HCM City-based Human Rights Activist not Allowed to Go Out During IPU-132

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Mr. Thanh said he had no plan to go to Hanoi during these days. He thinks that Vietnamese people must realize that their basic human rights are being violated by the communist government. The civilized world could not assist Vietnamese people unless they voice first and demand the government to respect their human rights, he noted.
Currently, most of the population remains unawered of their rights, he added.

By Vu Quoc Ngu | Apr 04, 2015

Ho Chi Minh City-based human rights activist Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh was barred from Vietnam’s security forces from going out during the time when the communist nation hosted the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly (IPU-132) which was held in the capital city of Hanoi on March 28-April 1.

Mr. Thanh, who is a member of the unsanctioned human rights and pro-democracy organization The Vietnam Path Movement, was blocked at his private apartment in Saigon, the biggest economic hub in the one-party country. A group of eight plainclothes agents were stationed around and did not allow him and his wife to go out.

Mr. Thanh said he recognized a number of the agents in the district and communal police who have been following him for months. Others are from the city’s police department and the Ministry of Public Security, Thanh said.

The agents stationed non-stop and remained silent when Thanh questioned the reason for blocking him. The activist suggested that they were assigned not to allow him to go to Hanoi to meet with foreign delegates who were attending the IPU-132.

Along participating in the five-day event, legislators from other countries, including Sweden, Germany and the U.S. held meetings with local unsanctioned civil organizations and activists to learn more about the real human rights situation in the communist nation.

Vietnam’s security forces don’t want foreign guests to meet local activists and blocked a number of them from going to the meetings, however, a number of them still overcame to attend and meet with legislators from the U.S., Germany and Sweden in Hanoi.

Mr. Thanh said he had no plan to go to Hanoi during these days. He thinks that Vietnamese people must realize that their basic human rights are being violated by the communist government. The civilized world could not assist Vietnamese people unless they voice first and demand the government to respect their human rights, he noted.

Currently, most of the population remains unawered of their rights, he added.

He called for international support in promoting human rights in Vietnam by providing knowledge for local people through organizing seminars and training courses in human rights.

Vietnam’s governmnet has reiterated to promote human rights in the country, however, its real purpose is to receive more economic support from international community, Mr. Thanh noted.

According to social network, a number of Vietnamese activists were detained or blocked from traveling to Hanoi when the IPU-132 was held in Hanoi.

Blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (nickname Me Nam or Mushroom Mother) was detained by Nha Trang police on her way to take a flight to Hanoi while Saigon-based human rights defender Pham Ba Hai was forced to be back to his home when he tried to go to the airport. Both were invited by the German Embassy in Hanoi to meet with legislators from Germany and Sweden.