Four Vietnam activists get sentence reductions

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BBC

A Vietnamese court has reduced the prison sentences of four activists convicted in January of trying to overthrow the communist state.

Eight out of 14 defendants convicted had appealed against their sentences, four of whom were successful on Thursday, their lawyer has said.

Most of the jailed were Catholics, but they included bloggers and students.

Scores of activists have been jailed since the one-party state became less tolerant of free expression in 2009.

Those convicted in January were accused of having links with the Viet Tan, an exiled organisation based in the US which Vietnam’s government considers a militant group.

Rights groups called the guilty verdicts “outrageous”.

On Thursday well-known activist Le Van Son had his 13-year jail term cut to four years after reportedly expressing contrition for his crimes.

Three other activists had between six months and two-and-a-half years taken off their sentences.

“I am not happy because I asked the court to declare them innocent,” the lawyer for the appellants told the AFP news agency.

Reports posted on dissident blogs suggested dozens of supporters had tried to attend the hearing to show support but were prevented by security services.

Correspondents say that at least 38 Vietnamese activists have been convicted of anti-state activities this year alone.

Vietnam has banned private media outlets and all newspapers and television channels are state-run.

Lawyers, bloggers and activists regularly allege that they have been subjected to arbitrary arrests and detentions.

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry “Pushing Europe” to Help in Syria

John Kerry seeks support for British-led move as means of pressuring Bashar al-Assad to enter into peace negotiations

Ian Black, Middle East editor

guardian.co.uk

Labour’s Douglas Alexander asked: ‘How would the government prevent British-supplied weapons falling into the wrong hands?’ Photograph: Reuters

The United States is lobbying European governments to back a British-led call to amend the EU arms embargo on Syria to put pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to enter into talks with the opposition.

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has been urging the EU to reach consensus on a change that would allow weapons to be delivered to the rebels – though without any decision to do so at this stage.

Diplomatic sources said on Wednesday that Britain now has the support of France, Italy and Spain, while Germany is neutral. But Austria, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic are still opposed. Ambassadors of all 27 EU members have been called into the state department in Washington to be told of the latest US position ahead of a crucial foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels next Monday.

Speaking in Jordan on Wednesday, Kerry pledged publicly that the US and its EU allies would step up support for Syrian opposition forces to help them “fight for the freedom of their country” if Assad does not engage in talks with the rebels in good faith. Efforts are under way, with Russian backing, to convene a peace conference in Geneva some time in June.

In Britain, however, plans to amend the EU embargo are being complicated by disagreements between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and a row in Whitehall about the risks of supplying weapons to rebels fighting Assad’s regime.

William Hague, the foreign secretary, who is with Kerry in Amman to discuss Syria, made clear the UK wants to alter the embargo to put pressure on Assad, but without yet deciding to send any weapons. Options include an amendment to allow weapons to be supplied to the opposition Syrian National Coalition or removal of the word “non-lethal” from the text. Another possibility is a short rollover of the embargo, which expires on 1 June, to see if the Geneva talks have any prospect of success – or deadlock. If there is no agreement the ban will lapse. That leaves open the possibility of unilateral decisions to supply arms, though in the UK that could clearly trigger a coalition crisis.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister, faces strong differences inside his own party. “There is a fallacy in the government position,” Menzies Campbell, the senior Lib Dem foreign affairs expert, told the Guardian. “It is said that the purpose of giving more sophisticated weapons to the rebels is to send a message to Assad but his regime is so heavily supported by the Russians that if there was any imbalance Moscow would be bound to redress it.”

Douglas Alexander, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, said that David Cameron had allowed speculation to build about the government’s willingness to veto the EU embargo. “But how would the government prevent British-supplied weapons falling into the wrong hands?” he asked. “How does supplying weapons help to secure a lasting peace?”

The rebels and their supporters say the embargo must be lifted to help the anti-Assad camp resist overwhemingly superior Syrian government forces, which are equipped with tanks, aircraft and missiles and are supplied by Russia and Iran.

Labour says that regardless of the status of the embargo, any weapons deliveries would breach other EU and UN agreements that are binding on the UK.

Whitehall sources say the national security council, which is chaired by the prime minister, has “grave concerns” about the risk that weapons could fall into “the wrong hands”, amid concern about the growing strength and prominence of jihadi-type groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra, which is linked to al-Qaida.

Alistair Burt, the foreign office minister for the Middle East, told MPs on Tuesday night: “There are no guarantees, but over time we have established a series of links with moderate groups who would have no vested interest in allowing equipment that might be used against them to fall into the wrong hands.” Hague said on Monday that the UK could supply arms “only in carefully controlled circumstances, and with very clear commitments from the opposition side”. Some arrangements would “necessarily be confidential.”

Fighters with the Free Syrian Army, the mainstream rebel group, are being vetted in Jordan, where UK special forces and MI6 officers are believed to be involved. The CIA has reportedly been involved in training and coordinating arms deliveries from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

Information about the vetting process is shrouded in secrecy, but Hague said in a written parliamentary answer last week: “We are in close contact with the leadership of the Syrian National Coalition and Supreme Military Command Council in order to identify training beneficiaries that meet our criteria for the Law of Armed Conflict training. To ensure that the recipients of the training are legitimate members of the opposition all beneficiaries are carefully screened before they are invited to attend the training.”

The fragmentation of rebel groups, the lack of a centralised command structure, the kidnapping of UN peacekeepers and human rights abuses are all sources of concern. The recent incident in which a rebel commander in Homs was filmed eating the heart or lung of a dead government soldier caused widespread revulsion.

