Jessica Ryan (Uriks) - In May Reporters without Borders called Nguyen Phu Trong a predator of Freedom of Information. Last week he received an honorary doctorate from Thammasat University in Thailand.
Once the news was known to bloggers and activists both in Vietnam and other countries, a group of activists led by the blog Dan Lam Bao sent an open letter to the Thammasat University, pointing out how inappropriate their decision was. All though 13 different organizations stood by this letter, Thammasat still chose to hand out the honorary doctorate in political science to Nguyen Phu Trong.
One can ask if this was more of a political gesture, than an honorary gesture from the university, considering Nguyen got this honorary award on his first state visit to Thailand. In fact it was the first state visit from Vietnam since 1993 when the CPV leader Do Moui was in Thailand.
“How can a person like Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong, who is responsible for the increasing number of human right abuses in a nation under the repressive rule of a mono-political party in which he is a top leader, be honored by one of the oldest universities in Thailand that educates and advocates students ‘to emphasize the benefits of living by the philosophy of sufficient economy, democratic values and social justice?”, the activists ask in their open letter.
Their question is justified when one reads Reporters without Borders report from May 2013, where Vietnam is ranked as number 172 of 179 countries on the World Press Freedom Index. In the same report, Nguyen Phu Trong was named one of 39 Predators of Freedom of Information. Vietnam is listed as one of five countries that are considered Enemies of the Internet in this very same report.
In Thammasat’s guidelines it clearly states that one of their missions is “to emphasize the benefits of living by the philosophy of sufficient economy, democratic values and social justice”. Is the before mentioned achievements a good example of democratic values and social justice?
Nguyen Phu Trong has been the secretary-general of the communist party since 2011, and he has been in the same party since 1967. According to the open letter, Nguyen has been a propagandist who has been utterly loyal to his party, a party who fights for one thing and that is to keep the political monopoly in order to protect their own interests. The open letter furthermore states that he is one of the more conservative minds that cling to the outdated ideology that communism is considered to be in most of the modern world. By refusing to change and reform, Vietnam is robbed of their chance to grow into a more productive society that will benefit all, not just a select few.
According to the blogger Doan Trang, it is hard for bloggers and citizen journalists to stay and work in Vietnam. They are denied basic rights as journalists. One example is the press card that allows you access to official information, and access to certain events. In Vietnam you will not get this card as a blogger or citizen journalist. You have to be a part of state owned media. This is a rather effective way to silence the critical voices, wouldn’t you say? This means that they are denied access to events, public records and any material they can use as evidence for their critical thoughts.
As the last years have seen many new blogs and new citizen journalists, the Vietnamese government has decided to fight back even harder. They continuously arrest bloggers and citizen journalists, and hand them long sentences sometimes even without trial or legal representation. Some of those who have been arrested show scars from torture and they bear them proudly. They stood up for their cause and paid a price for doing so. They tell stories of terrible conditions with no food, continuous beatings in interviews, psychological torture and humiliation. For women this may also include sexual assaults of some degree. If Nguyen Phu Trong was a man and a politician concerned with social justice, freedom and democracy, wouldn’t his first job be to stop this damaging practice?
“We fear that by awarding Nguyen Phu Trong an honorary doctorate, Thammasat University will be seen as providing support to a politician whose words and deeds have proven to run counter to human rights and democratic values, and that the University may be mistaken by others as an advocate for repressive rulers and dictators,” the open letter states.
Instead of using his power to stop this practice, he actually condones it and promotes it when he needs it. Because the only way a regime can live, is if all secrets are kept secrets, especially for the people who are hungry for knowledge and change. In May this year the two students Nguyen Phuong Uyen (21 years old) and Dinh Nguyen Kha (25 years old) were sentenced to six and eight years in prison for violations against article 88 of the penal code. They were charged with conducting propaganda against the Socialist republic of Vietnam.
If you go by the Universal declaration of Human rights, these students only used their rights as stated in article 19, by producing and distributing pamphlets, slogans and paper flags.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
But the Vietnamese government does not abide by this article, so instead of getting an education and fighting for their rights, these two students now have to spend several years in prison and house arrest. These two are the voice of the people in Vietnam, the voices that demands change. The voices that Nguyen Phu Trong have chosen to silence, when he could have listened and become what he has already been honored for, a person who promotes the philosophy of sufficient economy, democratic values and social justice.
Instead he is still a devoted member of, and the secretary-general of the communist party, who just got honored with a doctorate in political science.
Written by Editor
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