Suppression of Dissent in Vietnam

A number of terms are used to describe the modern age, such as 'the age of information,' 'the age of globalization,' 'the age of scientific and technological revolution,' or 'the age of the knowledge economy,' and sometimes it is even called 'the flat world.'

Whatever the term, however, and whatever opinion it is based on, it cannot be denied that our present world is still a community of countries and nations with various ideologies, historical traditions, cultures, political systems, and national institutions. At the same time, there is competition and conflict among countries in the form of hot wars, cold wars, weaponless wars, and 'color revolutions,' as well as political upheavals like the ones taking place in the Middle East and North Africa called 'jasmine revolutions.' The people who take an objective and wise view can understand that such contradictions, conflicts, and wars among countries are for their own spiritual and material interests rather than for the common values of democracy and human rights.

Democracy and Human Rights

According to experts in political science and law, there are more than 190 countries in the world with a variety of systems - democratic republic, monarchy, constitutional monarchy, republican presidential, parliamentary republic and religious state (Vatican). Each country has national rights in which no one, not even the United Nations, can intervene to choose its ideology -- capitalism or socialism, the political system -- multi-party or one party, an economic model -- liberalism or socialist market economy, nor may make decisions regarding its natural resources and assets.

All countries, either developed or developing, either in the West or in the East, have spiritual symbols reflecting their political systems and national institution, for example the royal families in the United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Thailand, and religious dignitaries, especially in Muslim countries. Political regimes and these symbols that have been established over time are respected by the people and protected by constitution and law.

In Vietnam, the Democratic Republic and the current Socialist Republic were born from the revolution led by the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh to regain national independence and to remove the hundreds of years of the colonial feudal regime. The current system is protected and strengthened by the blood and toil of the whole nation in the wars against the most atrocious empires of the century. It is the result of more than a half century of struggle and sacrifice and is reflected in the constitutions. The constitution of 1992 is not only the basis of law but also the spiritual values of the nation.

National Interest and Dignity

It is a shame that there are a few people in our society who have an incorrect awareness of human and civil rights. They want their personal rights to be absolute, but ignore the interests of the community, the country, and the nation. Whenever their personal rights and interests are violated, they become disturbed and may even resort to violence. As for the national interest and dignity, it is no different from the proverbs 'everybody's business is nobody's business' or 'too many cooks spoil the broth.' Some people waste their breath libeling and despising the socialist regime.

Taking advantage of Article 19 on freedom of speech in the International Convention on Political and Civil Rights of 1966, some people think that they have rights to propagandize their personal opinions which are actually libel and defamation against the socialist system and national institutions. With regard to the State of Vietnam, they have said that 'the legislative and legal systems and the executive are mere tools of the Communist Party,' and 'Article Four of the Vietnamese Constitution is unreasonable and should be removed.' They even call Vietnamese legal system 'a monstrosity'...!

International Conventions

People who have studied the international conventions on human rights all know that Article 19 in the aforementioned convention allows member countries the right to statutory restrictions in order to:

(i) Respect the honor and rights of other people;

(ii) Defend the national security and public order, public health, and morality.'

As for the rights with reference to freedom of ideology, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, Vietnamese law has the following regulations: Article 88 of the Penal Code of 1999 about 'the crime of propaganda against the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

People who have committed one of the following acts against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall be sentenced to between three and twelve years of imprisonment:

(i) propagating, distorting and/or defaming the people's administration;

(ii) Propagating psychological warfare and spreading fabricated news in order to foment confusion among people;

(iii) Making, storing and/or circulating documents and/or cultural products with contents against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

1. In the case of committing serious crimes, the offenders shall be sentenced to between ten and twenty years of imprisonment.

Article 13 of the National Security Law states as follows:

2. Organize, incite, forcibly control, and direct opposition against the people's administration and to abolish the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.'

Article 14 regulates the public security mission as follows:

1. Defend the political system and the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

2. Defend ideological security and culture and the legal rights and interests of agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Article 10 of the Press Law, regulates 'items that are not allowed in the press':

1. Must not incite the people against the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

2. Must not report false news, distort, slander or violate honor and human dignity.

The aforementioned regulations in Vietnamese law are not contrary to international law.

As for the relationship between international law and national law, international conventions on human rights include not only absolute rights but also restricted rights, including the freedom of speech, which are flexible enough for countries to apply in their particular situations. International law on human rights is not direct legal regulations imposed on countries and nations. This is due to the simple fact that the world is not one country and the United Nations is not the central government and countries are not local governments. Similarly in the legal field, national law is not a village custom, but it is the national will. International law for member states is actually treaties which are applicable when that country joins and then approves those treaties. Respect for national independence and sovereignty has always been the leading principle of the United Nations.

Development and Improvement

We do not deny that our society has a lot of serious problems, which need to be solved, same as other countries, such as the gap between the rich and the poor, bureaucracy, corruption, and the degradation of morality and lifestyle of some officials and state employees. Civil rights are violated here and there. However, the solutions to those problems must be based on political principles, the correct ideology, and the principle of the law-governed state rather than on the propaganda of personal opinions which is used to slander and despise the social system.

Vietnamese democracy is still on the path of development and improvement, and it is not the job for 'brave democracy and human rights activists' nor does it mean downloading the politics of the West as someone said. It is the mission of the entire political system and the people.The national independence and sovereignty associated with the socialist system are the highest value for our nation. To defend the constitutional principle, including Article Four of the Constitution of 1992 on the leadership of the State and the Communist Party of Vietnam, means not only to protect the results of the revolution but also to respect the national dignity.

Obama's Fate in US Elections 2012

The future of US President Barack Obama, who himself drags the world down through his fingers, is on stake. After keeping up with the unpopular Afghan war and invasion of Libya, little chances are in sight that Obama will succeed in the upcoming presidential elections. Also, his future does not seem much different to that of Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush.