The Syrian National Coalition released a video yesterday entitled “Fighter not a Killer” — a YouTube and TV advert about the norms of international humanitarian law and human rights law. “In light of the recent events that have occurred within the Free Syrian Army, we felt that it is imperative to outline and educate what is acceptable and what is not,” said a spokesman, Khaled Saleh.

Oxfam also issued a warning against lifting the embargo: “Sending arms to the Syrian opposition won’t create a level playing field,” it said in a statement. “Instead, it risks further fuelling an arms free-for-all where the victims are the civilians of Syria. Our experience from other conflict zones tells us that this crisis will only drag on for far longer if more and more arms are poured into the country.” An estimated 80,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March 2011. Millions have fled their homes inside Syria or become refugees abroad.

 

Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Makes Heavy-Metal Single To Depict Torture, Abuse in China — Mock State Power

China: The Chinese artist and political campaigner releases a music video for his heavy metal single Dumbass, which reconstructs the 81 days he spent detained by the authorities.

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei at his compound in Beijing on July 20, 2012 (AFP/File, Ed Jones)

Artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei has released a heavy-metal single called “Dumbass’” – meant to reconstruct his 81-day detention in 2011, which was part of an overall crackdown on dissent by the Chinese government.

With it he has released a music video showing two emotionless prison guards who watch Ai as he eats, sleeps, paces, showers, and even sits on the toilet, much of it metaphor designed to mock state power.

The video can be seen at: http://aiweiwei.com/music

The Telegraph

Ai was convicted of tax evasion by China, which his supporters saw as punishment for his activism.

“This is dedicated to all those people who do not have the opportunity to raise their voice, who will never be able to raise their voices,” Ai said.

“This is not just one generation. In the past 60 years there have been innumerable amounts of people who have been killed or taken away from their homes, even tortured to death.”

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Ai has used his art to draw attention to injustices in China and the need for rule of law. His video depicts an insensitive, overbearing state power that ignores individual rights.

The explicit Mandarin lyrics of “Dumbass” are sung by Ai himself, who said he has found in music a therapeutic way to break through the memories of his ordeal.

The music was composed by Zuoxiao Zuzhou, a Beijing-based heavy-metal artist and friend of Ai who has also experienced several run-ins with the government.

For the video, shot in a studio in Beijing, Ai brought on board renowned Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle, who has shot films for Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, among other renowned filmmakers

Ai Weiwei Video:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/c
hina/10072683/Heavy-metal-with-a-political-mess
age-from-Ai-Weiwei.html

Related:

China: Artist-Activist Ai Weiwei With “Baby Formula 2013” May Be Political Attack On Chinese Government

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AFP

BEIJING — Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei released a foul-mouthed heavy rock song titled “Dumbass” on Wednesday, with a video parodying his months in police detention.

The video accompanying the song, posted online, shows Ai under interrogation, marking a document with a red thumbprint, and wearing a black hood labelled “Criminal”, before being scrutinised by guards in a prison shower.

Ai said he had created the five-minute video, which is peppered with bad language and also shows guards dancing with lingerie-clad women as well as a toilet full of crabs, to highlight the plight of other Chinese dissidents.

It culminates with him wearing women’s underwear himself, his head shaved and his mouth in a lipsticked pout.

Some of the track’s few printable lyrics include: “Tolerance be damned, to hell with manners, the low-life’s invincible” and “Stand on the frontline like a dumbass, in a country that puts out like a hooker.”

The combination of music and police repression was inspired by his own 81-day detention in 2011, Ai told AFP, adding that for the video he created an “exact model” of the room in which he was kept for much of the period.

“There are so many political prisoners in China who are being kept in even worse conditions than I was,” he said. “When I was detained, the guards would ask me to sing songs for them… even in such a place people still have imagination.”

The video was shot by famed Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle, best-known for working with high-profile Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai.

Later this year Ai is due to represent Germany at the Venice Biennale, one of the biggest events in the global art calendar, but he said he is not able to travel outside China because authorities have seized his passport.

“I still haven’t been given back my passport, and the authorities have never explained why… I am not sure if I will be able to go,” he said.

Ai has plans to release a hard-rock album, titled “The Divine Comedy” later this year, partly inspired by the work of British singer Elton John, who dedicated a concert to him last year.

The video can be seen at: http://aiweiwei.com/music

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U.S. acknowledges killing of four U.S. citizens in counterterrorism operations

The Washington Post

By Karen DeYoung and Peter Finn

The Obama administration acknowledged Wednesday that it has killed four Americans in overseas counterterrorism operations since 2009, the first time it has publicly taken responsibility for the deaths.Although the acknowledgment, contained in a letter from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to Congress, does not say how the four were killed, three are known to have died in CIA drone strikes in Yemen in 2011: Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son and Samir Khan.

The fourth — Jude Kennan Mohammad, a Florida native indicted in North Carolina in 2009 — was killed in Pakistan, where the CIA has operated a drone campaign against terrorism suspects for nearly a decade. His death was previously unreported.

Holder’s letter came the day before President Obama is due to deliver a major speech designed to fulfill a promise in his State of the Union address in January to make elements of his controversial counterterrorism policies more transparent and accountable to Congress and the American public.

Obama is also under pressure to explain how he intends to make even modest progress on other priorities that were centerpieces of a pledge he made at the beginning of his first term. At the top of that list is closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, where 103 of the 166 detainees still in custody are on a hunger strike.

