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Reactionary portraits: Cù Huy Hà Vũ - Black sheep of a notable family
Reactionary portraits: Cù Huy Hà Vũ - Black sheep of a notable family
11/12/17
The
arrest and detention of Cù Huy Hà Vũ (Cu Huy Ha Vu in English) in November 2010 and his trial in April
2011 has attracted more media coverage than any other dissident case in recent
memory in Vietnam. The incident has engaged many human rights organizations and
self-claimed human rights groups in a propaganda war against the Party and
State of Vietnam. They criticized Vietnam of lacking human rights and
democracy. But is it really like that? We must all find out the true essence of
this incident.
Born in 1957 and raised in a notable
revolutionary family, Cu Huy Ha Vu is a son of
poet Cù Huy Cận, who gained his political position
in Vietnam thanks to being a companion of Ho Chi Minh during
the Indochina War and Vietnam War. Cu
Huy Cận went on to serve in Vietnam's first National Assembly. Vũ's mother, Ngo Thi
Xuan Nhu, was the sister of the poet Xuân Diệu.
Vu obtained a doctorate in law
in France and ran a law firm with his wife in Hanoi before being detained. Vu
is not a practicing lawyer. He is not
certificated for a licensed lawyer in Vietnam.
Cu
Huy Ha Vu joined a growing group of self-proclaimed corruption-busting human
rights lawyers and legal defenders, including Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen Van Dai, Le
Thi Cong Nhan, Le Tran Luat, Ta Phong Tan, Tran Quoc Hien, Le Quoc Quan and
Nguyen Bac Truyen, which held a lot of illegal activities like spreading false
arguments, inciting protests and contacting with hostile foreign forces to go
against the country.
From 2009 to 2010, Vũ attempted to sue
Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng on several occasions like
filing a suit against Mr. Dung for granting a Chinese mining company rights to
a bauxite deposit
and for signing Decision No. 136, but without no evidence and strong
allegations. It is his freedom to file a suit against someone, even it is the
Prime Minister. But when Vu also called in interviews for the revision of
Article 4 of the Constitution of Vietnam, which stresses the
leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, it is against
the constitution of the country, against the people’s aspiration. In October
2010, Vũ and his law firm began to engage and incite people to demonstration in
the case of Catholics of Con Dau parish in Da Nang.
His activities now violated laws that must be punished by laws.
Yes, what will be will be, on November
5, 2010, Vũ was arrested at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh
City with a woman who was not his wife. He is half-dressed. After
that, when searching Vũ's home and law office, officials later found that Vu
had produced documents that opposed the State of Vietnam, employed
propagandistic rhetoric as a form of a psychological warfare, demanded the
overthrow of the regime and the realization of pluralism and a multiparty
system, opposed the interest of the nation, and called for foreign
intervention.
On 4 April 2011, Vũ was tried on an
indictment accusing him of disseminating anti-state propaganda via the
Internet, interviews with international media, and other writings against the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam in violation of article 88 of the penal code. Media and reporters were allowed to watch the
proceedings via closed-circuit television. Of course, Vũ stated to the court
that "This criminal case was invented against me. This case is completely
illegal." But, with all evidences, the judge stated that Cu Huy Ha
Vũ's behaviour is serious and harmful to society. Vu was sentenced to seven
years' imprisonment. But, due to Vietnam’s pardon policy, on April 6,
2014, Vu was released from prison and taken to Noi Bai International Airport to be
flown to Dulles International Airport, U.S., along
with his wife.
As usual, the U.S. and other human
rights organizations criticized the sentence, with the U.S. State Department saying that the
"apparent lack of due process" at Vũ's trial was troubling. Amnesty International declared him
a prisoner of conscience and urged his
immediate release. Roman Catholic churches held prayer vigils
for Vũ in recognition of his work defending the rights of the country's Catholics. Human Rights Watch described the trial as
"one of the most important cases involving a political dissident in the
recent history of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam". The
organization stated that Vũ was being "tried for his political bravery in
peacefully challenging abuses of power, defending victims of land confiscation,
and protecting the environment ... Reporters Without Borders "deplored"
the verdict, stating, "We call on the authorities to end their harassment
of dissidents, and to begin respecting free speech and the right of each
citizen to freely express an opinion. Vu must be freed without
delay." The World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)
and the International Federation for Human
Rights stated "their deepest concern" for Vu in a
joint statement, with OMCT saying that "This case is sadly yet another example
of the ongoing repression of fundamental rights in Viet Nam, and human rights
defenders in particular have borne the brunt of such repression."
So much attention and costing much time
and space for this case, but they do not understand the real situation and look
so eager to criticize the Party and State of Vietnam. The U.S. and those
organizations have been violating international laws of not interfering with
internal affairs of a sovereignty and independent country like Vietnam. Vietnam handles violations of the law in
accordance with Vietnamese and international laws, including the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In Vietnam, citizens’
rights to freedom and democracy, including freedom of speech, are regulated
clearly in the Constitution and other legal documents.
So sorry that, Vu is
the son of Cu Huy Can, who was a member of revered founding President Ho Chi
Minh’s provisional cabinet from 1945 and a celebrated poet, and a nephew of
Xuan Dieu, also one of the country’s famed poets. Vu has shamed the family’s
names and turned back with his country./.
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All comments [ 6 ]
Cù Huy Hà Vũ is a criminal or a so-called dissident, he was taken into custody in 2010 on charges of propaganda against the state and plotting to overthrow the communist government of Vietnam.
Vu produced documents that opposed the State of Vietnam, employed propagandistic rhetoric as a form of a psychological warfare, demanded the overthrow of the regime and the realization of pluralism and a multiparty system, opposed the interest of the nation, and called for foreign intervention.
Vu was accussed of disseminating anti-state propaganda via the Internet, interviews with international media, and other writings against the State.
It's a lesson for him and other so-called activists who voilated laws.
Vu has shamed his father and the family's revolutionary tradition, he should think bigger about the country's interest.
His father Cu Huy Can is a celebrated poet who was also a leading revolutionary and confidant of President Ho Chi Minh, but unfortunately he is a criminal. What a pity!
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