Posted on Jun 3, 2023
Vietnam faces criticism for arresting climate activist as it closes clean energy deal
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https://www.npr.org/2023/06/03/ [login to see] /hoang-thi-minh-hong-arrest-vietnam-climate-deal
A prominent climate activist in Vietnam was detained on Wednesday in what human rights experts say is the latest case of the country's ruling Communist Party suppressing civil society. The arrest came weeks after dozens of environmental and human rights groups urged President Joe Biden and other world leaders to pressure Vietnam on its human rights practices before industrialized nations send the country billions of dollars to fight climate change and boost its economic development.
The United Nations says Hoang Thi Minh Hong, founder of the environmental group CHANGE VN, was arrested on charges of tax evasion. The UN says Hoang is the fifth high-profile climate activist in Vietnam who has been charged with tax evasion in the past two years. Human rights experts say the Vietnamese government is arbitrarily enforcing the law to target civil society groups.
A prominent climate activist in Vietnam was detained on Wednesday in what human rights experts say is the latest case of the country's ruling Communist Party suppressing civil society. The arrest came weeks after dozens of environmental and human rights groups urged President Joe Biden and other world leaders to pressure Vietnam on its human rights practices before industrialized nations send the country billions of dollars to fight climate change and boost its economic development.
The United Nations says Hoang Thi Minh Hong, founder of the environmental group CHANGE VN, was arrested on charges of tax evasion. The UN says Hoang is the fifth high-profile climate activist in Vietnam who has been charged with tax evasion in the past two years. Human rights experts say the Vietnamese government is arbitrarily enforcing the law to target civil society groups.
Vietnam faces criticism for arresting climate activist as it closes clean energy deal
Posted from npr.org
Climate Change
Environment
Vietnam
Human Rights
Communism
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Not a Good Look for the Government of Vietnam!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."A UN working group recently said the treatment of one of those activists, Dang Dinh Bach, is a violation of international law.
Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, said in an email to NPR on Thursday that Hoang's arrest is part of a sweeping crackdown on environmental groups in Vietnam. He said that any criticism has come to be seen as seditious by the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, and that prominent environmental activists like Hoang aren't safe.
"The muted response by the U.S. and other 'like-minded' governments in Europe and North America has convinced Vietnam that they can get away with going after civil society groups without facing adverse consequences," Robertson said.
Experts in human rights and international development say Vietnam's treatment of civil society threatens to undermine the JETP because there's no one to ensure the government acts in the public's interest.
Robertson said in a statement Friday that without activists like Hoang, "climate change responses in Vietnam will fall short and fail.""
..."A UN working group recently said the treatment of one of those activists, Dang Dinh Bach, is a violation of international law.
Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, said in an email to NPR on Thursday that Hoang's arrest is part of a sweeping crackdown on environmental groups in Vietnam. He said that any criticism has come to be seen as seditious by the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, and that prominent environmental activists like Hoang aren't safe.
"The muted response by the U.S. and other 'like-minded' governments in Europe and North America has convinced Vietnam that they can get away with going after civil society groups without facing adverse consequences," Robertson said.
Experts in human rights and international development say Vietnam's treatment of civil society threatens to undermine the JETP because there's no one to ensure the government acts in the public's interest.
Robertson said in a statement Friday that without activists like Hoang, "climate change responses in Vietnam will fall short and fail.""
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