Coi bài trên trang chính phủ Úc .gov.au
Vietnam – VNM39109 – Viet Tan - Refugee Review Tribunal
1. Please provide information on the Viet Tan, including its history, structure, policies and leadership
The Viet Tan
1. is
a political organisation which advocates nonviolence and democracy. However, the group has its historical roots in armed resistance. Academic Carlyle Thayer states that both the Viet Tan and the Vietnamese government agree that a former Navy Admiral, Hoang Co Minh, founded the National United Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (NUFLV) in April 1980. He later founded the Viet Tan in September 1982. The aim of both organisations was to overthrow the government, using violent means. However, in September 2004, the NUFLV disbanded and the Viet Tan began conducting its activities openly, with its leaders releasing a new platform which stressed democracy and nonviolence.
2. Between 2004 and 2007, the Viet Tan reportedly lobbied international donors and leaders, engaged in public demonstrations and set up a range of businesses and programs to fund their activities. In 2007 a wave of reporting in state-run media dubbed the Viet Tan a “terrorist organisation”. Thayer argued that the state‟s strong response to organisations such as the Viet Tan during 2006-07 indicated that civil society groups were growing and becoming increasingly networked.
3.The modern Viet Tan is based in the United States.
4. Whilst the Viet Tan has both exile-based and in-country membership, the movement is mainly managed from outside Vietnam.
5. The Viet Tan
1 Also known as: „Vietnam Canh Tan Cach Mang Dang‟; see „Vietnam – Daring to Speak Out‟ 2003, Foreign Correspondent, 28 October
http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s977284.htm – Accessed 11 August 2011 – Attachment 1
2 Thayer, C. 2009, „Vietnam and the Challenge of Political Civil Society‟, Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs, Vol. 31, No. 1, p. 17-18
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/contemp...1.1.thayer.pdf – Accessed 17 August 2011 –Attachment 2
3 Thayer, C. 2009, „Vietnam and the Challenge of Political Civil Society‟, Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs, Vol. 31, No. 1, p. 17-18
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/contemp...1.1.thayer.pdf – Accessed 17 August 2011 –Attachment 2
4 „Australian arrested over Vietnam protest: opposition group‟ 2010, ABC News, 12 October
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-10-1...rotest/2293714 – Accessed 11 August 2011 – Attachment 3
Page 2 of 18
Viet Tan website states that the organisation works with both Vietnamese and diaspora-based pro-democracy groups.
6. In 2008, the Asia Times reported that the Viet Tan claimed that it did not receive Western government funding, however it did appear to have good political connections as its chairman was called to a meeting with then President George W Bush in 2008.
7. Formally, the Viet Tan states that it is directed by a Central Committee which is led by a chairman and general secretary. The party is then organised by local chapters.
8 In January 2008, the Asia Times reported that, whilst the Viet Tan declined to reveal its membership figures, it claimed to be Vietnam‟s largest political organisation outside of the ruling communist party.
9 In 2003, a Viet Tan spokesperson stated that there were “thousands of members across the country and offshore”, and Viet Tan supporters from within government. The spokesperson further stated that these members were organised into grassroots cells, which collected information on arrests and party corruption, and mobilised youth.
10 Some commentators have suggested that by the time the Viet Tan publicly committed to nonviolence, the first generation of Viet Tan members were being replaced by Western-educated professionals.
11. Viet Tan‟s website states that it welcomes new members, and that it communicates via a mailing list and social media.
12. As of 2009, Viet Tan also reportedly had a radio station called New Horizon Radio, which broadcast into Vietnam, in Vietnamese language.
13. According to its website, the Viet Tan still seeks democratic change in Vietnam through nonviolent means.
14. In addition to this overarching goal, the website lists three public campaigns organised by the Viet Tan: a campaign for internet freedom; a campaign critical of bauxite mining in the Central Highlands; and a freedom for prisoners of conscience campaign.
15. These three issues are mentioned, passim, in this country advice as issues sensitive to the Vietnamese government....
http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/CMSPages/G...f-b31b2006408c
Bookmarks