PANO – Recently, a number of intellectuals who make use of the press freedom and other human rights to undermine the Party and nationwide unity. It leads to a question of how to handle the situation. The following talk between the People’s Army Newspaper (PAN)’s reporters and Mr. Le Dinh Luyen, Head of the Standing Office of the Governmental Human Rights Steering Board gives an answer to the question.
Reporter: Could you clarify the major plots and schemes of hostile forces, who make use of the press freedom in order to sabotage the Party and State over the past years?Mr. Luyen: Over the past few years, hostile forces often raise the question of press freedom, calumniating Vietnam’s breach of human rights in an attempt to promote their “Peace Evolution” strategy, cause riots and finally overturn the political system. Evidently, they use foreign media and the internet to propagandize false arguments and distorted information about Vietnam in order to undermine people’s trust in the policies and leadership of the Party and State. Their plots vary but can be grouped as follows:
First, basing on articles of the domestic press reflecting red tapes, social evils, they intentionally add false information to the cases to cause negative effect on readers.
Second, they overstate some wrong-doings and weaknesses of State organizations in implementing the Party’s guideline, State’s policy and law, and then accuse the Party of “poor leadership”. They also incite the public to raise their voice against the Party and State, alleging that the Party is weak in leadership, the State is sparing with human rights and Government is ineffective in management.
Third, they lure and gather in dissidents, malcontents, set up hostile organizations via websites and personal blogs, abusing social criticism to misinterpret the Party guidelines, State’s policies and laws. What they often focus on is human rights, particularly freedom of speech and press freedom. Furthermore, foreign hostile forces recently promise to sponsor and back domestic reactionaries, and urge them to establish anti-governmental organizations, set up banners and self-appoint positions in the aim to increase activities against the Party and State.
Head of the Standing Office of the Governmental Human Rights Steering Board Le Dinh Luyen.
Reporter: In reality, a number of cases, where reactionaries abused the press freedom to sap the Party and State, and the national unity have been handled by competent agencies, and the case of the so-called “Free Journalist Club” in 2012 was a good example. How do you think we should deal with such cases?Mr. Luyen: First of all, I must say that some people recently set up groups, organizations or websites to spread false and distorted information, undermining the Party, State is a violation of the Vietnamese law. In other words, such “press” organizations have not been recognized by any competent agencies or social organizations; further, they do not follow the press regulations and law. They were founded without permission from the local authorities. In fact, some people, including those who have bad police records and previous convictions, created those “press” organizations on their own to serve their bad schemes. Some of the organizations are funded and directed by hostile outsiders. Receiving money, support and instruction from outsiders, they more often use the label of freedom and democracy but in fact, try to sabotage the Party and State via information platforms set up by themselves. They intentionally scatter out false information, speak ill of the Party, State, policies and leaders, lure malcontents, deepen social contradictions and encourage public anger… They reduce the credit and blacken the image of Vietnam across the overseas Vietnamese communities and in international forums. What is more, they regularly provide information about the domestic situation, situations in the Party and State to foreign hostile forces. Their plots and activities indeed go against interests of the whole nation. Fortunately, most of the Vietnamese well realise their real faces and competent agencies keep a close watch over them. Thus, as far as they try to operate illegally, they will be boycotted by people and punished under the Vietnamese law.
Reporter: What do you evaluate Vietnam’s achievements in promoting human rights, particularly freedom of the press and information?Mr. Luyen: Over the past years, Vietnam has reached a number of achievements in promoting and ensuring human rights, especially freedom of the press and information. Let’s look at positive figures. Today, Vietnam has 67 radio and television stations (central, local, state-run and business-run), 997 press agencies, 74 electronic newspapers, 336 social networks and 1,174 electronic websites. The number of internet users has reached 30 million and keeps rising; millions of people have their own blogs and personal accounts in social networks which contain various and plentiful information; Vietnamese people can have access to famous T.V. channels, say CNN, BBC and NHK; for ethnic minorities, they have T.V. channels in their own languages. All of these prove that the State of Vietnam always respects and ensures freedom of the press and information for the people. All official press and media agencies enjoy the right of press regulated by the Vietnamese law on press; as a result, they efficiently provide various and numerous information about domestic situations as well as update people with international news. They also function as sharp weapons fighting false information and wrong views of hostile forces. Thanks to the true information given by official press and media agencies, Vietnamese people grasp the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and laws, and realize the bad plots and schemes of hostile forces. It is not easy to cheat, lure and excite them to do wrong things, on the contrary they believe in the leadership of the Party, unite around the Party’s banner and try to make a big contribution to the national defence and construction cause.
In sum, that some people self-set up organizations without any permission, which operate as press agencies, is illegal. It can be said that the minority of people are going against national interests and the desire of the entire nation. Furthermore, they have turned themselves into tools of hostile forces to undermine the national unity, national defence and construction cause, national freedom and independence that many previous generations have gained at the expense of their sweat, tear, blood and lives. Their activities must not be tolerated and serious action should be taken against them.
Reporter: What do you think we should do to prevent and stop negative phenomena?Mr. Luyen: We should refer to Vietnam’s current laws to deal with such evil activities. According to me, we should first educate the wrong thinking people, have open and direct talks with them to help them understand their wrong views and violations of law, and ask them to voluntarily dismiss their organizations and completely stop illegal activities. The Vietnamese are tolerant so if those people can see their wrongdoings and commit to become good citizens, the Party, State and people will give them an opportunity to redress their faults. But if they try to continue their illegal activities, violating the law and damaging national interests, we should take serious action against them under the current laws.
Alongside, we should enhance information at home and overseas, disclosing the nature of those “black” organizations and their websites so that all Vietnamese people at home and overseas and international friends could well understand the plots, schemes and activities against Vietnam of foreign hostile forces and their hangers-on.
Reporter: Thank you!Interviewed by Viet Ha and Nguyen Minh Translated by Thu Nguyen
Đăng ký: VietNam News