The administration is planning to restart the transfer of the detainees, 86 of whom have been cleared to leave. A White House official said without elaboration that Obama “will announce a number of specific steps to advance” his goal of closing the facility.

In addition to disclosure of the four killings, Holder wrote that Obama has approved classified briefings for Congress on an overall policy document, informally called the “playbook.” The document, more than a year in the making, codifies the administration’s standards and processes for its unprecedented program of targeted killing and capture of terrorism suspects outside of war zones.

Attorney General Eric Holder

Nearly 400 drone strikes, in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, have been launched by the CIA and U.S. military forces during Obama’s presidency. Although the administration has acknowledged the existence of the drone program and outlined its justification under international and domestic law, specific operations are considered classified.

The secrecy surrounding the program — including the criteria for choosing targets — has led to widespread opposition from international law and human rights advocates and, increasingly, from Congress and the public. Although the administration has stressed the precision accuracy of drones, independent groups have charged that thousands of civilians have been unintentionally killed.

Congressional and public criticism reached a crescendo this year when Obama nominated John Brennan, then his principal counter­terrorism adviser, as CIA director. Before they would confirm Brennan, lawmakers demanded access to Justice Department legal opinions justifying the killing of U.S. citizens overseas without due process or other constitutional protections. Although the documents were made available to the Senate and House intelligence committees, other members insisted that they had a right to the information.

One of them was Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who threatened last month to subpoena the administration for the opinions. After that threat, Leahy said in an interview, the documents were produced for the committee in a classified meeting.

Leahy said Wednesday afternoon that Holder called him to say he would receive a letter with information about the four killings and to tell him about upcoming briefings on the classified playbook. Although Holder’s letter was addressed to Leahy, it was copied to the rest of the Judiciary Committee.

“I think it’s a significant effort at openness,” Leahy said. He said he also received a call from the White House inviting him to Obama’s Thursday speech at the National Defense University at Fort McNair.

Others were less certain that critics would be satisfied.

“The desire to put this on a normal, rule-of-law footing keeps clashing with the imperatives of national security, which entail extreme institutional secrecy,” said Jack Goldsmith, former director of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. “That clash has been going on since the first day of the administration.”

Prior to the Obama administration, the only known American killed by a drone strike was Kamal Derwish, who died in a strike launched in Yemen in 2002 under President George W. Bush.

In September 2011, Obama announced the death of Awlaki, a New Mexico-born cleric described as the foreign operations director for Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as AQAP. Although Obama did not claim U.S. responsibility, the fact that Awlaki was killed by a CIA drone was one of the worst-kept secrets in Washington.

According to Holder’s letter, Awlaki was the only U.S. citizen the administration “has specifically targeted and killed.” Khan, who edited an AQAP online magazine that provided bomb-building instructions allegedly used to carry out the Boston Marathon attack, was not targeted but was at Awlaki’s side and killed in the same strike.

Two weeks after Awlaki’s death, his 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman — who had gone to the Yemeni desert in search of his father — was killed in a drone strike meant for someone else. That strike was similarly un­acknowledged, although a senior administration official privately characterized it as a “mistake.”

The fourth American death, Jude Kennan Mohammad, was previously unreported. According to an information sheet released by the Justice Department, the former North Carolina resident was charged in 2009 with conspiracy “to provide material support to terrorists, including currency, training, transportation and personnel” and “to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.”

Mohammad had fled the United States for Pakistan in the fall of 2008. According to Pakistan news accounts, the 20-year-old Mohammad, whose father was Pakistani, was detained by authorities when he tried to enter a tribal region near the Afghan border but was later released.

Mohammad’s mother, Elena Mohammad, said in a telephone interview that she was aware that her son had been killed in a drone strike but that she got the news from people in Pakistan, not U.S. authorities. She said she had no details on when and where her son was killed.

“I dealt with that, and I don’t have to deal with it anymore because it’s already over with,” she said. “So whatever transpired I don’t want it back in my life anymore. It’s gone. There are no questions. I don’t have to hear any authorities; the FBI has finished coming to my house. It’s over. That’s it.”

In regard to Guantanamo, the large Yemeni population there — at least 84 of the 166 detainees — could be one area where Obama chooses to act. After the failed attempt to bomb a commercial plane over Detroit on Dec. 25, 2009, a plot that was linked to Awlaki and AQAP, the president suspended all transfers of detainees to Yemen.

The government of Yemen and human rights groups have urged Obama to lift the moratorium and begin the staggered repatriation of some of these detainees. Of the Yemenis held at the military detention center in Cuba, 26 have been cleared for transfer and 30 others could be sent home if security conditions in the country improved, according to U.S. officials

Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi recently set up a detainee affairs committee made up of cabinet ministers and officials in the defense, intelligence and internal security agencies to manage any return and work with the United States to create and implement a resettlement plan, according to Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for Yemen’s Embassy in Washington.

An additional 30 detainees of various nationalities were also cleared for transfer by an inter­agency task force in the first year of Obama’s first term but remain at the facility.

Greg Miller and Julie Tate contributed to this report.

Filipino Catholics Denied Rights in Taiwan During Sea Dispute

Ban seen as part of rising Taiwan/Philippines tensions

Participants at the Holy Cross procession in Taiwan in 2012

From May 15, 2013

Taiwanese authorities have attempted to thwart a Catholic procession for Filipinos in the city of Changhua, amid rising tensions over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Filipino coastguard in disputed waters.

Hung Shih-chen, 65, was shot dead last week after his boat entered martime territory claimed by both Taiwan and Philippines. Taipei recalled its envoy yesterday and announced it would suspend the hiring of Filipino workers following criticism of Manila’s handling of the case.

