However, ill-willed and hostile forces deliberately distort this situation and claim that Vietnam has behaved in an undemocratic manner, undermining human rights. They maintain that these elements only act in Vietnam’s interest and strength.

Among those arrested were three overseas Vietnamese including Nguyen Thi Thanh Vân, born in 1956, of French nationality; Truong Leon, born in 1953, of US nationality; and Luong Ngoc Bang, born in 1940, of Thai nationality. On their arrest, security forces collected nearly 7,000 Viet Tan Party’s reactionary propaganda leaflets, more than 8,000 envelops, 3,775 postal stamps, 1,000 decalques and some other propaganda tools and means.

After being arrested, Nguyen Thi Thanh Van admitted to participating in the Viet Tan Party since 1990, and has worked as a reporter for the reactionary newspaper “Democratic Vietnam” and radio “New Horizon” often writing articles against the Vietnamese Government.

In November 2007, under the guidance of Tran Duc Tuong, a member of Viet Tan Party Central Committee, Van, under aliases as “Nam” and “Thanh” carried 7,000 leaflets and 900 logos of Viet Tan Party from Phnom Penh to Vietnam to distribute in the country. On November 17, Van coordinated with Vietnam-based Nguyen The Vu to distribute these materials. Luong Ngoc Bang also admitted that he had joined Vu to distribute the reactionary leaflets.

Meanwhile, Truong Leon acknowledged his membership of the Viet Tan Party and his monthly mission in the US was to hand out Viet Tan’s leaflets and other materials in Hawaii’s markets where a large number of Vietnamese people were residing. The Viet Tan Party also assigned Truong Leon, Nguyen Thi Thanh Van and Luong Ngoc Bang to prepare leaflets and other materials for their accomplices to distribute in Ho Chi Minh City.

Their moves showed that Viet Tan has never given up their schemes to undermine the Vietnamese State. In 1982 in the mountainous Udon area in Thailand, Hoang Co Minh, former Senior Colonel and Rear Naval Admiral of the puppet Saigon regime’s army, and some elements hostile to Vietnam established the so-called Viet Tan Party, with the aim of abolishing the leading role of the Communist Party of Vietnam and overthrowing the Vietnamese State. From 1982 to 1989, Viet Tan Party sent dozens of members to southern Vietnamese provinces to set up in-country bases. They launched several campaigns such as Dong Tien 1, Dong Tien 2 and Dong Tien 3 to instigate violent disturbances and terrorist acts against the Vietnamese State.

Viet Tan recently established some overseas organisations such as the Free Vietnam Alliance and the Overseas Vietnamese Experts Association, to develop its forces among Vietnamese students and guest workers in some Eastern European and Asian countries, and colluded with opponents inside the country against the State. In mid November, they implemented a plan called “crossing the river” to send their members to Vietnam to openly establish opposition political organisations in the country to incite demonstrations, disturb public security and order and cause political instability.