Vietnam jails blogger for three years

A French-Vietnamese blogger, Pham Minh Hoang, has been sentenced to three years in prison for publishing articles that have reportedly "blackened the image of the country".

Speaking during his trial in Ho Chi Minh City, Hoang said he had joined an opposition group but emphasised the fact the he did not intend to overthrow the government.

There has been talk among human rights activists about the increasing numbers of imprisonments of those who dare critique the Vietnamese government. France's Foreign Ministry had earlier voiced "serious concern" about Hoang's case.

Hoang, who was said to have written over 30 articles under the pen name Phan Kien Quoc, asked for leniency, stating that he did not know he was breaking the law.

Addressing the court he said: "My writings were not aimed at overthrowing anyone…I only pointed out the negative things in society, and I think the country needs to be more democratic."

Hoang, who has dual citizenship, received a more lenient jail term of three years due to the aforementioned, and although he confessed to belonging to the banned opposition group Viet Tan, he said he was not acting as an active operative.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, Bloomberg

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Vietnam: Twelfth National Assembly fires last shot

As its tenure drew to a close with a short meeting this month before dissolution in order to prepare for the May election, the 12th National Assembly took one last pot shot at the government by rejecting the Capital Bill.

The bill had already been discussed by the National Assembly in May 2010 and was rejected at that time with the request that drafters make alterations.

The proposed law would have set Hanoi apart from other provinces by giving it its own migration controls and resident rules, its own zoning rules and guidance, and its own financial policies and priority access to government funds for infrastructure and other investment.

Some delegates thought the law was unconsti¬tutional. Others thought that many of the rules it outlined were valid but ought to cover major urban areas Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hai Phong and not just Hanoi. Of particular concern was the residency registration requirement that would require those not registered in Hanoi to gain official employment and registration before moving there.

Delegates voted 35.9 per cent in favour and 44.83 per cent against the bill. As one delegate put it, "Basically the dishes are still being prepared by the central government. But now it's the decision of the National Assembly on whether to eat or not."

For more news and expert analysis about Vietnam, please see Vietnam Focus.

© 2011 Menas Associates