Taiwan is home to more than 150,000 Filipino migrant workers, many of whom join annual traditional Holy Cross processions. Amid growing anti-Filipino sentiment among Taiwanese, the Changhua City Office yesterday withdrew its usual approval to the Catholic Church for use of its venue for the procession on May 26.

In addition, a dozen shops in a traditional market in Changhua are reportedly refusing to sell their goods to Filipinos.

“People across Taiwan are angry and discontented as the Manila government shows a strong attitude and refuses to apologise, compensate the victim’s family and apprehend the killer,” Changhua Mayor Chiu Chien-fu said yesterday.

Father Eliseo Napiere, executive secretary of the Bishops’ Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in Taiwan, said that he was upset but  added that he understood the decision.

Taipei is angry at the response from the Philippines, particularly the silence from President Benigno Aquino. It was left to Manila’s de facto ambassador, Antonio Basilio, to apologize for the incident.

That however has further angered Taipei. Taiwan Premier Jiang Yi-huah said that it was unacceptable that the apology came from the “people of the Philippines” rather than the government, which manages the coastguard.

http://www.ucanews.com/news/filipinos-in-
taiwan-refused-catholic-procession/68264

Chinese troops suffering post-traumatic stress disorder in Tibet

China Troops in Tibet:  The battle to keep Tibetans under control is inflicting severe psychological damage on Chinese armed police, an internal training document has revealed.

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Advice has been offered to members of the People’s Armed Police on combating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Photo: CAI JUN/EPA

By Malcolm Moore, Beijing

The Telegraph

The leaked 25-page training manual was given to members of the People’s Armed Police charged with keeping order in Tibetan areas of Sichuan province.

Among the advice it offers are ways of combating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for paramilitary troops involved in recent atrocities.

One section is titled: “How should you deal with flashbacks of brutal episodes?” It specifically refers to an incident in Aba county on March 16, 2011 when a Tibetan monk named Phuntsok self-immolated in a market and to a protest on March 18, 2009 in Seda and Ganzi counties where Chinese armed police, confronted by protesting Tibetans, fired into the crowd.

“For some of the troops who joined these operations, there may be brutal scenes that reappear in their minds, causing nightmares and insomnia. These are called flashbacks, a symptom of PTSD,” the manual states.

“If you are suffering flashbacks, you should close your eyes and imagine that you are zooming in on the scene like a camera. It may feel uncomfortable. Then zoom all the way out until you cannot see anything. Then tell yourself the flashback has gone.”

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The manual was unearthed and distributed by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a non-governmental organisation staffed by Tibetans in exile in Dharamsala, which said it exposed the falsity of claims that life is “harmonious” under Chinese rule.

Since February 2009, at least 109 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in protest, of whom at least 89 have died.

The manual also advises troops to avoid depression by taking walks, listening to music, playing sports and games of cards and by writing a diary. It says if officers begin to “feel numb” to the world around them, they should put a bunch of wild flowers in their room.

Two military psychiatrists said special teams have been making trips to Tibet and to Tibetan areas of China for the past decade, sometimes spending months at a time counselling Chinese troops.

One said the lack of oxygen at high altitude can “decrease rational thinking and lead to short temper or depression”.

In March, seven teams from the Third Military Medical university in Chongqing visited various Tibetan areas to conduct psychological surveys and treat more than 1,000 individuals. The exact number of troops from the PAP and the People’s Liberation Army keeping order in Tibet is unknown.

A paper published in February in the Modern Clinical Medicine Journal suggested that there should be teams of psychiatrists “at every level of the forces” in Qinghai province.

Wu Chuke, a professor at the Ethnic Minorities University in Beijing poured scorn on the idea that Chinese troops are suffering psychologically from policies in Tibet.

“Any sensible person knows that what they experience in Tibet can be no worse than in the rest of the China. Psychological problems cannot be significant for them. They are armed police! They must have seen worse things”.

As China battles to contain the problems in Tibetan areas, the authorities have introduced a new, microscopic surveillance system to keep watch on the ethnic population and reduce the risk of troops being exposed to traumatic incidents.

Outlined in an annual report in February, the “grid” management divides Tibet into units of as few as five or ten households, each of which is watched over by at least five administrative and security staff, according to Human Rights Watch.

The staff are also charged with collecting information about their grids in order to nip any problems in the bud.

Official statements in Tibet praise the new system as “increasing harmonious factors and minimizing the factors of disharmony”, while Yu Zhengsheng, a member of China’s Politburo Standing Committee, said in February that the grid would form “nets in the sky and traps on the ground”.

Looming Over Vietnam’s National Assembly: What Rights Do The People Have?

As Vietnam’s National Assembly opens, the subject not spoken of in Vietnam’s government, the ”Elephant in the Assembly Hall”–  is the issue of human rights, underscored during the last few weeks by government land seizures and the imprisonment of young people for distributing leaflets.

Vietnam cannot just be a corrupt dictatorship that does just the bare minimum for the people who do the work.

All Vietnamese people and all people who love Vietnam await a more enlightened point of view from the government leadership that now risks becoming a world Pariah interested mostly in enriching the very few while trampling upon the human rights of the many.

People all over the world now know the injustices and suffering inflicted upon the people and served up as “normal” by the government of Vietnam.

As people in Vietnam talk more freely among themselves and on the Internet, the government in Vietnam must be compelled to address the issues burning in the hearts of the people.

