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Dissidents Struggle to Exercise Free Speech
Writers win prestigious Hammett prize
The Hellman/Hammett grants aim to help writers confront and survive persecution
Eight Vietnamese writers are among a diverse group from 22 countries who have received the prestigious Hellman/Hammett award, which recognises courage in the face of political persecution, was announced by Human Rights Watch.
“This is an especially important year to recognise dissident writers in Vietnam,” said Sophie Richardson, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, which administers the annual award. “Vietnam's emerging democracy movement has become bolder, more outspoken and public, making activists more vulnerable to government reprisals. The Hellman/Hammett awards give these writers international attention and some protection.”
Human Rights Watch administers the Hellman/Hammett awards, given to writers around the world who have been targets of political persecution. Among this year's Vietnamese recipients are political prisoner Nguyen Vu Binh, democracy activist Do Nam Hai, essayist Nguyen Chinh Ket and novelist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy.
“These writers' works and lives embody the Vietnam that the government wants to hide, the one in which there is free speech, independent media, and open access to and use of the internet,” said Richardson. “Those who think that Vietnam's booming economy means it is loosening up politically should look below the surface, at the plight of writers such as these.”
Vietnam, well-known for its suppression of dissent, stepped up its crackdown on government critics in advance of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit of world leaders, which was held in Hanoi in November.
The Vietnamese government made little attempt to hide its efforts to muzzle prominent critics or democracy activists, despite the mass of international journalists in Hanoi during APEC, Vietnam's largest-ever international gathering. Key dissidents in Hanoi were placed under lock down.
They were ordered not to leave their homes or have any visitors. Police were stationed in front of their homes, which were cordoned off with signs saying “Restricted Area” and “No Foreigners” to prevent any contact with the international press corps. One dissident had his door padlocked and was roughed up after a friend stopped by to visit.
In addition, police arrested at least eight members of a newly formed union, the United Workers and Peasants Organisation of Vietnam. Independent trade unions are banned in Vietnam.
Authorities also rounded up rural petitioners in Mai Xuan Thuong Park in Hanoi, who had come to the city to file complaints about corruption and land confiscation. Along with street children and vagrants, they were sent to Dong Dau Social Protection Center, a detention facility on the outskirts of the city. Human Rights Watch has previously documented physical abuse and harsh conditions for detainees at Dong Dau. (See the November 2006 report, “Children of the Dust.”)
Such abuses are not limited to occasions when Vietnam is in the international spotlight. In addition to detaining or imprisoning individuals considered a political threat, the Vietnamese government uses other means to silence them. Dissidents' telephones are disconnected, their internet connections are terminated, and they are questioned and often detained if they go to internet cafés. Their homes are periodically searched and their computers and documents confiscated. Their families are pressured to stop them from speaking out.
They are insulted in articles in the official state media, or denounced by “angry citizens” in orchestrated public meetings. They are dismissed from their jobs, or find their client base has dried up as a result of official pressure and negative publicity. Even family members face intimidation and reprisals.
“By honoring these writers, we hope to bring international attention to courageous individuals that the Vietnamese government is trying to silence,” said Richardson. “The crackdown on dissidents was largely ignored by governments at the APEC summit, giving Vietnam the impression it has a green light to keep persecuting them.”
Source: Human Rights Watch.
