Lack of human rights in Vietnam remains a major issue. Citizens proceed to fight for their oppressed freedoms of speech and assembly, while harsh police brutality and imprisonment for activists and bloggers continues.

Authorities within The Communist Party of Vietnam continue to restrict basic rights, as bloggers and activists face frequent physical assaults and trial charges. According to the Human Rights Watch, during 2016, at least 34 people reported that unknown assailants beat them. Nguyen Chi Tuyen, a 43-year-old dissident blogger from Hanoi, wasn’t able to identify his attackers. However, he stated with complete certainty, “We know they were organized by the [country’s] security forces.”

The number of bloggers and activists convicted and sentenced to prison has risen from 7 to at least 19 within the past year. Consequently, it is clear that many human rights in Vietnam, such as freedom of speech and assembly, have been seized by the government.

Many of the bloggers on trial were accused of “abusing rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state.” The judge who ordered their conviction also stated that their articles “present a one-sided and pessimistic view, causing anxiety and worry, and affecting people’s confidence [in the Communist Party].”

Despite the government’s accusations during these trials, many citizens argue that they have a hidden agenda working to withhold human rights in Vietnam. Governmental restrictions on freedom of movement are often used to keep bloggers and activists from attending public events, such as protests or human rights discussions.

Prominent rights campaigner Nguyen Quang A and blogger Pham Doan Trang were strategically detained by the government to prevent them from attending a private meeting with President Barack Obama during his visit to Vietnam. In reference to Nguyen Quang A, the Human Rights Watch reports that “between late March and early August 2016, police detained him six times to prevent him from meeting with foreign diplomats and delegations including Germany, the United States, the European Union and Australia.”

Commenting on the lack of U.N. assistance, Nguyen Anh Tuan, a 27-year-old Hanoi activist, stated, “I would say that the U.N. in Vietnam is very active when it comes to the less sensitive issues, for example, HIV prevention, but when it comes to political rights, for example, freedom of expressions, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, they are less active.”

As forceful government intervention continues to keep citizens from their basic human rights in Vietnam, it is important that their struggle for justice does not go unnoticed and more drastic interference is taken on the part of the United Nations.

– Kendra Richardson

Photo: Flickr