ENNEMIS of the INTERNET / 12 MARch 2012 / world day against Cyber censorship//////////////////////////// 39
The Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly was returned to jail1 despite his age and poor health. Blogger Lu Van Bay2 received a fouryear prison sentence in September 2011. The announcement that lawyer Le Cong Dinh may be deported to the United States has not been acted upon to date. Franco-Vietnamese blogger Pham Minh Hoang was released from prison3 after serving his 17-month sentence, but remains under a three-year house arrest. Relatives of blogger Dieu Cay4 have had no news of him for months, leading to widespread alarmist rumors. Whether or not they are well-founded, concerns about his fate and health remain justified as long as the authorities refuse to grant his family visiting rights. The government’s priority is to remain in power, even at the cost of tarnishing the country’s image. International influence is dwindling except for that of an increasingly restrictive China, whose relations with Vietnam are highly complex. The U.S. Congress could play a key role in protecting Vietnamese freedoms. In early 2012, members of Congress are scheduled to examine a bill that could tie the non-“humanitarian” part of its financial aid and military cooperation between the two countries to expected improvements in the status of human rights in Vietnam, particularly freedoms of expression and religion. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) granted USD 134 million to Vietnam in 2010.
1 http://en.rsf.org/vietnam-ailing-dissident-catholic-priest28-07-2011,40711.html 2 http://en.rsf.org/vietnam-blogger-lu-van-bay-serving-four26-09-2011,41059.html 3 http://en.rsf.org/vietnam-call-for-transparency-and-respect28-11-2011,41479.html 4 http://en.rsf.org/vietnam-blogger-s-detention-prolonged21-10-2010,38633.html