21 June 2006
NEW RULES AIM TO STYMIE EAGER PRESS
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party will introduce new press regulations in July 2006 that stiffen penalties for journalists who report on sensitive issues, including corruption, says the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA). The move is apparently aimed at stemming the rise of more aggressive reporting following the party's move in recent years to show more openness and transparency.
Quoting a report by the German news agency Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA), SEAPA says the new Decree on Cultural and Information Activities, signed by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, will take effect on 1 July.
Under the regulations, journalists can be fined 3 million dong (US$190) for publishing stories with anonymous sources and up to 7 million dong (US$450) for refusing to allow interviewees to see articles quoting them before publication.
The regulations forbid the dissemination of "reactionary ideology," including any articles that reveal "party secrets, state secrets, military secrets and economic secrets." Those who ignore the ban face fines of up to 30 million dong (US$2,000). The new rules also punish journalists who deny the Party's "revolutionary achievements."
While the Communist Party is known for exercising an iron grip over the country's media, in recent years it has allowed journalists to do more aggressive reporting on corruption and governance issues as it seeks to deepen economic ties to the U.S. and to promote its bid to join the World Trade Organization, note SEAPA and Human Rights Watch.
In response, journalists have been increasingly testing the boundaries of censorship by doing more investigative reporting on corruption and tackling other social issues such as public health and poverty.
In August 2005, for example, investigative journalists for the state-run daily "Thanh Nien" revealed potentially dangerous lapses in the government's efforts to control the avian flu virus, prompting vows of reform from legislators, notes the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Human rights and pro-democracy activists have also become bolder in calling for political reform. Since April, more than 400 citizens, including writers, academics, former political prisoners and religious leaders have signed on to a Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy, says Human Rights Watch.
The Manifesto calls for a range of demands, including freedom of information and expression, a multi-party political system and freedoms of assembly and association.
Activists have also launched an independent newspaper "Tu Do Ngon Luan" ("Free Expression") and several journalists and bloggers have formed an underground organisation called the Free Journalists Association of Vietnam. Numerous activists have been harassed in response. Some have had their Internet access cut off, while others have been summoned by authorities for questioning.
Visit these links:
- SEAPA: http://www.seapabkk.org/newdesign/newsdetail.php?No=485
- Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/05/11/vietna13346.htm
- Text of the Manifesto: http://hrw.org/pub/2006/manifesto_040606.pdf
- Freedom House Report: http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/PFS/DraftCountryReportsForPR27April06.pdf
- CPJ Report: http://www.cpj.org/attacks05/asia05/vietnam_05.html
- International Herald Tribune: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/19/news/viet.php
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