A lawyer who dared to file a lawsuit against Vietnam Prime Minister had his brick fence smashed by a large number of police and pro-government thugs.
After the incident at Dong Chiem, Hanoi residents shocked again by another attack right in Hanoi downtown. On Jan. 27 morning, a large group of police and pro-government thugs, led by Le Van Dinh, chairman of the People’s Committee of Dien Bien Phu ward, swamped to the house of a lawyer, blocked the road and started smashing his brick fence by sledge-hammers. Loud speakers were employed to prevent rescue effort from his neighbours, and to yell slogans against the victim, making the attack more threatening. All happened in broad day light.
The victim, lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu, in an interview with Radio Free Asia, attributed the rogue action against him to PM Nguyen Tan Dung.
“Nguyen Trong Khanh, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Dien Bien Phu ward, told my relatives that he did not want to do so, but it was the PM to command the Committee [to smash the fence],” said the lawyer.
On June, 11, 2009, in an unprecedented action taken by a private citizen, the lawyer filed a lawsuit against Vietnam PM, accusing him of seriously violating the law when signing the Decree 167 which allowed a Chinese company to start mining some of the massive reserves of bauxite lying beneath Vietnam’s verdant Central Highlands.
Lawyer Cu Vu demanded Vietnam Prime Minister and the leadership of the Government to give bauxite mining a very serious reconsideration and to understand that the disadvantages and the inherent environmental dangers would far outweigh any perceived economic advantages.
“Bauxite mining will surely affect many innocent, helpless people, as the well-established scientific community, in their opposition to Decree 167, has eloquently demonstrated through evidence and testimonials,” he said.
Irreversible damage to the environment stemming from the project was also a topic of discussion at a seminar that gathered more than 50 scientists in Hanoi in April, 2009.
But the most unexpected criticism came from a legendary figure in the country's recent history, General Vo Nguyen Giap, the head of the Vietnamese army who defeated the French and Americans, and was the defense minister after unification. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the 97-year-old general expressed his concern over the presence of a great number of Chinese in the high plains, a strategic passage for Vietnam.
The first two bauxite processing plants, already under construction, have been contracted to the Chinese mining company Chalco which brought into Vietnam thousands of Chinese workers.
Vietnam Redemptorists have been charged with the unjust accusation of being 'instigators of disorder', as has been stated in Vietnamese media sources, due in good part to their opposition against bauxite mining.
Through recent violent events, many Vietnamese people afraid that Vietnam government keeps escalating violence against those who dare to oppose its policies promoting multi-party democracy.
After the incident at Dong Chiem, Hanoi residents shocked again by another attack right in Hanoi downtown. On Jan. 27 morning, a large group of police and pro-government thugs, led by Le Van Dinh, chairman of the People’s Committee of Dien Bien Phu ward, swamped to the house of a lawyer, blocked the road and started smashing his brick fence by sledge-hammers. Loud speakers were employed to prevent rescue effort from his neighbours, and to yell slogans against the victim, making the attack more threatening. All happened in broad day light.
The victim, lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu, in an interview with Radio Free Asia, attributed the rogue action against him to PM Nguyen Tan Dung.“Nguyen Trong Khanh, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Dien Bien Phu ward, told my relatives that he did not want to do so, but it was the PM to command the Committee [to smash the fence],” said the lawyer.
On June, 11, 2009, in an unprecedented action taken by a private citizen, the lawyer filed a lawsuit against Vietnam PM, accusing him of seriously violating the law when signing the Decree 167 which allowed a Chinese company to start mining some of the massive reserves of bauxite lying beneath Vietnam’s verdant Central Highlands.
Lawyer Cu Vu demanded Vietnam Prime Minister and the leadership of the Government to give bauxite mining a very serious reconsideration and to understand that the disadvantages and the inherent environmental dangers would far outweigh any perceived economic advantages.
“Bauxite mining will surely affect many innocent, helpless people, as the well-established scientific community, in their opposition to Decree 167, has eloquently demonstrated through evidence and testimonials,” he said.
Irreversible damage to the environment stemming from the project was also a topic of discussion at a seminar that gathered more than 50 scientists in Hanoi in April, 2009.
But the most unexpected criticism came from a legendary figure in the country's recent history, General Vo Nguyen Giap, the head of the Vietnamese army who defeated the French and Americans, and was the defense minister after unification. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the 97-year-old general expressed his concern over the presence of a great number of Chinese in the high plains, a strategic passage for Vietnam.
The first two bauxite processing plants, already under construction, have been contracted to the Chinese mining company Chalco which brought into Vietnam thousands of Chinese workers.
Vietnam Redemptorists have been charged with the unjust accusation of being 'instigators of disorder', as has been stated in Vietnamese media sources, due in good part to their opposition against bauxite mining.
Through recent violent events, many Vietnamese people afraid that Vietnam government keeps escalating violence against those who dare to oppose its policies promoting multi-party democracy.