Vietnam Puts Dissidents Under House Arrest Amid UN Envoy’s Visit

Nguyen Dan Que sits while police search his home, Feb. 26, 2011.
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RFA | 26/7/2014

Vietnam’s authoritarian government on Friday placed an unknown number of dissidents in its largest city under virtual house arrest or closely monitored their movements in an apparent attempt to prevent them from meeting with a visiting U.N. envoy on human rights, dissidents said. 

United Nations Special Rapporteur Heiner Bielefeldt arrived in the capital Hanoi on July 21 for an 11-day visit to the country to assess the situation regarding the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief, the U.N. said.Some of the dissidents said they were prevented from leaving their homes in Ho Chi Minh city while others said they were harassed or threatened by government security agents when they went out to do their daily chores.

During the trip, he will meet with various government officials and local authorities, and hold meetings with representatives of religious communities and civil society organizations, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva said.

Amid reports that Bielefeldt was traveling to Ho Chi Minh city on Friday, police set up checkpoints a day earlier near the residence of prominent dissident Nguyen Dan Que, who had spoken out on the need for democracy and human rights accountability in Vietnam.

Que, who had spent a total of 20 years in prison or under house arrest on various occasions since 1978, said he was blocked by three people on motorcycles, believed to be police in plainclothes, when he wanted to go out for his early morning exercise on Friday.

“They did not let me go, but I still opened the door and got out [on my bicycle] just to see what they could do,” he told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. “They followed me. I went to the yard near my house for exercise, they sat opposite me.”

“After half an hour, I rode to the swimming pool. They followed me. I swam until 7 o’clock and then rode home. I got home, the checkpoints were still there. The people who followed me were replaced by others.”

Que said that ex-political prisoner Pham Ba Hai had also called on Friday informing him that police had confined him indoors.

Jailed blogger’s wife
The wife of prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai—also known as Dieu Cay—who has been jailed since 2008, said she was also prevented by five people, including a man in a police uniform, from leaving her home on Friday.

“I told them if they did not let me leave my house, they were taking away my freedom of travel and that they needed to show me an official order,” she told RFA.

“Immediately one young guy pointed his finger in my face and cursed. He almost punched me in my face, but the uniform guy stopped him and pushed him away. They continued cursing at me,” Hai said.

“I don’t understand what kind of education they got that they could behave like that to a citizen.”

Que said the government was practicing a “doubled-faced” policy by telling the outside world that Vietnam allows freedom of religion and human rights, while it cracks down on those who push for freedom.

“We welcome human rights dialogues with other countries. We need such dialogues. But what we are trying to do is to mobilize the strength of the people for democracy and freedom and force the regime to change,” he said.

Bielefeldt had said that he wanted learn more about the diversity of religions and beliefs in Vietnam during his visit.

The work of the Special Rapporteur, as mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council, also requires him to identify “existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and present specific recommendations to overcome them,” the U.N. statement said.

He is expected to hold a media conference on his preliminary findings on July 31 at the United Nations Development program (UNDP) office in Hanoi.

Vietnam-Australia dialogue 

Meanwhile, Vietnam will hold its human rights dialogue with Australia in Hanoi on Monday.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called on the Australian government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott to press the Vietnamese government to make “concrete and measurable improvements in its abysmal human rights record.”

“Australia should make clear that if Vietnam wants to be considered a responsible international partner, it needs to meet its international human rights obligations,” said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch.

“The countries should use this dialogue to set clear benchmarks for improvements in key areas like freedom of expression, religion, and association.”

In a seven-page submission to the Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade Department, Human Rights Watch urged Canberra to press the Vietnamese government for progress in three key areas of concern: political prisoners; repression of freedom of religion; and forced labor in drug detention centers.

Bloggers in prison 

Approximately 150 to 200 activists and bloggers are serving prison time in Vietnam simply for exercising their basic rights, it said.

During the first half of 2014, the Vietnamese authorities released a number of political prisoners, including Cu Huy Ha Vu, Do Thi Minh Hanh, Lu Van Bay, Nguyen Huu Cau, Nguyen Tien Trung and Vi Duc Hoi.

However, during that same period, at least 14 other activists and critics of the government were jailed, including well-known bloggers Truong Duy Nhat and Pham Viet Dao.

In May, the authorities arrested another prominent blogger, Nguyen Huu Vinh, who is also known as Anh Ba Sam, and his assistant, Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, and charged them with violating penal code Article 258 on “abusing freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state.”

During 2013, Vietnam prosecuted and imprisoned at least 65 peaceful bloggers and activists.

“In addition to dialogues with Western governments, Vietnam should hold dialogues with its own citizens even when their opinions differ from the government, instead of silencing them with arrest and prison,” Pearson said. “The Vietnamese government needs to realize it can’t solve the country’s huge social and political problems by throwing all its critics in jail.”

Reported by An Nguyen for RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai