Violations of Freedom of Expression and Information
Updated in August 2004
by Dr. Lam Thu Van
Democracy for Vietnam /
Campaign for Freedom of Expression
and Information in Vietnam
1.In the last 15 years, Viet
Nam has adopted a policy of openness to prop up the country’s chaotic economy
and gear itself to international standards. Still, until this year of 2003,
Viet-Nam has remained one of the poorest countries in the world, and it is
continuing to seek assistance, especially humanitarian aid and economic
investment, from the international community.
The obstacles to development in
Viet-Nam are deeply rooted in the lack of institutions of a civil society and a
decision-making process via free media and free elections. For its political
expediencies, the Vietnamese government ignores the crucial role of freedom of
expression and information in sustainable development.
2. In principles, freedom of expression and information is officially
provided for in the Vietnamese Constitution.
a. Article 69 of the Vietnamese Constitution guarantees to
all citizens freedoms of expression, association, and assembly.
"All citizens have the rights
to enjoy freedoms of expression, of the press, of assembly as well as to form
b. In 1982, as a state member of the United Nations, Viet
Nam ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As such,
Viet-Nam is expected to implement this covenant with particular adherence to
Article 19: "Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without
interference." And "Everyone
shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom
to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of
frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
through any media of his choice."
3. In reality, Viet-Nam denies to its citizens the right to free
expression of opinions by all media, including the press, television, broadcast
radio, the Internet, artistic activities.
II. Varied Ways of Oppressions of Freedom of
Information and Expression
of All Forms of Information and Expression:
The Vietnamese government often circumvent the Vietnamese
Constitution with the issuance of decrees or directives, mainly press laws
aimed at tightening its control over dissident voices. The following examples
are illustrations of the harsh reality of repression behind the
"nice-looking" of the government.
1 – Control of the Internet.
There are about 5000 internet-cafes in Viet-Nam,
operated under the joint control of the Ministry of Culture and Information and
the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. Approximately 2000 websites are
blocked, apparently for alleged disseminating "subversive" or
On May 26, 2003, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications issued
Decree 92/2003/QD-BBCVT to regulate the use and access of the Internet. Article
2 of the decree prohibits Internet users to send or receive «anti-government
On June 27, 2002, a circular from the Ministry of Culture and
Information instructs owners of Internet cafes to monitor customers’ online
activities in order to prevent them from accessing «state secrets» or «reactionary
documents» (AFP, June 27, 2002).
On August 5, 2002, the Director of Post and Telecommunication
asked all provincial and municipal authorities to severely punish Internet
users caught spreading dissent online (AFP August 5, 2002).
On August 5, 2002, TTV Online, one of the most popular youth
oriented Website was shut down for «violating press laws», TTV Online posted on
its forum page comments concerning Vietnamese-Sino border treaties, corruption
scandals, and demands for political reform (AFP, August 7, 2002).
2. Control of
a. Domestic press: Over 500 newspapers and
magazines, none privately-owned, are currently in circulation in Vietnam, and
all are subject to tight censorship.
On July 15, 2003, the Sinh Vien Viet Nam Weekly, a youth
magazine for Vietnamese college students, sponsored by the French government’s
program of upgrading Vietnamese press professionalism, was suspended for three
months by the Ministry of Culture and Information for publishing “offensive
illustrations”. The ban may be extended by the Vietnamese Communist Party’s
ideology Commission. The cover of the July 7, 2003 issue features the two
statuettes of a naked man and a woman, and last year’s May 20 issue prints a Ho
Chi Minh bank note floating in a toilet bowl (Reporters Sans Frontières, July
For 2003, the Ministry of Culture and Information refused to
renew the press credentials of the three editors at the Tuoi Tre (Vietnamese Youth) Newspaper, for publicizing the findings
of a survey of youth idols. In the survey U.S. President Bill Clinton scored
higher than Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. The government destroyed 120.000
copies of the offending edition. (Human Right Watch 2003 Report)
In May 1999, the Ministry of Culture and Information amended
press laws in order to tighten its control on domestic media. It states: “The
role of journalists is to propagate the official line of the Vietnamese
Communist Party and the government.”. Journalists must pay fines if their
reports disclose matters harmful to the government, regardless of whether the
reports are true or false. (Reuters, May 20, 1999)
On June 20, 2002, Mr. Nguyen Khoa Diem, VCP’s Cultural
Commissioner, ruled that the media not report first hand on corruption cases on
grounds that they may “expose state secrets and create internal division.” (CPJ
Appeal, July 2, 2002)
b. Foreign Reporters and Magazines: Censorship
applies also to foreign reporters and imported magazines. In April 2000,
Sylvaine Pasquier, reporter with the French weekly L’Express, was questioned by the police and immediately expelled
from Viet-Nam the next day when she tried to visit Dr. Nguyen Dan Que for an
interview (L’Express, April 20, 2000).
Armand Dubus, Bangkok correspondent of the French newspaper
“Liberation” was interrogated by the police and ordered to leave Viet-Nam
within 24 hours. His books and computers disks were confiscated. Apparently Mr.
Dubus met dissidents and inquired into religious freedom (Reporters sans
Frontières, annual report 2001).
The July 11, 2002 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review was forbidden for sale in Vietnam
because of an article on corruption scandals. The 8 August 2002 issue of the
same publication was also banned because of an article on Ho Chi Minh’s life
(AFP, August 8, 2002). .
No foreign and domestic reporters were
allowed to visit and report first hand on the ethnic minority protests in
February 2001 in the Central Highlands. They were also not allowed to enter the
court hall to cover the trials of Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, Le Chi Quang,
Nguyen Khac Toan, Pham Hong Son, Nguyen Vu Binh and Nguyen Dan Que –these six
Internet users, with dissenting views, being accused of “espionage”.
3. Banning and Confiscating books and publications,
videotapes, compact disks, and artistic activities.
On June 8, 2002, the Vice-Minister of Culture and
Information instructed the police to confiscate and destroy publications
lacking official approval. On June 16, 2002, over seven tons of books were
burned in Ho Chi Minh City. Destroyed publications include Doi Thoai 2000, Doi Thoai 2001 (Dialog 2000, Dialog 2001) by Tran
Khue and Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, Nhat Ky (Diary)
by Tran Do, Suy Tu Va Uoc Vong (Meditations and Aspirations) by
Nguyen Thanh Giang, Gui Lai Truoc Khi Ve
Coi ( A few words before dying) by Vu Cao Quan, and other books by
outspoken dissident writers. On July 9, 2002, Hanoi police destroyed 40,780
compact disks, 810 videotapes, and 3000 books
(Human Rights Watch report 2003).
On September 18, 2002, the Ministry of
Culture and Information announced that Jimmy Nguyen, a popular
Vietnamese-American singer, would be banned to perform again in Viet-Nam after
he had given, without police permission, two concerts at nightclubs in Hanoi
and Hai Phong. (AFP, September 18, 2002 ).
In September 2002, the government confiscated Vietnamese
actor Don Duong’s passport in reprisal of his starring in two recently released
American films which were banned in Viet-Nam, “We Were Soldiers Once” and
“Green Dragon”. Ho Chi Minh City authorities banned Don Duong from traveling
overseas and acting in all movies for 5 years (AFP September 18, 2002).
4. Censorship of radio and television broadcasts
There is no privately-owned radio and television
stations and programs in Viet-Nam. Washington, DC based Radio Free Asia’s
Vietnamese programs and the Christian radio broadcasts in the H’mong language
of the Far East stationed in the Philippines are regularly jammed. Listeners to
these broadcasts were harassed and, in most cases, severely punished. In June 2001, Mr. Nguyen Duy Tam, a RFA
listener in An Giang province in the Mekong Delta, was arrested and sentenced
to two-year house arrest for recording RFA radio broadcast programs. His
recorded tapes were confiscated (June 2001, Reporters Sans Frontières, Annual
French language TV 5 programs are also censored.
According to a directive issued June 24, 2002, only top-ranking
government and party officials as well as foreigners are allowed to watch
international satellite television in Viet-Nam. Vietnamese officials include
Cabinet ministers, vice-ministers, governors, vice-governors, city mayors and
vice-mayors. Hotels serving international guests are permitted to install
satellite television equipment (AP June 24, 2002).
1. Administration Detention Decree: The Vietnamese
government systematically utilizes administrative detention to repress freedom
of expression and information.
