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Đằng Vân |
Point of View
Week Ending 27 August 2006
According to BBC News, on its online edition of 29 August 2006, in an article by Bill Hayton, the Vietnamese authorities have told foreign diplomats they will free a prominent democracy activist and other dissidents ahead of a visit by US president Bush. The lucky activist will be Dr. Pham Hong Son whose only “crime” is to have translated and distributed an article on democracy. Although this release is part of a general amnesty of some 5,300 prisoners to mark National Day on 2 September, it is widely perceived as a move to assuage US and European concerns about human rights, and above all to woo the crucial US congress vote on PNTR, and smoothen the scheduled entry of Vietnam to WTO.
Is this a genuine sign that the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has begun to awaken to the realities of the 21st century, return democratic rights to the Vietnamese people and join the community of free nations of the world?
No, far from it.
This is only a token gesture by a totalitarian regime that has lost its socialist ideological zeal, but replaced it with greed and naked opportunism.
Indeed, while announcing to the world the general amnesty, the CPV regime has issued no less than three administrative decrees/laws to make it illegal for more than 5 people to assemble without permission by the authorities, to restrict people’s access to websites, and to institute severe penalties on the so-called propagation of state secrets and party secrets.
As usual the definitions of state or party secrets are extremely rubbery and the various people’s courts judges are nothing but obliging party apparatchiks. Thus everything, from the smell of party bosses’ farts to jewelries of their concubines, could be defined as party secrets. Furthermore, these decrees are clearly unconstitutional, because even the CPV constitution guarantees freedom of assembly, freedom of information and freedom of the press. But Article 4 of such constitution is there to give the CPV permanent political power over both government and civil society. As a consequence, the constitutionality or otherwise of these laws will never be challenged.
Ah yes! Numerous dissident Buddhist leaders are still under house arrest and leaders of other religious denominations such as the Catholics, the Cao-Daiists and the Hoa Hao followers, do not fare any better either.
But above all, let us spare a thought for the much forgotten (by and large Protestant) Montagnards in the mountains and highlands of Central and North Vietnam.
The government-controlled newspaper Lao-Dong ( Labor), in its 199th issue dated 21 July 06, quoted Vietnampress (TTXVN) which quoted the Washington Post of 19 July 06 words to the effect that of the 80 million Vietnamese, 6 millions are Catholics, 1 million are Protestants and the balance are Buddhists or followers of a few other traditional religions. Most Vietnamese are Buddhists or followers of the Triple Religion (a traditional peaceful blend of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism).
So it appears that the Vietnamese Montagnards are both a religious and an ethnic minority. Is this the reason why they are so severely repressed by the CPV and there appears to be no outcry or protestation on their behalf on the part of the three million strong Vietnamese Diaspora? Are they not our brothers or countrymen? Are they not our comrades-in –arms in this struggle against the CPV’s dictatorship of the proletariat?
Nguyen Khac Kham, in a paper sent to the 36th International Congress of Orientalists held at New Delhi from 4th to 10th January 1964, recorded the popular belief among his fellow Vietnamese that their original ancestors were the mythical dragon Lac Long Quan (father) and the fairy Ai Co (mother). Out of their union, Au Co bore a pouch of 100 eggs which gave birth to 100 sons. Lac Long Quan and Au Co shared their sons between themselves, half of them followed their father to the South China Sea and the other half their mother to the mountains located in the area of Phong Chau. Once in Phong Chau (now Bach Hac, Vinh Yen province), the sons who had followed Au Co named their eldest brother the first king to reign over the new kingdom. This was the first king Hung Vuong of the Hong Bang dynasty and this kingdom was called Van Lang. This is the original name of Vietnam. The above legend has been interpreted by various generations of Vietnamese as indicative of the fact that both Vietnamese living in the plains bordering coastal areas (heavily sinicised) and the tribal minorities in the highlands or mountainous areas are indeed brothers coming from the same ancestors.
If anything, our highland brothers have proved to be extremely heroic in standing up to the repressive CPV regime.
Ever since the fall of South Vietnam in April 1975, there have been repeated up-risings by these ethnic minorities. I quote from BBC News Online dated 7 February 2001 in an article entitled “Ethnic Unrest in Vietnam’s Highlands”:
“Also fuelling the protests was government repression of fringe Protestant churches, which have attracted many followers from ethnic minorities in recent years.
The central highlands are home to many of the country's 54 ethnic minority hill tribes.
Residents said uniform and plainclothes police were out in force to monitor the demonstrations, some of which turned violent, with protesters blocking a national highway and overturning vehicles…
The demonstrations have brought together people from the region's many ethnic minorities, including the three biggest - the Jarai, Ede and Bahnar - who between them number more than 600,000 people.
The region has long been resisted control from various governments, generating resistance movements which fought first the French, then the US-backed Saigon regime and then the communists.”
And more recently The Vietnamese Evangelical Mission – Pastoral Office- based at 28 Ho Tung Mau Street, sub-district Nguyen Thai Binh-District 1- Saigon- Vietnam-
(Liên
Đoàn Truyền Giáo Phúc Âm Việt Nam
Văn Phòng Mục Sư Đoàn
28 Hồ Tùng Mậu - Phường Nguyễn Thái
Bình - Quận 1 – Sài Gòn.
Tel : 08 – 8218347 - Email :
iemvnpastor@yahoo.com)
Has issued a plight to the International Committee on Religious Freedom, the US State Department, the Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam, the international press, religious organizations both inside and outside of Vietnam and other human rights activists for Vietnam.
This recent plight relates to the desperate cry for help from H’Mong protestant followers being persecuted by local authorities.
It was signed by Pastors Tran Mai, Tran Long, Ngo Hoai No
It is now definitely time for the Vietnamese community overseas to take on board more comprehensively the struggle of our Montagnard brothers to follow the religion of their choice, to preserve their culture as citizens of a multi-cultural society of the 21st century. Their heroic struggle is nothing short of admirable and would positively contribute to the struggle of the whole people of Vietnam for human rights, religious freedom, the rule of law and multi-party democracy.
Ñaèng Vaân
28 August 2006