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Reactionary portraits: Nguyen Dan Que and mistake of a human rights prize
Reactionary portraits: Nguyen Dan Que and mistake of a human rights prize
1/6/16
In May 18th, 2016,
there was an event that seems to make self-claimed pro-democracy activists
proud, Nguyen Dan Que, an anti-government element, was the 2016 co-recipent of
the Gwangju Prize for Human rights, a South Korean Human Rights Award. Yes, Que
was the first Vietnamese winner of this award, but is he worthy and is this
award so important that caused such attention? Let see who is Dr. Nguyen Dan
Que and his true nature in the name of human rights.
Nguyen Dan Que, M.D. (Vietnamese: Nguyễn
Đan Quế), born April 1942, is a Vietnamese endocrinologist and
pro-democracy activist in Saigon. His
family, including his mother and five siblings immigrated to Saigon after the
Geneva Accords. He received an M.D. from Saigon University. In the
1960s and early 70s, he trained in Europe on a United Nations scholarship,
specializing inradiotherapy.
In 1974, he joined the teaching staff at Saigon University, and the
following year became the director of Cho-Ray
Hospital. However, he was removed from his post one year later for
criticizing the government's discriminatory health care policy.[1][5] He
then formed the group “Mat Tran Dan Toc Tien Bo” (National Front for Progress),
which was a true anti-revolutionary movement in aim of overthrowing the
Vietnam’s communist regime.
Que, with a permanent
residence at 104/20 Nguyen Trai Street, Ward 3, District 5, HCM City, had three
previous convictions and offences for violating national security.
From December 1978 to February 1988, Que was detained for
heading the National Front for Progress on criticizing Vietnam’s political
system. After he was released, Que continued writing and drafting many
documents with contents propagandizing against the socialist regime.
In February 1990, Que founded the organization “Cao trao
nhan ban” (humanism movement) and called on the overthrowing of the Communist
Party of Vietnam.
He called on a multi-party system, a free election with
supervision from the UN. With such activities, on June 14, 1990, Que was
arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released on state amnesty
in 1998.
After being released, Que continued writing
anti-government documents to send to organizations overseas including the “Cao
trao nhan dan” headed by Que’s brother Nguyen Quoc Quan in the US. And, he was
once again arrested on March 17, 2003, four days after sending a statement to
his brother, Dr. Quan Nguyen, from an Internet cafe. The statement criticized
the Vietnamese government’s claim to guarantee freedom of information,
highlighting the lack of independent media in the country. It also endorsed
proposed U.S. legislation that would fund ways to overcome broadcast and
Internet jamming by the Vietnamese government.
In 2004, Que was sentenced to 30 months in jail after
being caught red-handed transporting anti-state documents abroad. But he was
released after six months on a second amnesty from the government.
Although the Party and
State had shown clemency to him in the past, Que had failed to continue his
anti-Government activities.
After prison, Que was featured in several foreign media
interviews in which he distorted Vietnam’s situation.
In mid-February 2011, Que posted an Internet appeal for
mass demonstrations in Vietnam on the model of the Arab Spring uprisings,
calling on citizens to make a "clean sweep of Communist dictatorship and
build a new, free, democratic, humane and progressive Vietnam". He was
then detained by the authorities for "directly violating the stability and
strength of the people's government
A search at his house on Nguyen Trai Street, Ward 3,
District 5 turned up over 60,000 documents stored in Que’s computer that call
on the people to take the streets to demonstrate against the state and
government. He is being detained for “activities aimed at overthrowing the
people’s government.
Que has admitted that the documents were made by him on
February 24 and distributed to a number of reactionary organizations and
individuals in and outside Vietnam.
Que's action directly
threatened the stability and strength of the people's administration. The
detection, prevention and dealing with Que's violation of the law was necessary
to ensure political stability for socio-economic development of the country.
So, we all can see the true nature of a
reactionary individual who violated Vietnam’s laws many times, and so that, is
he worthy of that human rights award? I think the board of this Gwangju Prize
should review reports of real situation in Vietnam and consider more cautiously
on selecting the winners, unless it would turn the Prize into a cheap one./.
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All comments [ 10 ]
As I see he is quite familiar with prison due to his activities that violated Vietnam's laws on state security charges.
The court had judged him guilty of abusing democratic rights to jeopardise the interests of the state, and the legitimate rights and interests of social organisations and citizens.
He was granted an amnesty on 31 January 2005 for Tết, the Vietnamese New Year, along with other criminals but still broke the laws again.
I don't understand why he was awarded this prize. Don't we have other who has contributed for human rights?
Que posted an Internet appeal for mass demonstrations in Vietnam on the model of the Arab Spring uprisings, calling on citizens to make a "clean sweep of Communist dictatorship and build a new, free, democratic, humane and progressive Vietnam".
That's a bullshit prize, bro!
He was sentenced by the authorities for "directly violating the stability and strength of the people's government.
Authorities said Que admitted possession of documents that he had compiled on Thursday. He also admitted to having distributed them to a number of reactionary and hostile elements in the country and abroad with the aim to call for strikes to bring down the regime.
Although the Party and State had shown clemency to him in the past, Que had failed to continue his anti-Government activities.
Que's action directly threatened the stability and strength of the people's administration.
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