Vietnam: Clinton Should Spotlight Internet Freedom
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should publicly press
Vietnam to respect freedom of expression and Internet freedom, and release
prominent Internet bloggers when she visits Hanoi on July 10, 2012.
(New York) - United States
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should publicly press Vietnam to respect
freedom of expression and Internet freedom, and release prominent Internet
bloggers when she visits Hanoi on July 10, 2012.
Restrictions on Internet freedom have been a serious problem in Vietnam since
May 2004, when the government began to firewall critical websites.
A new draft Decree on Management, Provision, and Use of Internet Services and
Information on the Network revealed by Ministry of Information and
Communications in April 2012 extends many speech crimes to the Internet and
requires companies to filter whatever the government finds objectionable. In a
country where newspapers, TV, and radio are strictly controlled by the
government, the Internet is one of the few bastions of free expression.
"Secretary Clinton should urge Vietnam to strip out rights-restricting
provisions of the draft Internet decree before it reaches the National
Assembly," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "As
written, the decree is a recipe for further criminal prosecutions of bloggers
and free speech activists because almost anything the Vietnam authorities
construe as criticism could be banned."
Article 5 of the draft decree prohibits any act "abusing the provision and use
of the Internet and information on the web" which can be arbitrarily interpreted
as to "oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," "undermining the grand unity
of all people," or "undermining the fine customs and traditions of the nation."
Article 24 requires foreign-based companies who provide information in
Vietnamese language to collaborate with the authorities to filter and eliminate
any prohibited information interpreted as "prohibited acts" stated in article 5.
Similarly, article 25 requires the filtering of any information on the Internet
interpreted as "prohibited acts" stated in article 5. And article 29 requires
individuals who use domestic and foreign social network services to make sure
that any information she circulates and/or provides links to does not contain
prohibited content.
Human Rights Watch said that Vietnam has ratified the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and is obliged under article 19 of that treaty to
respect freedom of expression. Article 69 of Vietnam's constitution also
establishes the right to freedom of speech and right to receive information.
On May 23, the Global Network Initiative (GNI), a coalition of civil society
organizations and corporations that includes Human Rights Watch, issued a
press release expressing deep concern over "the free speech and privacy
implications of the Government of Vietnam's Draft" of the Internet decree. GNI
noted that the draft legislation "if made into law, would oblige Internet
companies and other providers of information to Internet users in Vietnam to
cooperate with the government in enforcing overbroad provisions that are
inconsistent with international human rights standards." GNI urged the
Vietnamese government to "address these issues as it finalizes the decree."
The US Embassy in Hanoi also raised concerns on June 6 in
written comments on the draft of the Internet decree sent to the Vietnam
government, highlighting serious issues involving the potential human rights and
economic impacts of the decree. The Embassy called the provisions in article 5
of the decree "overly broad and vague" and raised concern about intermediary
liability requirements because "requiring service providers to enforce such
broad prohibitions and be subject to liability for failure to do so will likely
lead to restrictions on legitimate content."
"Clinton should press Vietnam to tear down its Internet firewall, and live up to
its international human rights commitments, starting with respect for freedom of
expression, association, and peaceful public assembly," Robertson said. "Ending
Vietnam's backsliding on human rights is a critical test that must be met for
any sort of deeper US-Vietnam relationship to thrive."
Persecution of Bloggers
Vietnam continues to harass, intimidate, arrest, and imprison bloggers and
online activists, often using draconian provisions of the penal code, including
article 88 that prohibits "conducting propaganda against the state" and sets out
penalties of up to 20 years in prison. In the last three years, Vietnam
authorities have imprisoned more than a dozen prominent bloggers and activists
for using the Internet to express their opinions and advance their causes. The
list included bloggers Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Vi Duc Hoi, Ho Thi Bich Khuong,
Nguyen Tien Trung, and Nguyen Ba Dang, and Internet-using activists like Father
Nguyen Van Ly, Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu, lawyer Le Cong Dinh, and others.
The police have also detained three of the country's most prominent bloggers and
activists for almost a year without trial for using the Internet to exercise
their rights. These bloggers are the three founding members of Club for Free
Journalists - Nguyen Van Hai (a.k.a Dieu Cay), Phan Thanh Hai (a.k.a Anhbasg),
and Ta Phong Tan. Several other bloggers, including blogger Le Van Son (a.k.a
Paulus Le Son), Le Thanh Tung, and Dinh Dang Dinh, have also been held for many
months without trial.
Such actions violate rights and run counter to the growing international
recognition of the importance of protecting freedom of expression on the
Internet. On June 29, 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted by
consensus a resolution on the Promotion, Protection, and Enjoyment of Human
Rights on the Internet that "affirms that same rights that people have offline
must also be protected online, in particular, freedom of expression, which is
applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one's choice…"
The Vietnamese government has recently indicated it plans to seek a seat on the
UN Human Rights Council in the near future.
As a first step to show its commitment to the principles of human rights and
respect for UN decisions, Human Rights Watch said that Vietnam should publicly
guarantee it will respect freedom of the Internet and demonstrate that
commitment by immediately and unconditionally releasing all people who have been
detained and/or imprisoned for their opinions and activism on the Internet and
revising the draft Internet decree.
"These political prisoners and detainees are using the Internet to exercise
basic rights," said Robertson. "By detaining activists and pressing forward with
rights-violating provisions of the draft Internet decree, Hanoi is showing just
how problematic its candidacy for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council is."