Under Decree 31/CP, cyber dissidents and dissident
writers have been imprisoned without trial or condemned to harsh sentences by
kangaroo courts, or put under house arrest. This 31/CP decree, issued April 14,
1997 by then Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, allows security agents at village
levels to detain without trial, up to 2 years, individuals suspected of
“threatening national security”. Persons subjected to this administrative
detention are not allowed to travel and to work, denied access of all
communication tools including the telephone, mail, email, and personal visits.
Two-year preventive house arrest or local supervision,
provided for under Decree 31/CP, applies automatically to all prisoners after
their release from jail. The two-year period may be extended according to the
evaluation of local authorities.
2. The Penal Code of Viet-Nam, with its ambiguous
wording, does not differentiate between dissidents who use violence and those
who are involved in peaceful activities advocating basic rights stipulated in
the Vietnamese Constitution. Article 73 of the Penal Code sentences, from 12
years’ imprisonment to death penalty, individuals charged with “threatening
national security” or “attempting to overthrow the government”. Article 80
stipulates the same range of penalties to persons accused of «espionage».
Article 88 sentences from 3 to 20 years of imprisonment those who are charged
with “propaganda activities against the socialist government of Vietnam”
3. Other laws and regulations are passed to tighten
the control of the press and the internet (Press Law, Internet Resources
Administration Regulation (Regulation 92/2003, May 26.2003).
4. As the judiciary branch is not independent,
judges set sentences based on the recommendations or explicit instructions of
Vietnamese Communist Party’s leaders. Trials of political prisoners are always
closed, and quite often without the counsel of independent attorneys. The
public, the media, and even the relatives and friends of defendants are not
allowed to attend the trials.
III. Cases of Oppression:
Following is the list of well documented
cases of journalists, writers, democracy advocates and human rights activists
who were detained or harassed because of their writings. They represent only
tips of the iceberg :
A. Serving lengthy sentences in hard labor camps.
and writer Nguyen Dinh Huy has
been serving, since 1995, a 15-year imprisonment sentence in Camp Z 30 A
in Xuan Loc, Dong Nai province, for planning to organize a conference on
“development and democracy» in Ho Chi Minh City in 1993. He was the
founder of the Phong Trao Thong Nhat
Dan Toc va Xay Dung Dan Chu (Movement for National Unity and
Democracy) and a honorary member of International PEN.
dissident Nguyen Khac Toan has
been serving a 12-years sentence at the Ba Sao hard labor camp, Nam Ha
province, since December 20, 2002, for posting on the Internet his reports
on December 2001 peasants’ protests against corruption at local government
buildings as well as at the National Assembly.
and cyber dissident Pham Hong Son
has been serving a 13- year imprisonment sentence since June 18, 2003, for
posting on the Internet essays and open letters advocating democracy. He
circulated on the Internet his Vietnamese translation of an article
entitled “What is democracy?” which is posted on the website of the US
Embassy in Vietnam. Under international pressure, the Vietnam’s Suprem
Court on August 26 2003 reduced Pham Hong Son’s prison term to 5 years.
Dr. Pham Hong Son is a recipient of the 2003 Hellman-Hammett Award.
and cyber-dissident Nguyen Vu Binh
has been detained in confinement since his arrest on September 25, 2002.
He was sentenced to 7 years’imprisonment by the Hanoi People Court on
December 31, 2003 for advocating democracy in his essays posted on the
Internet. On May 5, 2004, the Hanoi Appeal Court upheld his sentence,
threrefore Nguyen Vu Binh went on hunger strike to protest the unfair
trial. He founded the Dang Tu Do Dan
Chu (Freedom and Democracy Party) in February 2000. Mr. Binh was
invited by U.S. Congress to present a report on human rights conditions in
Viet-Nam on 19 July 2002. Mr. Binh is a recipient of the 2002 Hellman/Hammett
- Nguyen Dan Que, a physician, cyber-dissident,
editor of an underground newsletter Tuong
Lai (The Future), was arrested on his way to an Internet-cafe
on March 17, 2003. Dr. Que was
sentenced by the People Court of Ho Chi Minh city on July 29, 2004, to 30
months’imprisonment on charges of «taking advantage of democracy to
undermine the State». In the past, he was
imprisoned twice for a total of 18 years for protesting
ill-treatment of prisoners in Vietnam, and the lack of freedom of expression
and information for the civil society. He served his 18-year sentence in
various hard labor camps for demanding free elections and respect for
human rights. He was granted the 1994 Raoul Wallenberg Human Rights Award,
the 1995 Robert Kennedy Human Rights Award, the 2002 Hellman/Hammett Award
and the 2004 Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Scientists Award by the New
York-based Academy of Sciences..
