{"id":42056,"date":"2020-01-15T17:23:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T17:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queme.org\/?p=42056"},"modified":"2020-01-15T18:37:12","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T18:37:12","slug":"vchr-calls-ep-to-halt-evfta-ratification-pending-inquiry-dong-tam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/vchr-calls-ep-to-halt-evfta-ratification-pending-inquiry-dong-tam\/","title":{"rendered":"VCHR calls on Euro-MPs to halt ratification of EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement pending inquiry into Police attack on Dong Tam village"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><br>PARIS, 15<sup>th<\/sup> January 2020 (VCHR) &#8211; Mr. <strong>V\u00f5 V\u0103n \u00c1i,<\/strong> President of the <strong>Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR)<\/strong> sent a letter to members of the European Parliament today informing them of the violent land rights clashes in <strong>\u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m commune<\/strong> last week in which an 84 year-old man was killed by Police and three Policemen lost their lives. The incidents took place as MEPs enter the final stage of discussions on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) which were signed last year and await ratification by the European Parliament (EP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u201c<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>Land rights issues are a major cause\nof human rights violations in Vietnam. <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>The EP should not ratify EVFTA and IPA until\nVietnam makes an impartial and transparent inquiry into the \u0110\u00f4ng T\u00e2m attack,\nwith the participation of independent international observers\u201d<\/em><\/strong>, he said. <strong><em>\u201cTo overlook\nserious human rights concerns at this crucial stage of EU-Vietnam relations\nwould not only dishonour the EU, but contribute to entrenching a regime which\nsuppresses the liberties and democratic aspirations of its people\u201d.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the letter,\nMr. \u00c1i urged MEPs to insist that Vietnam committed to a series of crucial\nreforms before they consent to ratify EVFTA and IPA, including the release of\nindependent journalist <strong>Ph\u1ea1m Ch\u00ed D\u0169ng<\/strong> and other political prisoners, and\nthe reform of the Vietnamese Criminal Code, which penalizes free expression and\ndissent on \u201cnational security\u201d grounds. The full text of the letter is below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><div align=\"center\"><strong>Deadly Land Clashes in Hanoi Suburb:<br> Appeal to the European Parliament<\/strong><\/div><br><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear\nMember of the European Parliament,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you\nprepare to vote on the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement\n(EVFTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA), we write to draw your urgent\nattention to the eruption of unprecedentedly violent clashes in Vietnam over\nland rights, which have left at least one civilian and three Policemen\ndead.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The clash\ntook place on 9<sup>th<\/sup> January 2020 in the commune of \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m, 40km\nsouth of Hanoi. According to media reports, at 4:00am, thousands of Police\nstormed the village with tear gas, explosives, grenades and pepper spray,\nforcefully reclaimed a plot of 59 hectares of land and began to build a wall\naround it. The farmers resisted, throwing grenades and petrol bombs. Police\nthen broke into the home of L\u00ea \u0110\u1ecbnh K\u00ecnh, an 84-year-old village elder and\ncommunity leader, arrested his grandchildren, two sons and daughter-in-law,\ndestroyed his home with explosive charges and shot Mr. K\u00ecnh four times. Local\nauthorities confiscated the body, then returned it to the family the next day.\nA <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kSEI0s0c_JY\">video filmed by his daughter<\/a> and\nposted on Facebook shows traces of beatings on Mr. K\u00ecnh\u2019s body, a\nbroken leg and bullet marks near his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kSEI0s0c_JY\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><br><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nauthorities intend to bring heavy sentences on \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m residents to avenge the\ndeaths of the three policemen, although the circumstances of their deaths\nremain unclear. The Hanoi Police Department has announced that 20 villagers\nstand accused of murder, which carries the death penalty. The three Policemen\nwere promoted and posthumously awarded Vietnam\u2019s highest Medal of Merit for\n\u201coutstanding service\u201d.&nbsp; No mention has\nbeen made of punishments for the murder of L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh K\u00ecnh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 12<sup>th<\/sup>\nJanuary, Facebooker Chung Ho\u00e0ng Ch\u01b0\u01a1ng was arrested for posting news on \u0110\u1ed3ng\nT\u00e2m on his Facebook \u201cLucky Ch\u01b0\u01a1ng\u201d. He is accused of <em>\u201cundermining the\nprestige of state agencies\u201d<\/em> and charged with <em>\u201cabusing democratic\nfreedoms to encroach on the interests of the state\u201d<\/em> (article 331 of the\nCriminal Code). Radio Free Asia\u2019s YouTube account was temporarily suspended on\nthe government\u2019s demand, but restored after RFA filed a formal complaint. On 13<sup>th<\/sup>\nJanuary, the State-controlled television channel VTV1 aired \u201cconfessions\u201d of\nMr. K\u00ecnh\u2019s son and two grandsons admitting that they had attacked the police\nwith stones and hand-made petrol bombs. Their faces were bruised as if they had\nsuffered torture. Mr. Kinh\u2019s wife told Hanoi-based activists that she had also\nbeen kicked and beaten by Police to admit storing hand grenades, but could not\ndo so because she did not know what a hand grenade looked like. Lawyer Lu\u00e2n L\u00ea\nwrote on his Facebook that the confessions on TV violated Vietnam\u2019s Criminal\nProcedures Code which guarantees the right to presumption of innocence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nconflict in \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m has been simmering for several years. A plot of land was\noriginally earmarked for the Vietnam People\u2019s Army (VPA) in the 1980s for the\nMi\u1ebfu M\u00f4n military airfield which was never built. Tensions came to a head in\n2017 when the government seized more farmland for the Viettel\nTelecommunications Group, also owned by the VPA, without adequately\ncompensating them. Villagers said that their families had tilled the land for\ngenerations and paid taxes to the government. They kidnapped 38 police and\nlocal officials and held them hostage, releasing them after the Mayor of Hanoi\npersonally promised to settle the dispute peacefully and take no legal action.