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VIETNAM-PROTEST-RIGHTS
Vietnam police break up protest over controversial draft law
HANOI, June 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – At least a dozen people were detained in
Vietnam’s capital on Sunday, according to an AFP correspondent on the scene,
as anger mounts over a proposal to grant companies lengthy land leases.
The draft law at the centre of the furore would allow 99-year concessions
in planned special economic zones, which some view as sweetheart deals for
foreign and specifically Chinese firms.
Though Hanoi and Beijing routinely trade barbs over contested territory in
the South China Sea, Vietnam often breaks up protests aimed at China.
In response to growing criticism over the bill, the communist government
said on Saturday that it would ask parliament to delay approving it until the
end of the year.
But that did not tamp down frustrations, as around 40 to 50 protesters
gathered at Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake on Sunday holding signs opposing the
legislation that said “Protest against the draft law on special economic
zones” and “Protest against leasing land to China”.
An AFP correspondent saw plainclothes police drag around 20 people away and
move them into nearby buses. Authorities could not be reached for comment.
The incident followed the arrests of two people on Saturday in a southern
part of the country for spreading leaflets calling for protests against the
legislation, state media reported.
Images on social media also showed demonstrations in Ho Chi Minh City and
other parts of Vietnam, as calls for action spread on Facebook earlier this
week.
Public shows of dissent are rare in the one-party state, where a
conservative leadership in place since 2016 has taken a more aggressive
stance against activists.
A Vietnamese environmental activist was jailed for 14 years in February
over protests against a toxic waste dump that killed tonnes of fish in 2016,
an incident that sparked nationwide demonstrations.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1238 hrs