CORRESPONDENCE - 85A COMBINED REPORTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM 2012

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I. FREEDOMS OF OPINION AND SPEECH BEING CRUSHED Article 69 of Vietnam's 1992 Constitution stipulates that "Citizens have the rights to enjoy freedoms of speech, press, information, association, formation of societies, and demonstration according to the law." Yet, such stipulations have never been respected. The government's violations of the freedom of press in Vietnam come under two main categories: 1) the state's monopoly of information; and 2) suppression of dissidents who oppose to the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) policies or dare to voice up their defense of victims of cruel officials. 1. Speech Is the Vietnamese Communist State's Monopoly There are no private press organizations in Vietnam, where all media such as the press, the publishing business, radio stations, TV stations, official press, are owned by the state. Currently, not a single independent private newspaper or broadcasting station is allowed to exist. Decree No. 37 /CP of 29 November 2006 signed into law by Premier Nguyen Tan Dung and still effective in 2011, firmly stated that "no private press under any form, or any organization or individual, is permitted to take advantage of the press to serve personal interests while undermining the state's interests." Statistics from the Information and Communications Ministry disclosed that up to June 2011, there were 17,000 journalists nationwide, all paid and licensed by the state or its subsidiaries. The number of press agencies in 2011 increased from 706 of the previous year to 745, while the cyber papers went Vietnam Human Rights Network * Annual Report 2011 from to 21 to 46, and web pages from 160 to 287.1 The CPV efforts to enlarge its propaganda mechanism and reform the laws as well as consolidate its press monopoly reflect its refusal to yield to the people's expression. In the legal field, Premier Nguyen Tan Dung issued on 6 January 2011 Decree No. 02 /2011/ND -CP to impose administrative punishments against the press and publishing activities. According to many international human rights agencies, the purpose of the decree's vague articles is to obstruct and eliminate those bloggers and journalists who dare to describe the actual situation of the society. On 18 October 2011, the four largest press state agencies, including the Vietnam Press, the Vietnam TV station, the Voice of Vietnam station, and the People's Daily, signed a `coordinating agreement' to be effective through 2015. Worse, the Minister of Public Security and the Director General of the Vietnam Press signed on 21 October 2011 an inter - branch Decision on cooperation in information and propaganda, maintenance of security and order, and building of the people's police forces. Like a number of developing nations, Vietnam is witnessing an explosion of modern media means such as cell phones and the Internet. According to figures provided by Vietnam Statistical Directorate General, the lease of websites in Vietnam reached 4.2 million people, an increase of 19.9% from the same period in the year before, while the number of Internet users Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications, "So ket cling tac 6 thang dau nam va trim khai cling tac 6 thang cuoi nam 2011," http: / /mic.gov.vn /tintucsukien (accessed 12 Jan. 2012) 2 Human Rights Watch, "Vietnam: New Decree Punishes Press," 23 Feb. 2011, http: / /www. h rw.org /news /2011 /02/23 /vietnam -new- decree - punishes -press (accessed 12 Jan 2012) 4