party and its leaders. The newspaper was routinely sent to major party and army offices. It ceased publication after the Party Central Committee issued a stern order to clamp down on individuals suspected of involvement with the "subversive Saigonese."

In the spring of 1998, a publication carrying the name "Restlessness" (Thao Thuc) and serving as a forum for Vietnamese youths came out with the first of three issues. This newsletter is reportedly printed on A4-sized paper for easy concealment, photo-copying, and distribution. It deals with the aspirations and restlessness of young Vietnamese for freedom, especially following the successful pro-democracy student movement in Indonesia.

More recently, a group of young Vietnamese professionals known as the "Link" (Noi Ket) have issued a series of letters exposing corruption in the Thang Long Water Palace in Hanoi. This group has even used the Internet to help publicize its reports abroad. The number of underground newspapers in Vietnam and their level of dissemination have grown rapidly. Other "samizdat" include the "Letters by Retired Professor Tan Dinh," a series exposing official corruption and mismanagement, and "Democracy and Rule of Law," a newsletter published by Free Vietnam Alliance members inside Vietnam.

The communist leadership in Vietnam today finds itself in a bind. On one hand, to jump-start the flow of foreign investment (and manage the tensions within society), it has to tackle seriously the issues of corruption, accountability, and transparency. Any real solution to these problems would have to include a free press as an independent watchdog. But a free press would also be free to expose the past and current misdeeds of Party leaders, point out to citizens how their rights and interests have been violated, and help broadcast and coordinate pro-democracy efforts throughout the country.

Ultimately, an independent press is one of the basic conditions in the process of democratization. More and more, Vietnamese are taking actions to regain this basic rights of theirs. A new struggle has indeed started.

Vietnam Democracy (Nov 98)