\nIn June 2017, however, the Mayor went back on his promise and stepped up\nharassment against the villagers. During the recent clash, \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m residents\nsaid they would \u201cfight to the death\u201d to defend their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The events\nin \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m and the European Parliament\u2019s ongoing deliberations on EVFTA are\ninextricably linked, for land disputes are a major source of human rights\nabuses in Vietnam. Under the 2013 Land Law, the land <em>\u201cbelongs to the people,\nbut is managed by the state\u201d.<\/em> Private land ownership is not recognised by\nthe authorities, and compensation is decided by local officials. As a result,\narbitrary confiscation of lands for economic projects, official power abuse and\ncorruption, forced displacements and inadequate compensation are widespread,\nresulting in deep popular frustration and discontent. Buddhist temples,\nCatholic and Protestant Churches and cultural sites have been seized with\nlittle warning and scarce compensation. Those who complain risk lengthy prison\nsentences under vaguely-defined \u201cnational security\u201d provisions in the Criminal\nCode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"624\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/queme.org\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ledinhkinh-family-on-vtv1.jpg\" alt=\"L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh K\u00ecnh\u2019s son L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh C\u00f4ng, and his two grandsons L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh Doanh and L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh Quang \u201cconfessing their crimes\u201d on state television on 13th January 2020. Their faces are bruised, suggesting possible torture. The men looked down during the broadcast, as if they were reading from a prepared text.\" class=\"wp-image-42064\" srcset=\"https:\/\/queme.org\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ledinhkinh-family-on-vtv1.jpg 624w, https:\/\/queme.org\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ledinhkinh-family-on-vtv1-300x244.jpg 300w, https:\/\/queme.org\/app\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ledinhkinh-family-on-vtv1-150x122.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><figcaption>L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh K\u00ecnh\u2019s son L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh C\u00f4ng, and his two grandsons L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh Doanh and L\u00ea \u0110\u00ecnh Quang \u201cconfessing their crimes\u201d on state television on 13th January 2020. Their faces are bruised, suggesting possible torture. The men looked down during the broadcast, as if they were reading from a prepared text.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nsuppression of the \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m protest is not an isolated event. The government is\ncurrently engaged in a nationwide crackdown on freedom of expression, arresting\nbloggers, human rights defenders, advocates of environmental and worker rights\nsimply for their dissenting views. In a video message to the European\nParliament sent to our Committee in November 2019, journalist Ph\u1ea1m Ch\u00ed D\u0169ng\nwarned that more activists would be arrested once EVFTA was signed. Two days\nlater, he was arrested himself, and faces up to 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We call\nupon the European Parliament to insist that Vietnam undertakes an immediate and\nimpartial inquiry into the events of \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m with the participation of\ninternational observers, including diplomats, journalists and UN officials who\nshould have unfettered access to the area to assess events and monitor the\ngovernment\u2019s investigations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also\nurge you not to ratify EVFTA and IPA as they stand. The European Parliament\nshould postpone its consent to ratification of EVFTA and IPA until:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Vietnam\ninvestigates the \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m violence and commits to other crucial reforms,\nincluding amending the Criminal Code to bring it into line with international standards\nand releasing independent journalist Ph\u1ea1m Ch\u00ed D\u0169ng and all others detained for the\nmere exercise of their legitimate rights to freedom of expression;<\/li><li>Effective\nmonitoring and complaints mechanisms are included in EVFTA to ensure that human\nrights are protected and vulnerable populations do not suffer negative impacts\nof the agreements. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To overlook\nthese serious human rights concerns at this crucial stage of EU-Vietnam\nrelations would not only dishonour the EU, but also contribute to entrenching a\nregime which suppresses the liberties and democratic aspirations of its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yours\nsincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vo Van Ai&nbsp;\n<br>\nPresident, Vietnam Committee on Human Rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PARIS, 15th January 2020 (VCHR) &#8211; Mr. V\u00f5 V\u0103n \u00c1i, President of the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) sent a letter to members of the European Parliament today informing them of the violent land rights clashes in \u0110\u1ed3ng T\u00e2m commune last week in which an 84 year-old man was killed by Police and three &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":42067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,113,98,64],"tags":[979,634,772,980,978],"class_list":["post-42056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-latest-posts","category-news","category-press-release","category-vchr","tag-dong-tam","tag-evfta","tag-ipa","tag-land-grabbing","tag-le-dinh-kinh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}