Related:

Vietnam’s National Assembly Opens: Focused On Economic Recovery, Land Reform

Vietnamese distrust food products

Vietnam’s Latest Human Rights Trial: Years in Jail for Distribution of Leaflets — Young Woman Beaten by Police

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Vietnam uses elderly women to suppress dissident, exposing gulf with US on human rights

Human rights worsening in China, Vietnam

Vietnam, US far apart on human rights

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Rights campaigners slam Vietnam over cyber-dissidents

Nguyen Phuong Uyen.  Photo by Dan Lam Bao

Nguyen Phuong Uyen, 21, from Ham Thuan Bac district, Binh Thuan province, is a student at the Ho Chi Minh University of Food Industry. The police arrested Phuong Uyen on October 14, 2012 in Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh City, and took her to the police station in Tan Phu district’s Tay Thanh ward without informing her family. Phuong Uyen’s family and friends launched an intensive search for her by making inquiries at Tay Thanh police station and alerting the public via non-state channels, including the BBC and Radio Free Asia. It was not until eight days later that an officer at Tay Thanh police station told Phuong Uyen’s mother that she had been transferred to the police of Long An province. On October 23 the Long An police acknowledged that Phuong Uyen had been charged with “conducting propaganda against the state” under article 88 of the penal code. According to the indictment, Nguyen Phuong Uyen was officially arrested on October 19, leaving five days unaccounted for by officials.

Nguyen Phuong Uyen’s mother claims that on a visit on April 26, 2013, she saw many bruises on her daughter’s neck, upper chest, and arms. Her mother said that Phuong Uyen told her that she was beaten and kicked in the stomach by in detention. It was only when she fainted that prison guards came in to stop the beating and took her to see a doctor.

Dinh Nguyen Kha.  Photo by Dan Lam Bao

Dinh Nguyen Kha, 25, is from the city of Tan An, Long An province. According to the police, his job is to fix computers. His family says he is a student at the Long An University of Economics and Industry. The police told state media that on October 10, 2012, with the help of Nguyen Phuong Uyen, Dinh Nguyen Kha allegedly dropped 2000 anti-government leaflets at An Suong overpass in Ho Chi Minh City. Police also alleged that Dinh Nguyen Kha previously conducted experiments with making explosives. He was arrested on October 11, 2012. According to a copy of the indictment, on September 29, 2012, the People’s Court of Tan An city convicted and sentenced Dinh Nguyen Kha to two years in prison for “intentionally causing injuries [to others].”

Given his conviction in late September, it was unclear why he would have still been free to drop leaflets on October 10, Human Rights Watch said. Dinh Nguyen Kha has also been charged with “terrorism” under article 84 of the penal code in a separate case. Human Rights Watch has no information about the explosives or terrorism charges, but opposes criminal charges for dropping leaflets, which is an act of peaceful expression.

“Lawyers and doctors should have unrestricted and confidential access to Nguyen Phuong Uyen and Dinh Nguyen Kha to discuss the charges against them and to investigate claims of mistreatment,” said Adams. “Vietnam should stop using politically-controlled courts to convict critics of the government.”

Related:

U.S. Protests Vietnam’s Jail Sentences of Pro-Democracy Activists — Guilty of Passing Out Leaflets; Sentences of 6 and 8 Years

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Vietnam firms involved in ‘illegal land grabs’

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Stolen Vietnam Land Makes Communist Government Officials Rich When Farms or Protected Forests Converted for Rubber

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Vietnam: Farmers beaten after refusing to accept extremely low compensation from government during land seizure

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Doan Van Vuon while he was on trail

Owning property is often a lifetime goal. Property has incredible value and is the largest investment most people make in their lifetime. It is a central tenant of the American Dream and separates the haves from the have-nots. Being deprived of property, then, is tough. Having it confiscated is tougher. What right does someone have to take your home? How much should you be compensated? There is so much wrapped up into the idea of property ownership that quantifying it is nearly impossible.

So imagine what it means for a Vietnamese farmer who has spent 14 years cultivating, caring and developing his land to have the state say: “No. It’s ours. We’d like it back now.” He’d be royally ticked-off. And that’s exactly how Doan Van Vuon felt last January when his government told him had to leave. After lengthy negotiations, government officials came to his farm and demanded he give it up. This ticked-off farmer didn’t go quietly. Vuon and his family set up home-made explosives across his land that knocked the officers off their feet on their way to his home. When the officers continued their approach, Vuon and his brother pointed shotguns out the windows and demanded they stop.

Unsurprisingly, Vuon and his family are now in jail.

Doan Van Vuon and three of his relatives are standing trial this week for attempted murder. Their protest, however, has sparked a string of demonstrations across the northern provinces of Vietnam by other farmers whose land is being seized by the government. The protests are in opposition to the 1993 Land Law, which gives all land ownership to the state. Since 1993, individuals and families have been given access to parcels of land for limited periods of time, generally about 20 years.

This of course is a concept utterly incompatible with most Western notions of land ownership, and is an idea that has clearly upset many Vietnamese as well. After nearly twenty years of raising a family on this land, of coaxing growth from the soil, of developing and investing in it, to have the government rip it away is simply cruel. Hence the home-made mines. This was Vuon’s livelihood; without the land he and his family have nothing.

Reports from Vietnam say this type of protest is becoming more and more common. Across the Hung Yen province in northern Vietnam thousands of farmers gathered recently to protest land seizures when a proposed development plan called for the reclamation of 4,000 families’ land. A violent melee broke out; tear gas and clubs were used by over 2,000 guards and police who were dispatched to calm the protest. These demonstrations have grown increasingly violent as more people are being forcibly removed from their land.

