CTV Danlambao * Translated by P.Thao (Danlambao) – More than 3,000 locals in Quang Loc, Ba Don town (Quang Trach district, Quang Binh province) suddenly took to the streets demonstrating against Formosa and demanded the resignation of head of the Ministry of Natural Resources–Environment, Tran Hong Ha.
Video clip: Anti-Formosa demonstrators battling against police.
Since 9:00 am, groups of demonstrators advanced peacefully on the seat of Quang Trach People’s Committee in order to put forward their legitimate petition. On their way, the people loudly chanted slogans protecting the environment and protesting against the act of saving Formosa’s hide in polluting the sea.
Photo: Thuan Van Bui
Around 11:00 am, the demonstrators were stopped while the People’s Committee was about 2 Km ahead. Photos available on social networks show that Quang Binh authorities deployed a whole army of policemen, mobile police, plain-clothes agents and members of the Communist Youth Union ….. to confront the people.
Even troops were mobilized to confront the people? Photo: Thuan Van Bui
Troops and those wearing the uniform of the Communist Youth Union were sent in to battle against the demonstrators.
Immediately thereafter, the police suddenly launched a bloody crackdown on the mass rally. Many gunshots were heard and tear grenades were hurled towards the demonstrators-turned fishermen armed with nothing.
At least two locals were claimed to have been severely beaten and hospitalized. Dozens bled owing to heavy-handed blows.
A demonstrator by the name of Pham Duc, according to Facebook Hung Tran, was so badly hit in the head that he was referred to Hue hospital as Ba Don clinic could not cure him. His family is a poor one; worse still, so far he hasn’t been able to fish due to the polluted sea. He’s really in need now. Hopefully he can be helped in this moment. People living in Hue city can contact him directly at the hospital.
To help him, please contact Hung Tran or his son, Duc, at +84 984 776 621.
A demonstrator by the name of Pham Duc
Beaten by the police, locals were bleeding. Facebook Thuan Van Bui.
In a video available on social networks, infuriated fishermen can be seen using bricks and rocks to throw at the police, forcing them to withdraw onto the bridge.
Nevertheless, the confrontation between the professionally armed and the poorly unarmed ended pretty soon. Faced with a whole army of mobile police “armed to the teeth”, the fellow fishermen had to withdraw.
Scenes of smoke billowing from the grenades incessantly hurled at the demonstrators were almost the same as those in war times.
Like so many other localities, the Cồn Sẻ parish and the fishermen in Quảng Bình have been directly hit by the Formosa incident, which seriously polluted the marine environment.
In the wake of the mass fish deaths, the locals are facing increasing hardship and even a crisis. Most make their living by fishing, but now the sea has been dead and they don’t know what to do to take care of their families; the kids are likely to drop out of school…
In the meantime, local authorities haven’t bothered to give them a hand. On the contrary, heavy-handed measures were taken to deal with the people, who bled, just because they peacefully put forward their legitimate petition.
7th July, 2016