B. Writers under
Tran Van Khue (pen name Tran Khue), a well-known expert in
archaic Vietnamese literature, was arrested on December 29, 2002 because
of his pro-democracy writings and activities. On July 23, 2004, after 2
hours trial, the People Court of Ho Chi Minh city sentenced him to 19
months imprisonment on charges of «taking advantage of democracy to undermine the State».On September 2,
2001, he co-founded with retired Colonel Pham Que Duong, Hoi Nhan Dan Chong Tham Nhung (Vietnamese
People’s Anti-Corruption Association). Prof. Khue co-authors with Ms.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan the essays Doi
Thoai 2000 (Dialog 2000) and Doi
Thoai 2001 (Dialog 2001). Both
publications were banned in Viet-Nam because they challenge the VCP
leadership on corruption issues and propose the democratization of
Vietnam. He is a recipient of the 2002 Hellman/Hammett Award.
- Mr. Pham Que Duong, a historian and
retired army officer, was arrested on December 28, 2002, apparently
because of his dissident political views and his intensive campaign for
democracy. On July 14, 2004, the Hanoi People Court sentenced him to 19
months’imprisonment on charges of «taking advantage of democracy to
undermine the State». In September 2001, he co-founded with Tran Khue the
Vietnamese People’s Anti-Corruption Association. Mr. Duong is a recipient of the 2001 Hellman/Hammett Award.
Ha Si Phu published in
Dalat-based Langbian magazine
between the years of 1986 and 1990 many essays questioning the legitimacy of the VCP. He served a one-year
imprisonment term in 1995, and since February 2001 he has been put under
house arrest. Local authorities
extended his house arrest period in February 2003 without giving any
explanations. Mr. Phu is an honorary member of PEN Canada, and that of
and poet Bui Minh Quoc, a
contributing editor of the Dalat-based Langbian
magazine, has been under house arrest since January 12, 2003. Before that,
he had been put under house arrest for his writings criticizing the VCP.
After his release in 2002, he was arrested on January 8, 2003 in North
Vietnam while visiting the Vietnam-China border to gather information
concerning Vietnam’s territorial concessions to China. He was then put
under house arrest for the second time.
Mr. Quoc is an honorary member of PEN Canada and International PEN
subjected to constant harassment
Geologist and dissident writer Nguyen Thanh Giang was arrested on March
1999 and imprisoned for two months for allegedly “possessing
documents”. Since his release, he has been continuing his campaign for
democracy. He is the author of the banned book Suy Tu Va Uoc Vong (Contemplation and Aspiration). He
is a member of the Vietnamese People’s Anti-Corruption Association.
Since 1999 he has been subject to constant harassment and surveillance, including mail censure,
telephone disconnection and jamming.
Mr. Vu Cao Quan, a veteran of the North
Vietnamese Army, authors many poems and articles advocating
democracy. He was jailed for nine
days in April 2001 for organizing a seminar on democracy in Hai Phong City
and ignoring police warnings against his pro-democracy activities. In
January 2003, his book titled Gui
lai truoc khi ve coi(A few
words before dying) was confiscated and destroyed for its “reactionary contents.”
Mr Vu Cao Quan is a recipient of the 2003 Hellman/Hammett Award.
and researcher Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan
is an well-recognized expert in Chinese and classical Vietnamese
literature. She coauthors (with Prof. Tran Khue) three books promoting political
reform. They are: «Reform in order
to Survive and Develop», «Dialog 2000», and «Dialog 2001». These books
were confiscated in January 2002 and banned for circulation in Viet-Nam.
Ms. Thanh Xuan was arrested in Ha Noi in September 2001 while attending a
meeting to discuss the creation of Vietnamese People’s Anti-Corruption
Association. She has been under surveillance by Ho Chi Minh City Security,
and her telephone was put out of service. Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan is a
recipient of the 2003 Hellman/Hammett Award.
