Abstract
In July 2012, Dang Thi Kim Lieng made her way to the southern province of Bac Lieu to protest the unfair detention and treatment of her daughter, a prominent blogger. The Ministry of Public Security had repeatedly rejected her requests to see her daughter, Ta Phong Tan, a former policewoman and author of the blog Cong Ly va Su That (Justice and Truth). Tan was arrested in September 2011 for ‘conducting propaganda against the state’ and held in detention without trial.
Distraught, Lieng set herself on fire in front the government offices in Bac Lieu.
Since her mother’s self-immolation, Tan has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. She is not alone. In September, two other members of the Free Journalists’ Club, Nguyen Van Hai, who writes under the name of Dieu Cay, and Phan Thanh Hai, known as Anhbasg, were sentenced to 12 and four years in jail respectively for blogging about politics, democracy and human rights in Vietnam.
Their struggle is one that is close to my heart. In March 2007, I too was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison and four years of house arrest. I was also disbarred. My crime was writing articles and organising discussions about human rights and democracy and helping with the relaunch of the Democratic Party of Vietnam. The period before my arrest was marked with frequent harassment: my access to the telephone and internet was disrupted and my travel was restricted. By June 2006, I was banned from leaving the country.
The three recent arrests and consequent trials are part of a wider government clampdown against bloggers and other pro-democracy activists. Even though Article 69 of the 1992 constitution stipulates that ‘citizens are entitled to freedom of speech and freedom of press’ and Vietnam is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Communist Party exerts tight controls on all aspects of society. The media and other forms of expression are closely monitored and controlled by three government agencies: the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Public Security.
The internet is no different. Internet police keep a close eye on and censor blogs that publish articles on topics including democracy, human rights and corruption. Meanwhile, public security officials follow, harass, arrest and imprison bloggers who express political views or are critical of the government. Bloggers who are fortunate enough to escape detention often lose their jobs, face exorbitant fines or are forced to relocate.
Despite these challenges, the blogging community has thrived over the past year in response to the growing need for information about Vietnam from both within and outside the country. There are currently 34 million internet users in the country, with 9.5 million active on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Approximately 30,000 of them blog on a daily basis. Even with government censorship, well-known blogs such as Bauxite, Basam, Nguyễn Xuân Diện and Quê choa receive hundreds of thousands of visitors per day.
To date, members of the Vietnamese blogger community have made two important contributions. Through their writing, they have helped raise awareness and a greater understanding of human rights, democracy and other social issues. They also frequently disseminate information on sensitive topics, which the state-owned media avoids. Examples include the land evictions of farmers in the districts of Tien Lang, Van Giang and Vu Ban, as well as coverage of the anti-China protests in 2011 and 2012.
Looking ahead, I think bloggers will continue to face these same challenges. They will be harassed, arrested and imprisoned and their blogs will be censored. Yet in spite of this, they will continue to voice their thirst for freedom and democracy. The blogger community will grow bigger and stronger. Bloggers are and will continue to be a pioneering force in the people’s movement for a democratic Vietnam. And I am certain that their contributions will one day be recorded in our country’s history books.
Translated by Trinh Nguyen