No one will speak openly about land privatization, but it seems to be on everyone’s mind. It is said that public land ownership unfairly allows the government to decide people’s lives and livelihoods and could lead to increased corruption within the government. Unfortunately, providing for private land ownership would require a change to the country’s constitution, an endeavor on which, for the time being, most Vietnamese seem reluctant to embark. In the coming months, as this trial progresses and as more Vietnamese are forced to give up their land, it would not be surprising to see increasing protests and more open dialogue about privatizing land.

Doan Van Vuon and his family are already heroes in rural Vietnam; perhaps they will also be the inspiration for change.

Vietnam: Internet Challenger To Google Redirecting Searches to American Web Sites

Vietnam has been on a campaign to put the muzzle on people: Here Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly being restrained from talking at his own trial in Vietnam — Father Ly is one of Vietnam’s most prominent dissidents and has been a strong advocate for religious freedom and democracy for over 40 years. If his case is discussed by Vietnam’s bloggers, the communist government tries to find out who is involved so they can punish the bloggers….

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Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly remains in prison somewhere in Vietnam. Please pray for him.

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Above: Vietnam’s usual response to reporters, cameras and recorders: “No Comment” followed quickly by “You Under Arrest!” Vietnam, like China, has no real free media, no real freedom of speech and no real freedom of religion. The government of each nation is not accountable to the people…..

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Has the Leadership of Vietnam “Given Away” Vietnam’s part of the South China Sea to China?

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China Prepares for Clash In South China Sea; Announces It Will “Expell Foreign Boats Found Fishing” in Designated by China Areas

Vietnamese fishermen to ignore China’s illegal fishing ban

China, Vietnam pledge “comprehensive cooperation” including dispute resolution in South China Sea

China’s State Councilor Yang Jiechi (R) shakes hands with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan during the sixth meeting of the China-Vietnam steering committee on cooperation in Beijing, capital of China, May 11, 2013. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

China, Vietnam pledge closer bilateral ties

China Wants The World To Know: China Will Keep The Peace in the South China Sea (ASEAN Nations Can Help)

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Photo: Chinese officers stop and question fishermen in the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan and others have had trouble with China’s aggression in the South China Sea.

Vietnamese fishermen say that China’s rules are not legal.

Vietnamese fishermen to ignore China’s illegal fishing ban

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Photo: Captain Pham Quang Thanh on the fishing boat that was fired at by a Chinese naval boat off Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands of Vietnam on March 20, 2013

China puts itself above international law

Vietnam’s National Assembly Opens: Focused On Economic Recovery, Land Reform

The 5th session of Vietnam’s National Assembly, which opened this morning in Hanoi, is expected to decide on a raft of important issues, including the revised 1992 Constitution draft, revised land laws and confidence votes for senior positions.

Speaking at the session’s opening ceremony, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung urged for comprehensive measures and efforts to overcome current challenges and successfully achieve the country’s socio-economic development plan for 2013.

President of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Sinh Hung

ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Hung said the country had faced many challenges due to unstable marco economics, bank system restructuring, bad debts, stagnant goods and real estate, as well as increasing numbers of bankrupt enterprises.

“The draft of the revised 1992 Constitution has been seriously researched and perfected for submission to the NA with spirits of honestly receiving, researching and filtering public opinions and fully,” said Hung.

On behalf of the NA, Hung also welcomed the suggestions to the draft of the revised 1992 Constitution made by local people and those overseas.

The NA chairman asked deputies to continuously discuss and perfect the revised land law on legal and reality aspects to ensure its feasibility and ability to handle obstacles and shortcomings in implementing current land regulations.

“Confidence votes for positions elected or approved by the National Assembly or People’s Councils have been seen as a an important step in the country’s political reform with the aim of clarifying Party guidelines, laws and regulations, while strengthening the voice of the people through implementation of the NA’s right to supervise key positions in the Party and Government,” said Hung.

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Xinhua

Deputies of Vietnam’s 13th National Assembly (NA) convened its fifth session in capital Hanoi on Monday to review the country’s socio-economic development and legislative work.

In his opening remark, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said that in the first five months of 2013, domestic economy witnessed higher growth than the same period last year.

Inflation has been curbed, prices stabilized, interest rates lowered and export turnover increased, Hung said. However, he pointed out that the macro economy was not yet stable, inventories are still high, along with an increasing number of businesses shutting down or dismissing.

This situation “requires us to have positive solutions and comprehensive efforts to overcome difficulties and challenges to successfully implement the socio-economic development plan in 2013, creating impetus for sustainable development in the following years,” Hung added.

A highlight of the session’s working agenda, which is scheduled to last till June 21, will be the conduct of poll and vote of confidence for the first time on 49 high-ranking officials elected or approved by the NA or the people’s councils. Those who poll less than 50 percent will face a no-confidence vote or be called to resign.

The officials, including top leaders of the assembly, the state and the government, have submitted reports on their work performance and results, mentioning law obedience, ethics and lifestyle to the NA deputies 20 days before the voting day, for consideration.

During the one-month session, deputies will consider and adopt one resolution and 10 bills, including Law on Land (amended), Law on Prevention and Combat Terrorism, Law on Defense and Security Education, and give opinion on the draft amendment to the Constitution 1992 and seven other bills.

On the first day of working, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presented a report giving more details in task performance in 2012 and in the first months of this year as well as major solutions for the remaining months of 2013.

