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To Criticize the Communist Government is a Crime, Stupid! |
Ðằng Vân
Point of View
Week Ending 18 March 2007
On the prosecution of Father Nguyen Van Ly and his associates for spreading anti-government propaganda:
When a reasonable person reads the report on the Results of the Investigations by the Investigative Security Organ of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial Police (dated 13/3/07), and the subsequent almost verbatim adoption of the content of such report by the Thua Thien Hue Office of the People’s Supreme Inspectorate in the equivalent of a “Brief of Evidence” by its president Hoang Trong Kham (dated 15/3/07), he/she would first be appalled by the apparent crudity and brutality of Communist justice.
Then further analysis reveals more:
The letterheads of both organizations sport prominently on their top right side the official title of the “Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and the now infamous motto “Independence-Freedom-Happiness”. Yet the alleged crime Father Nguyen Van Ly, Mr. Nguyen Phong, Mr. Nguyen Binh Thanh, Ms.Hoang Thi Anh Dao and Ms.Le Thi Le Hang are supposed to have committed is: “spreading anti-government propaganda”.
To a reasonable person “spreading anti-government propaganda” is no more, no less than saying that the government is doing a bad job. What is wrong with that?
Should President George W Bush, British PM Tony Blair, Australian PM John Howard go around sending police to the homes of American, British and Australian citizens to confiscate properties, gather evidence on whether these citizens have ever badmouthed their governments? Then charge them under such ridiculous laws?
Father Nguyen Van Ly and his associates are being charged under Section 88 of the Criminal Code:
Section 88 of the Criminal Code states:
1. Anyone who engages in any of the following activities with a view to oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall be liable for imprisonment from 3 years to 12 years:
(a) Spreading propaganda, disinformation to defame the people’s government
(c ) Create, store, disseminate documents, cultural products with contents opposing
the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
While article 50 of the 1992 Constitution expressly guaranties citizens “human rights in the political, civic, economic, cultural and social fields”, the above section of the Criminal Code is clearly unconstitutional. But because the CPV controls the armed forces, the police, the People’s Inspectorate and the National Congress, no one and no institution has the right to challenge the validity of the Criminal code.
Any literal reading of such criminal provision would find it ridiculous, draconian and tyrannical.
Even members of the CPV know this. But like in all corrupt regimes, self interests reign supreme at the expense of the national interests. That is until the regime crumbles under the weight of its own filth.
The contents of the above police report and brief of evidence by the People’s Supreme Inspectorate indicate that all the above defendants are of the Christian faith. To make matters worse, all these persecutions happened roughly at the time when an official delegation of the Vatican, under the leadership its foreign Minister, was visiting Vietnam with a view to normalizing diplomatic relations between the two states. Such persecutions of Vietnamese Christians constitute not only defiance of world public opinion, but also a slap on the face of Condoleezza Rice whose State Department recently removed Vietnam from the list of Countries of Particular Concerns in terms of violations of religious freedom.
Shouldn’t Condo reconsider re-instituting Vietnam on the infamous CPC list now?
How could she sincerely believe that a dictatorship that violates its own constitution would tolerate religious freedom?
To conclude this sad story, let us remind Ms. Rice, all citizens of the free world, all Vietnamese living inside Vietnam or outside, of Bill Clinton’s famous incantation in his 1992 presidential campaign, to point out to an obvious truth that politicians keep forgetting at their own peril “it’s the economy, stupid”.
In Vietnam’s case: to criticize the Communist government is a crime, stupid. A totalitarian regime can only survive by effectively silencing all criticism and dissent, religious or otherwise. Anyone who forgets this truth does so at his/her own peril.
Ðằng Vân
19 March 2007