Central Highlanders stay united against crimes, hostile forces

Brutal acts severely criticised

Early on June 11, a group of persons armed with guns and knives attacked the headquarters of the People’s Committees of Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur communes, including the offices of communal police, in Cu Kuin district, killing and injuring some police officers, communal officials, and civilians.

Shortly after the incident, local authotities quickly chased and arrested the suspects, investigated the attacks, and stabilised security and order. Peace has returned to hamlets and villages of Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur.

Cruelty and brutality are how local people describe the armed attacks. More seriously, those persons were also ready to kill any they met while fleeing.

H Blak Nie, a sixty-odd Kram villager of Ea Tieu commune who used to hold many positions of the communal and district administrations and witnessed different development periods of the Central Highlands, said that she and other locals are very discontented with the barbaric acts by that group of persons, which she considered unacceptable.

Another resident named H Juen Knul in Kram village said the E De ethnic community could not tolerate those persons’ brutal acts, and such incident has never happened in Ea Tieu commune. “We are greatly outraged.”

The 73-year-old pastor Ae Smit, also called Y Djan Eban in Kniet village in Ea Ktur commune, angily said that was a brutal act that he has never seen before. Locals were very anxious and hoped authorities will arrest and stringently deal with all the persons involved.

Thanks to strong moves by forces from the Ministry of Public Security, Dak Lak province, and local administrations, peace has been restored in Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur.

On June 14, Spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security Lt. Gen. To An Xo said authorities have arrested 46 persons and are hunting the remainders to strictly handle them in line with law.

Solidarity upheld

For the past many years, thanks to the Party and State’s guidelines and policies, the life quality of people, including ethnic minority groups in Dak Lak, has been increasingly improved and their knowledge and awareness promoted. Effects of the policies prioritising economic, cultural, and social development in remote and ethnic minority areas have helped consolidate the great national solidarity.

H Blak Nie said people of ethnic minority groups are now more vigilant so as to safeguard security, order, and peace for their villages. They felt very angry at the recent incident.

She voiced her hope that Kinh majority people and those of other ethnic minority groups will become more and more closely united to assist one another, adding a small group is unable to drive a wedge into the solidarity.

She held that to further strengthen the great national solidarity, authorities should continue having a good grasp of the situation in each area, and always listen to and understand the public opinions and aspirations to launch programmes and policies that live up to people’s wishes. She also stressed the role of reputable figures of villages in strengthening solidarity.

Echoing the view, Y Luyen Nie K’dam, former Secretary of the Dak Lak provincial Party Committee, emphasised the importance of boosting solidarity to thwart all plots, ruses, and distortions by hostile forces, thereby stabilising the security and order situation in ethnic minority communities and reinforcing each family as a fortress in the combat against sabotage attempts by hostile forces.

H’ Kim Hoa Bya, head of the mass mobilisation board of the Dak Lak Party Committee, said that in the time ahead, the board will submit proposals to the Party Committee’s Standing Board to direct the increase of communications, especially in areas inhabited by ethnic minority groups, in order to raise public awareness, calm locals, and advise people not to follow incitements of the bad elements.

The mass mobilisation board has also asked district-level administrations to frequently learn the public’s opinions to take timely measures for ensuring locals’ material and spiritual lives and helping them stay alert against wrongful arguments of hostile forces, she added.

Spokesman To An Xo said that across different revolutionary periods, people of all ethnic groups in the Central Highlands have maintained their trust in the Party’s leadership and enormously contributed to successes of the Vietnamese revolution.

The public security force believes that via the recent incident, residents in the region will promote their vigilance and join hands with authorities in the fight against crimes as well as plots of hostile and reactionary forces in order to help with local and national development, he remarked.