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The Vietnamese economy is still facing a myriad of challenges, ranging from the large amount of nonperforming debts to the rising number of bankrupt businesses, the government and the Committee of Economic Affairs reported at the National Assembly’s fifth session on Monday.

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The first day of the 5th session was reserved for the NA to listen to reports on socio-economic performance in 2012 and the first four months of this year, which is forecast by both of the reports to remain in a tough spot.

“Although the socio-economic situation posted certain positive signs in the first four months, its development remains slow and unsustainable,” Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said to begin the government’s report.

The economy is still under pressure of high inflation and vulnerable to macro-economic instability, while the lending interest rates remain out of borrowers’ reach, the report said.

Credit growth lagged far behind the 12 percent a year target, and the rate of nonperforming loans remained as high as 7.8 percent by the end of last year, according to figures from the State Bank of Vietnam.

State Bank of Vietnam

The gold market management system has also failed to mobilize gold from the public to pump into the economy.

The government’s report also pointed out that market consumption remains low and a number of commodities still have high unsold inventory stocks. The number of businesses forced to dissolve or declare bankruptcy continues to rise, while the realty market is still struggling to escape from its frozen state.

“Policies have been issued to help solve the problems, but most of them either lack guidance for implementation or are slowly implemented,” the report concluded.

As for solutions in the near future, Phuc said the government will prioritize pulling down the average lending interest rate and achieve the credit growth target of 12 percent a year.

Chief of the NA’s Committee of Economic Affairs, Nguyen Van Giau, also delivered the committee’s report, which shares many mutual points with that of the government.

“The task to improve the situation in the remaining months of the year is a very tough one,” commented Giau.

As much as 69 percent of businesses nationwide reported losses by the end of 2012, according to the committee.

“The problem is how to ensure that both the targets of boosting GDP growth and combating inflation can be achieved,” Giau said.

The committee thus suggested that fiscal and monetary policies should be released to boost consumption, besides implementing the solutions to support businesses with production and bank loans.

Iran Hangs 2 “Spies” — Again States Intention to Control Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz

TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi emphasized the IRGC’s full preparedness to defend Iran’s interests in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

Addressing members of the IRGC’s fifth naval zone, Fadavi said that his forces are fully prepared to implement their Commander-in-Chief Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei’s orders for defending Iran’s interests in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi

“Our mighty naval forces in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is one of the powerful arms of the (Iranian) nation and the Islamic ruling system in confronting the threats and expansionist moves of aggressors and ill-wishers,” Fadavi reiterated.

In November, the IRGC established a new Navy zone in the Persian Gulf waters in a bid to boost defensive measures in waters surrounding Iran’s islands.

The IRGC’s fifth naval zone, namely Emam Mohammad Baqer (PBUH), was officially inaugurated in Iran’s Southern port city of Bandar Lengeh in Hormozgan province in a ceremony attended by IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Jafari said due to the defensive nature of the zone “the largest number of the IRGC marines will be stationed in the fifth naval zone”.

“The IRGC’s fifth naval zone is a very sensitive and strategic zone and is a frontline in defending the Islamic Iran,” Jafari said.

The fifth zone operations will cover an area from Qeshm Island and Naze’aat Islands region to the western waters of the Kish Island.

ATTA KENARE / AFP / Getty

From Time Magazine:

Jafari heads the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a full-blown army of some  300,000 personnel (not counting reservists). The IRGC is the most powerful  element in the regime’s security forces, running everything from the country’s  missile systems to the Basij militia, whose hundreds of thousands of young men  enforce domestic order and have  been at the forefront of attacks against those  protesting the election result. Reporting to the Supreme Leader, the IRGC is  listed by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization — and also maintains  an extensive business empire in Iran. It is believed to be a base of support for  Ahmadinejad, although one of the Corps’ influential former commanders, Mohsen  Rezaei, ran against the incumbent in the election (finishing fourth, according  to official results). The support of the IRGC and the Basij will be crucial to  the regime’s hopes of suppressing a popular revolt against the election result

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/pac
kages/article/0,28804,1905910_1905908_190590
1,00.html #ixzz2Tp1VQeXv

Iranian Moudge class guided missile frigate Jamaran

Iran dispatches warship to shadow Persian Gulf exercises

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state radio says authorities have executed two men convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad and the American CIA intelligence agency.

Sunday’s report says Mohammad Heidari, who was accused of providing Mossad with classified information in return for money, and Kourosh Ahmadi, who allegedly gave the CIA intelligence on Iran, were hanged.

The report didn’t say when the men were arrested or tried.

Iran occasionally says it has dismantled Western spying networks in the country and announces arrests of individuals on espionage charges.

Tehran accuses Israel and the U.S. of spying on its vital interests, particularly its nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at producing an atomic weapon. Tehran denies the charge.

Both Israel and the U.S have not ruled out a military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

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Iranian authorities have executed two men  convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad and the American CIA spy agency,  according to the country’s state radio.

Mohammad Heidari, accused of passing  security-related information and secrets to Mossad agents in  exchange for  money, and Kourosh Ahmadi, accused of gathering information for the CIA, were  hanged at dawn, it said.

The sentence for their execution was handed  down by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and confirmed by the country’s Supreme  Court.

Iran has hanged two men alleged to be spies for the US  and Israel, according to state radio (file photo)

The report did not say when the pair were  arrested nor when their trial took place.

Iran has in the past said it had successfully  detected and dismantled spy networks operating inside the country.