Numerous Hindrances

US President Obama may confront numerous hindrances in the way of his reelection in the presidential polls to be held in 2012. These impediments include the crumbling economic state of affairs in the country, unemployment, continuation of the Afghan war, which is unpopular among the US public, problems during the process of withdrawal, and unnecessary attacks on Libya. Therefore, it is very much possible that President Obama will meet the similar fate of Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush.

Because of the global and domestic changes that occurred during the past few months, the speculations about Obama being reelected have also been strengthened. However, still there are several issues involving the national economic situation and foreign policy that could hinder his efforts to reach White House of the United States, once again.

Congressional Midterm Elections

On the domestic level, the political popularity of President Obama has witnessed declension after the November 2010 when during the congressional midterm elections, Republicans secured majority votes and took the control of House of Representatives and had minified the majority of Democrats in Senate as well.

During the different public polls and surveys, conducted after November, President Obama enjoyed almost 50 percent popularity. Several critics are holding him a strong candidate against the republican rival in the presidential elections, who is yet to be elected.

According to Peter Brown, expert on public surveys, associated with Queen Piak, the rating of President Obama has declined during past few days. However, Peter says that with the advent of the hyped election campaign during the coming months, the common people may turn their attention to him on a larger scale. In the past, the opinions of the US people have been directly proportional to the rating of the presidential candidates particularly in terms of domestic economy.

Critical Issue

According the statistics released last week, the ratio of joblessness in the United States is constantly declining and at this time it is 8.8 percent, which is the lowest during the past two years. This report is being declared welcome news for the hopes of the reelection of President Obama.

Stephen Heyse, expert on presidential affairs, associated with Brookings Institute of Washington, believes that the most critical issue that will impact the impending US elections will be situation of employment in the states. Larry Sabato of University of Virginia is of the same opinion, more or less. He says that the outcome of the coming year elections depends on the fact that how the US voters view the economic policies of President Obama.

According to Larry, the common people are not going to ask at the elections that why the economy is crumbling or advancing; rather they will accuse or give credit to President Obama for the prevailing economic state of affairs. However, the present state of affairs in Libya, the ongoing political strain in the Middle East, the process of US forces' withdrawal during the current year in July are such factors which can critically impact the electoral campaign of President Obama.

Campaign for Reelection

The political analyst Charlie Cook believes that during the 2012 elections, President Obama will like to draw up his presidential campaign for reelection in the light of the successful election campaign of former President Ronald Regan as Regan had managed to be reelected as the US President with his successful campaign.

According to Charlie Cook, president Obama will also avoid repeating the election mistakes of former US President Jimmy Carter because of which Carter had failed to succeed in the second US presidential elections of 1980. Cook says that during the presidential regime of Jimmy Carter, this impression was rife that he had lost control of the global affairs and he apparently looked helpless in the face of these global changes and thus finally had to pay the price during the 1980 elections. However, certainly President Obama will not like such an impression developing about him.

Global and Domestic Failures

Obama will try to repeat the history of Ronald Regan who, in spite of several global and domestic failures, was given credit for improving the economic situation in the United States and because of the same factor, Ronald Regan hit success in his second elections.

During the 2012 presidential elections, as many as more than a dozen candidates are ready in their wings to plunge in the election arena. However, none has formally declared his presidential candidature up to now.

Anna Hazare's Movement Against Corruption

This second phase of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is getting tough. Old issues started opening up soon after the beginning of the second phase. The BJP obstructed the winter session of Parliament. Budget session could continue because MP's had to draw their salaries. The cacophony of corruption to some extent got subdued by Manmohan Singh's cricket diplomacy. But since 5 April, social activist Anna Hazare set on fast-unto-death at the Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, crusading against corruption. Veteran activist Anna Hazare ended his 97-hour hunger strike on 9 April morning after the gazette notification constituting a joint committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill, printed at 0200, was handed over to him. Belonging to a small village of Maharashtra, Hazare has warned the union government to amend the draft bill relating to corruption.

Provision in Lokpal Bil

The draft bill says that the Lokpal (bill to prevent corruption) cannot function independently and cannot initiate probe at his own. He can dispose of cases referred to him by the Lok Sabha (Lower house of Parliament) and the Rajya Sabha (Upper house of Parliament) leaders pertaining to corruption and cannot impact on others.

It is also an irony that the recommendation of the Lokpal may not necessarily be accepted. Lokpal does not have powers to lodge First Information Report (FIR) for initiating investigation against the accused. Simply, the Lokpal can initiate investigation against MP's, ministers and even the prime minister but not against government officials. Whereas, the fact is that corruption moves on with active connivance of officials and politicians.

Another defect of the draft bill is that the prime minister's actions pertaining to defense, internal security, and foreign policies will be outside the ambit of Lokpal. History is evident that most scams take place in defense deals. It is amazing that the blackout has been done at a place where transparency is most required.

According to the Lokpal Bill, its members will come from retired judges and persons approved by selection panels. It gives room for suspicion that the government will fill up the office of Lokpal with people of its choice. On contrary, Hazare demands representation of people from the civil society to detect and address each aspect of corruption. The government denies any such instance where people outside Parliament have been involved in legislative work.

Demand of Situation

Since the country's independence, many big scams have taken place, but insignificant people were caught and the big fish went scot-free. For this, the government has lost the confidence of people in it. That is why in a split of seconds, Hazare's movement is being supported by the common men, intellectuals, industrialists, and other prominent personalities, even film stars.

In the past, no such movement was seen where people rose above the level of sections and groups.Corruption has become a trend in a country and common citizens are a tool for ransom in the hands of politicians. The country got a Messiah in the form of Hazare. The government should wake up and respond to the call of revolution.