By Daniel Nardini
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam. When Americans think about this country today, they envision a beautiful tropical landscape and a growing industrial and technological economy. They imagine a country with cheap food and friendly people. All of this is true. What is equally true is that Vietnam is a one-party state. It is run by the Communist Party of Vietnam, and the Party deals with dissent harshly. And the story I am about to tell is this dark side of Vietnam. On September 18th, two former Vietnamese nationals were kidnapped from neighboring Cambodia by Vietnamese agents and forcibly brought to Vietnam on fabricated terrorism charges. Under international law, this alone should not have happened. For one, it spat on the sovereignty of Cambodia. If the Vietnamese government wished to deal with the situation, it should have made a legal request to the Cambodian government for the two individuals in question. Additionally, the Vietnamese government should have made a request to the international police agency Interpol if these individuals were suspected of terrorist activities.
But the situation is more complicated. The two Vietnamese in question, Nguyen Duc Thuan and Tran Hiep, are not Vietnamese nationals at all. Nguyen Duc Thuan is a citizen of Norway, and Tran Hiep is a citizen of Australia. So now Norway and Australia are equally involved in this incident. What the Norwegian government is doing so far has not been disclosed, but the Australian government has been providing consular services for Tran Hiep and is keeping his family in Australia informed of the situation Both belong to a Vietnamese exile political party called the Viet Tan. The Viet Tan is headquartered in the United States, and advocates for peaceful change, free elections and liberal democracy. Hardly a terrorist organization. But to the Vietnamese government it does not seem to matter if that is the case. The Vietnamese government seems to be operating a considerable secret security and intelligence service both in Vietnam and around the world. It is believed that the Vietnamese government has also been responsible for kidnappings of Vietnamese dissidents in Thailand and even as far away as Germany.
According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is currently holding 160 political prisoners. While the number is nowhere near as bad as for example Cuba, which holds an estimated 1,281 political prisoners, or in North Korea which is estimated to be holding a whopping 65,000 political prisoners. But holding even one political prisoner is more than bad enough. We have to remember that Vietnam is still a Communist state just like Cuba and North Korea. Dissent is still treated harshly in Vietnam, and such treatment is a testimony of what Communist tyranny is. As bad as things may be politically here in the United States, I can still express my opinion in my commentary. This is not even remotely true in Vietnam, and no matter how many Americans may think this country is an “ally,” it is no such thing. Countries like the Republic of Korea, Japan and Taiwan are definitely our allies because not just their governments but their people choose it by free elections. And again I urge all of my readers to vote in the U.S. midterm elections. Think about what the Vietnamese people cannot do.
Vietnam’s Act of Aggression
By Daniel Nardini
But the situation is more complicated. The two Vietnamese in question, Nguyen Duc Thuan and Tran Hiep, are not Vietnamese nationals at all. Nguyen Duc Thuan is a citizen of Norway, and Tran Hiep is a citizen of Australia. So now Norway and Australia are equally involved in this incident. What the Norwegian government is doing so far has not been disclosed, but the Australian government has been providing consular services for Tran Hiep and is keeping his family in Australia informed of the situation Both belong to a Vietnamese exile political party called the Viet Tan. The Viet Tan is headquartered in the United States, and advocates for peaceful change, free elections and liberal democracy. Hardly a terrorist organization. But to the Vietnamese government it does not seem to matter if that is the case. The Vietnamese government seems to be operating a considerable secret security and intelligence service both in Vietnam and around the world. It is believed that the Vietnamese government has also been responsible for kidnappings of Vietnamese dissidents in Thailand and even as far away as Germany.
According to Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is currently holding 160 political prisoners. While the number is nowhere near as bad as for example Cuba, which holds an estimated 1,281 political prisoners, or in North Korea which is estimated to be holding a whopping 65,000 political prisoners. But holding even one political prisoner is more than bad enough. We have to remember that Vietnam is still a Communist state just like Cuba and North Korea. Dissent is still treated harshly in Vietnam, and such treatment is a testimony of what Communist tyranny is. As bad as things may be politically here in the United States, I can still express my opinion in my commentary. This is not even remotely true in Vietnam, and no matter how many Americans may think this country is an “ally,” it is no such thing. Countries like the Republic of Korea, Japan and Taiwan are definitely our allies because not just their governments but their people choose it by free elections. And again I urge all of my readers to vote in the U.S. midterm elections. Think about what the Vietnamese people cannot do.