More…

• Imran  Khan condemns killing of senior member of his reforming party after she was  gunned down outside her home
• ‘North  Korea fires three-short range missiles into eastern waters’, defence spokesman  claims

 

Tehran accuses Israel and the U.S. of spying  on its vital interests, particularly its nuclear program, which the West  suspects is aimed at producing an atomic weapon.

Tehran denies the charge. It has blamed the  assassinations of  scientists associated with its disputed nuclear programme on  Western spy agencies, especially Mossad.

The men were hanged in the capital Tehran at dawn for  allegedly passing secrets to Mossad and the CIA

The United States has denied any role in the  killings. Israel has not commented.

Both Israel and the U.S have not ruled out a  military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Last month, Amnesty International reported  that Iran had 314 officially confirmed executions in 2012, the second highest  behind China. It is feared that the actual total is much higher.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-232
6909/Iranian-authorities-hang-spies-convicted-working-U
-S-Israel.html#ixzz2Tp4bD75S

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Government of the Philippines Tells Overseas Workers in Taiwan to Limit Activities in Wake of Fisherman Shooting

PH advises OFWs: Just stay at workplaces, homes

By TJ A. Burgonio Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippine officials have advised thousands of Filipino workers to “limit  their movement” in Taiwan, fearing a potentially violent backlash over the  killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Antonio Basilio, resident representative of Manila Economic and Cultural  Office (Meco) in Taiwan, issued the advisory following a reported upsurge of  attacks on some of the 87,000 Filipinos working in Taipei, Malacañang said  Sunday.

“According to Mr. Basilio, they have issued an advisory to our countrymen to  limit their going out … They should avoid doing unnecessary things, in other  words, to keep within their workplace and their homes,” Abigail Valte, deputy  presidential spokesperson, said over state radio.

Philippines Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Meco staff had also spoken to members of the Filipino community “to  apprise them of what had happened, what the government has done,” Valte added.

Any Filipino maltreated by a Taiwanese employer should contact the Meco  “soonest” so its officials could make the proper representation and ensure that  they get justice, she said.

Meco Chairman Amadeo Perez said his office had confirmed the attack on a  Filipino by a gang of youths wielding a baseball bat, and was documenting other  cases.

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has called for calm  and urged Taiwanese to act decently toward Filipinos.

The May 9 killing of fisherman Hung Shih-chen by the  PCG in waters off Balintang Island has sparked outrage in Taiwan and prompted  Taiwanese sanctions, including a freeze on the hiring of new Filipino workers.

Photo: Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, 65, was killed at sea aboard the vessel “Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28″ seen here —  by Philippine coast guard sailors  in disputed waters, Thursday, May 9, 2013.  (Liuqiu Fishermen’s Assn. / EPA / May 10, 2013)

The PCG said the fishing vessel had intruded into  Philippine waters and tried to ram its patrol boat.

Taiwan’s deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang told  reporters on Sunday that a joint inquiry was the only way to establish the truth  about the May 9 incident.

“While our investigators can provide them with evidence  they have collected, Filipino investigators can come to Taiwan to gather  evidence, including talking to the other witnesses on board the fishing boat at  the time of the shooting,” Chen said.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, however, has rejected  a joint investigation.

De Lima said she has urged Taiwan to wait for the  Philippines to finish its “fair, thorough and expeditious probe.”

President Aquino has apologized over the “unfortunate”  incident, but the Taiwanese found this unacceptable.

Malacañang also questioned the premature conclusion by  the Taiwanese investigating team that Hung was murdered.

One-China policy

Perez said issues like Manila’s “one-China” policy and  comments by Taiwanese investigators had complicated the situation.

“We are waiting for the right time because I was told  by the secretary-general for Asian affairs, we should wait for the temperature  in Taiwan to cool,” Perez said in an interview with dzMM radio.

“The Taiwanese are highly emotional and … the media in  Taiwan are heating things up so tempers are running high.”

The Taiwan investigative team, which visited the  country last week, described the shooting as “murder,” but Perez said the  Taiwanese had not coordinated with local authorities before making the  accusation.

Perez, whose office is in charge of relations in the  absence of diplomatic ties, said lines of communication between his agency and  the Taiwanese foreign ministry were still active despite the controversy.

He said the Department of Justice was still studying a  request for a joint investigation when the Taiwanese made their allegations this  weekend.

The investigators’ remarks “will further inflame the  people of Taiwan,” he warned.

Perez also said Taiwan wanted President Aquino  personally to write a letter of apology, but this could be considered a  violation of the country’s one-China policy—recognizing Beijing rather than  Taipei as the government of China.

Last week, Aquino sent Perez to Taiwan to convey his  apology, but Taiwan rejected the message.

Fr. Edwin Corros, executive secretary of the Catholic  Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Migrant and  Itinerant People, on Sunday urged Filipinos in Taiwan to document and report to  Philippine authorities attacks against them.

Nurses from the Philippines work all over the world

Willing to help

“The Church there in Taiwan is open to help out our  fellow Filipinos. They are very accommodating and very generous. Their bishops  have even established migrant ministries all over the island to assist migrants  from across the world,” Corros said over Church-run Radio Veritas.

He lamented that the country’s poor policies on labor  export had placed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in danger, especially during  conflicts between the Philippines and their host countries.

Also on Sunday, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said in  an interview over dzBB that the attacks by Taiwanese on Filipinos in Taiwan  could be regarded as “acts of aggression” that could serve as basis for closing  down the Manila office in Taipei.—With reports from AFP, AP, Jocelyn  R. Uy and Cathy C.

Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/74985/filipinos-
in-taiwan-told-to-limit-movement#ixzz2TmTfC9x6

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