Vietnamese Farmers Demand Tough Action Against Land-Grabbing ‘Thugs’
RFA
– 03/07/2014
Hundreds of Vietnamese farmers protested Friday against a violent crackdown by a
developer who allegedly sent armed men to prevent them from reclaiming their
rice fields acquired for a satellite city project, demanding tougher charges
against the attackers.
The farmers from Hung Yen province’s Van Giang district said they believed the
authorities have failed to fully investigate the Feb. 10 incident in which the
men shot and injured five farmers trying to reclaim land taken over for the
EcoPark project on the edge of Hanoi.
Embroiled in one of Vietnam’s biggest land disputes, the farmers staged a
protest outside the district police headquarters after they were informed that
the men have been charged with “attempted injury” even though they had used
their firearms openly.
They said they had been expecting attempted murder charges to be slapped on the
men, who they claim were “thugs” hired by the EcoPark developer.
“We received the announcement about the case from the authorities. They changed
the charge to ‘attempt to injure,’” one of the farmers told RFA’s Vietnamese
Service.
“They fired at us. This was not attempt to merely injure,” he said, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Police promise
Police spoke to the protesters and promised to fully investigate and to consider
a more serious charge, he said.
“We told them what we think and they listened to us. The police said that they
will investigate and if they find enough evidence that fits with what we told
them then they will change the charge.”
The farmers say they have gone to the Ministry of Police and the Hung Yen
provincial police to demand justice over their case but have received no
response.
Two of the five injured were hospitalized after being shot with homemade
weapons, according to the farmers.
Handmade guns, which often use compressed air to fire lead pellets, are not
uncommon in Vietnam despite being banned, with people in rural areas using them
to hunt, according to local reports.
Long-running dispute
Farmers in Van Giang have staged protests occasionally since the EcoPark project
was launched five years ago, claiming that the government granted 500 hectares
(1,200 acres) that they used as farmland to the developers without proper
consultation or compensation.
In a larger crackdown in April 2012, police fired warning shots and tear gas
while farmers resisted by throwing bricks, glass bottles, stones, and Molotov
cocktails.
Land for the EcoPark project—a long-term urban planning scheme for Hanoi-- was
confiscated in two stages in 2009 and 2012, but thousands of households refused
to take compensation from the government, saying the amount offered was
significantly lower than what they were owed.
Following the 2012 clash, residents submitted a complaint to the Van Giang
People’s Court in May, suing the district chairman over their initial 2009
eviction.
In August that year, the court returned their complaint, saying it was refusing
the case because there was not enough evidence.
In Vietnam, all land belongs to the state, with people having only the right to
use it, and expropriation has been linked to several high-profile incidents of
unrest.
Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Written in English by Rachel
Vandenbrink.