[Vnbiz] US presses Vietnam over jailed journalists

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear CACC,

The Vietnamese government has the obligation to let the two arrested
journalists, their families, all other journalists and the Vietnamese
population know what it is doing and intending to do with the
arrested journalists.

I imagine everyone has given the government some breathing space to recover
from the initial shock from the world's angry reaction.  But the government
cannot maintain the news blackout forever.  If we make a mistake then we
should be mature enough to back out of it and say an apology.

Vietnam is really behind the time on criminal procedures.  We act like a
bunch of thuds once in awhile.  I suggest that the government work with some
international institutions to get some criminal reform projects going.

Have a great day!

Hoanh


On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 1:49 PM, Tai Phan <k.phan007 at gmail.com> wrote:

> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
> US presses Vietnam over jailed journalists
>
> By BEN STOCKING – 3 days ago
>
> HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The U.S. has expressed concern about the case of two
> Vietnamese journalists arrested because of their aggressive reporting on a
> major government corruption case, a State Department official said Friday.
>
> "Journalists need to be able to report, write and broadcast without concern
> for their safety and without concern for their being arrested every time
> they report on a sensitive matter," said David J. Kramer, assistant
> secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.
>
> Kramer raised the case during an annual human rights dialogue Thursday
> between the United States and Vietnam, which has come under frequent
> criticism for its treatment of political dissidents and religious
> minorities.
>
> Vietnam's Communist government has said that fighting corruption is one of
> its top priorities. But on May 12, government security agents jailed two
> journalists because of unspecified "inaccuracies" in their reporting on a
> 2006 Transportation Ministry scandal.
>
> Charged with "abuse of power" were Nguyen Viet Chien of Thanh Nien (Young
> People) newspaper and Nguyen Van Hai of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
>
> The scandal, which erupted in 2005, led to the conviction of nine people
> who were accused of illegally betting millions of dollars on European
> football matches and trying to bribe people to cover up their crime.
>
> Authorities suspected they embezzled the money from a unit of the ministry
> that managed major road and bridge building projects. The unit received
> substantial funding from the World Bank and Japan.
>
> The case prompted the transportation minister to resign and led to the
> arrest of the deputy minister, Nguyen Viet Tien.
>
> The charges against Tien, the highest official charged in the case, were
> suddenly dropped in late March, six weeks before the journalists' arrests.
>
> Immediately after their detention, Vietnam's state-controlled media
> demanded their release and condemned the government for its handling of the
> case.
>
> But since then, with the government clamping down, news of the case has
> been completely muzzled.
>
> The case has stirred deep concern among Vietnamese journalists and
> bloggers, who say it will discourage reporters from aggressively reporting
> on corruption, one of Vietnam's most serious problems.
>
> During a media briefing Friday, Kramer said the U.S. would continue
> following the case.
>
> "A free press is very important for exposing corruption," he said. "We do
> hope for a more elastic and flexible approach toward handling the media from
> the government."
> --
> Tran Dinh Hoanh, Esq., LLB, JD
> Washington DC
>
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