CTV Danlambao - As reported on Danlambao, today, August 09, 2013, an officer introduced herself as Tuyet from the General Security Department had made a "working session" with Mrs. Bui Thi Thien Can, a 73-year-old a retired teacher and the mother of blogger Doan Trang, at her residence.
The reason for the “working session” is relevant to recent activities of Doan Trang, a leading figure of the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers who has joined a few other bloggers to submit the Statement 258 to various international organizations such as OHCHR, Human Rights Watch, SEAPA, Freedom House, Forum-Asia, SEAPA, ICJ, CPJ, etc.
After getting information about the harassing intention of security agency focused on relatives of members of the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers, several bloggers from the network and supporters of Statement 258 came to support the family of blogger Doan Trang.
Blogger Le Thien Nhan, who came early to support Doan Trang’s family, said Mrs. Bui displayed her steadfast attitude and deep legal knowledge in answering each question from the security agent, causing distress and frustration to the agent.
Finally, the peak of the ludicrous humiliation of the rulers’ servant is, after leaving, the security agent named Tuyet made call to Mrs. Bui to threaten: "If you still invite Doan Trang’s friends to come over again, you will inflict sufferings on your own daughter."
Reaction from blogger Doan Trang
The journalist and blogger Doan Trang is representing the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers on a mission to submit the Statement 258 to international human rights organizations in Bangkok, Thailand.
She became worried after receiving information from her family on August 08, 2013.
"My mother is 73 years old, a retired teacher, and living alone. She has never raised her voice to anybody; I’m afraid that it could be unbearable for her to handle harassment from security agents,” Doan Trang said to Danlambao reporter.
"In addition to my family, they have put a lot of pressure on my employer, friends and colleagues by phone, email, and meeting in person,” she said.
She expressed her joy and gratitude to all supporters after learning from Facebook that the bloggers had come to support her mother.
In addition, Doan Trang also gave thanks to her colleagues at the Law Newspapers in Saigon for their supports in the past 3 years.
What did the bloggers say?
When asked about the reason for the harassment, Nguyen Viet Hung, a blogger with a lot of experience in dealing with security agents, explained:
"They (the police) know that Vietnamese are afraid of becoming the cause of troubles to their relatives and friends, so they exploit this point."
"This is a common psyche rooted in traditional culture of community, which respects the importance of social bondness of the Vietnamese."
Blogger Nguyen Viet Hung also shared some experiences with those people whose relatives may have been a target of police harassment.
"First, telling security agents that their meeting with relatives of the activities is, absolutely, legally baseless. Second, reminding the relatives to firmly refuse to see the police. Third, firmly stating that each person is responsible for his/her own actions. Fourth, warning the police that today is not the time of land reform (in 1960s), so they cannot do whatever they want."
From Weimar City, Germany, blogger Nguoi Buon Gio said in a brief statement: "This is a ridiculous law. It’s not a feudal time, in which parents are responsible for actions of their adult children."
“Despite of confirming the desire to build a State governed by laws, the government of Vietnam, by harassing relatives of the activists, has 'trampled' on one of the most fundamental rule of law: ‘adult individuals bear sole responsibility for his/her behavior before the law,’" he said.
English version by Như Ngọc (Danlambao)
