So-called Vietnam Human Rights Award unmasked

The organisation even launched the so-called Vietnam Human Rights Award 2023 to ‘honour’ Tran Van Bang, Y Wo Nie, and Le Trong Hung, all of whom are currently serving prison sentences for illegal activities against the Vietnamese State.

The VHRN, a self-proclaimed group, is known as a peripheral arm of the outlawed Vietnam Reform Revolutionary Party, known as Viet Tan for short, which gathers members with the stated aim of conducting sabotage activities against the Vietnamese State.

To drum up public support in the overseas community, the VHRN, since its establishment in 1997, has set the goal of effectively increasing democratic and human rights activities worldwide in a bid to promote the process of improving democracy and human rights in Vietnam.

To achieve this goal, the organisation has set up social networking pages and websites in order to post and share many articles, videos, and pictures which distort issues of democracy and human rights in Vietnam. It has tried to garner the support of a number of US congressmen who lack goodwill towards Vietnam, whilst strengthening relations with organisations that regularly carry out slanderous and distorted activities against the Vietnamese State on issues of democracy, human rights, religion, and ethnicity.

Since its establishment, the VHRN has regularly published human rights reports, taking advantage of issues on democracy, human rights, religion, and ethnicity in the country with the ultimate aim of distorting the truth, as well as smearing and interfering with internal Vietnamese affairs.

Its 2022-2023 report is no exception, as it contains one-sided and untrue views of the stark nature of democracy, human rights, religious freedom, and ethnicity in Vietnam. It intentionally misrepresents that the Government of Vietnam systematically mistreats and discriminates against ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands, along with providing misleading information about the freedom of belief and religion of ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands and the Khmer people of the Southwestern region.

To further boost its reputation, every year the organisation presents its Vietnam Human Rights Award to individuals who are supposed to ‘make achievements in the non-violent struggle for human rights ideals in Vietnam’.

Since 2002 the VHRN has presented this award to more than 60 individuals who are dubbed ‘prisoners of conscience’, ‘religious prisoners’, and ‘political prisoners’. Among them are also those who are being detained or being prosecuted and tried for crimes. Some rogue elements who have been released from prison now continue to violate national security and oppose the people’s government.

Through the award, the group wishes to voice a biased opinion, provide material support to domestic saboteurs, and create an excuse to increase its own prestige in order to get financial support from organisations and individuals behind it.

The presentation of the human rights awards to individuals who have committed acts of sabotage against the Vietnamese State therefore defies the standards and regulations of international law, particularly as the award’s recipients have dissatisfied and prejudiced ideology to go against the peace and development of a sovereign state.

Organisations hostile to Vietnam have deliberately painted these individuals with false names such as ‘free journalists’, ‘independent journalists’, ‘democracy and human rights activists’, ‘prisoners of conscience’, and ‘patriotic citizens’, but they cannot hide their true intention of sabotaging and harming the Party, State and people of Vietnam. They seek to take advantage of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, democracy, and human rights as a way of conducting activities aimed at causing security and political instability within the country.

The Party and State of Vietnam always welcome and guarantee people’s rights to freedom and democracy, including freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The State recognises and supports individuals and groups if they truly fight for democracy, peace, and social progress. However, if they take advantage of democracy to slander, fabricate, sabotage the country, and destabilise security, such behaviour can be viewed as unacceptable and requires strong condemnation and opposition. Any act of taking advantage of one’s freedom to violate the interests of the State or the legitimate interests of organisations and individuals must be handled according to the law.