Mr. Tran Dung Tien, a North Vietnamese
Army veteran, authors many essays and open
letters advocating democracy and protesting the arbitrary detention of his
democracy advocate colleagues. He was arrested on January 20, 2003 and detained
for 10 months. He is a member of the People’s Association against corruption.
and cyber dissident Le Chi Quang was
sentenced to four-year imprisonment at the Ba Sao hard labor camp, Nam Ha province for posting
articles and essays on the Internet, calling for democratization. Under
international pressure, Vietnamese authorities released Le Chi Quang from
prison on June 12, 2004. Before and after his imprisonment, Le Chi Quang has
been subject to strict surveillance from the state security office of his
district. Le Chi Quang is a recipient of the 2002 Hellman/Hammett Award and the
2004 PEN Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.
IV. Conclusion and recommendations
The situation of human rights in Vietnam in general, and of
freedom of expression and information in particular, has been deteriorating
during the last few years. Independent,
private press does not exist. Journalists, writers and artists, even on
government-controlled media, are censored and/or disciplined for their
independent and liberal writings. Foreign reporters and magazines are either
banned or obstructed from professional activities in Vietnam. Stricter measures
and regulations have been enforced to control all forms of free information and
opinions exchange, either by conventional means or by electronic internet.
Until nowadays all well-known dissidents have been either housed arrested or
imprisoned. All dissenting voices have been suppressed. One of the darkest periods for freedom of
expression and information in Vietnam has begun right at the momentum of
economic renovation. The people in Vietnam have never been so deprived of
freedom of expression and information as of today.
As long as Vietnam represses freedom of expression and
obstructs the free flow of information, as illustrated in the above
high-profile cases, it is unlikely to be found conforming to international
standards and achieve equitable and sustainable development in the near future.
In this era of globalization, Viet-Nam
has no other way but to comply with all the criteria set forth by its bilateral
trade partners in the European Union and North America, namely U.S. and Canada,
as well as by multilateral organizations such as the United-Nations, WTO, World
Bank, I.M.F., APEC, ASEAN.
Therefore, we believe that the following recommendations
should be carried out by the government of Vietnam, and the international
circle should create conditions and apply pressures to assure that these reforms
1. Implementations by the government of Vietnam:
create legal and economic conditions and opportunities for the private sector
to fully participate in all areas of cultural, social and economic activity,
namely industries, trades, education, health services, arts, as well as
transfer of information (the press, television, radio, publication, regulation
and management of the use of the Internet).
stop all measures and forms of information censorship, including censorship of
mail and emails, jamming radio broadcasts, putting “firewalls” to websites,
limiting and controlling access to
satellite television, control of publications, imported books and magazines.
release immediately all cyber-dissidents and writers imprisoned or under house
arrest for advocating freedom of expression and information.
commit to a free and two-way exchange of cultural products (books, magazines,
literary publications, artistic works) between Vietnam and the U.S. to
strengthen cultural ties between the two countries.
open the service market to foreign investors and implement mechanisms of
transparency in administration and management, and of protecting intellectual
allow for the creation and development of NGOs and independent associations for
professional workers, writers, reporters, students, women, religious groups, in
order to enable them to participate fully and effectively in the development of
in order to guarantee the success of the above reforms, Vietnam needs an
independent judiciary and free and fair elections of national representatives.
for the democratic governments and international circles:
include improvement of human rights in all cooperation and assistance programs
with the Vietnamese government;
up governmental and parliamentary agencies to monitor the human rights
situation in Vietnam;
pressure for the release of all prisoners of religion, opinion and conscience,
and for the abolishment of all measures of oppression of religion, opinion and
assure for a fair and two-way free flow of information and cultural products
between Vietnam and the international community, including the oversea
3. Recommendations for the Vietnamese human rights and
democracy advocates inside and outside Vietnam:
create the environment and conditions favorable to the involvement of the young
generations inside and outside Vietnam to the cause of human rights and
democracy in Vietnam;
for and to create conditions favorable to the free flow of information and
cultural products from oversea Vietnamese community into Vietnam;
engage into the process of social, economic, cultural and political changes in
We strongly believe that Vietnam
should go through a comprehensive peaceful process of liberalization of society
and democratization of the government to integrate into the international
community and to become a civilized and developed country. This can only be
achieved if all parties concerned –the government of Vietnam, international
circles, and the oversea Vietnamese community-- engage into the process of
liberalization of society and democratization of the government.