Activists Lau Nhat Phong and Mac Vi Luc sitting on street before being detained by HCMC police (photo from blogger Trang Nguyen)
Two Ho Chi Minh City-based environmentalists Lau Nhat Phong and Mac Vi Luc have been detained and barbarically beaten by local security forces while the duo was sitting on pavement to raise concerns over the catastrophe in Vietnam’s central coastal region which has massively killed aquatic species for months.
By Vu Quoc Ngu, May 6, 2016
Two Ho Chi Minh City-based environmentalists Lau Nhat Phong and Mac Vi Luc have been detained and barbarically beaten by local security forces while the duo was sitting on pavement to raise concerns over the catastrophe in Vietnam’s central coastal region which has massively killed aquatic species for months.
In the evening of May 5, Mr. Phong and Mr. Luc, who are Chinese Vietnamese, made their peaceful demonstration on Nguyen Hue Street, a well-known road for walking in District 1, with banners to demand the Vietnamese government to thoroughly investigate the causes of the en-mass aquatic killing in the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.
Soon later, local security forces came and detained the two activists and took them to a police station where police officers questioned and brutally beat them.
Phong was released at 11 PM of the same day while Luc was freed at 6 AM of the next day.
In the previous evening, Phong was also detained for hours by local police by conducting the same activity on the same place.
Thousands of Vietnamese activists, fishermen and traders have rallied across Vietnam to raise their concerns about the mysterious deaths of hundreds of tons of aquatic species in the central coastal region which started on April 6. Experts and environmentalists blame the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant in Ha Tinh for discharging toxic waste into the local sea water for the serious environmental pollution.
Formosa steel plant, a unit of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics, has an underground pipe via which the factory throws waste into Vietnam’s sea. The company admitted that they imported over 300 tons of toxic chemicals for cleaning their machinery.
Vietnam’s government has still conducted investigation to determine the real causes of the en-mass fish death.
The state media has reported that along with fish death, toxic substances have also destroyed coral in the central coast.
Many Vietnamese protestors have been detained, beaten and harassed in recent days. On May 1, the police in HCMC beat and detained dozens of demonstrators during the rally with participation of around 2,000 people, the highest number in the city in the past several years. Police severely beat the detainees during interrogation in custody before releasing them in late Sunday and Monday.
Vietnam’s security forces also kidnapped two former prisoners of conscience Truong Minh Tam and Chu Manh Son when the two activists tried to cover news on the mass fish poisoning in the central region. Mr. Tam reported that during the seven-day detention ended on May 4 in Ha Tinh, he was tortured and treated like an animal. Police had not shown him any warrant or decision of relevant authorities for the detention.
The police forces in Hanoi also barred a number of local activists from attending the environmental rally which occurred in the city’s center on Sunday in which thousands of people participated. Some activists, including blogger Le Hoang, complained that they had been detained and beaten by the local police on May 1.
Vietnam’s government has offered a number of incentives for foreign investors in a bid to boost the country’s economy. However, it has also ignored warnings on environmental issues and lacked strict regulations on waste discharge by foreign factories, according to experts.
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May 7, 2016
HCMC Police Detain, Beat Two Environmentalists Who Sit on Street to Raise Concern over Massive Fish Death in Central Coastal Region
by Nhan Quyen • Lau Nhat Phong, Mac Vi Luc
Activists Lau Nhat Phong and Mac Vi Luc sitting on street before being detained by HCMC police (photo from blogger Trang Nguyen)
By Vu Quoc Ngu, May 6, 2016
Two Ho Chi Minh City-based environmentalists Lau Nhat Phong and Mac Vi Luc have been detained and barbarically beaten by local security forces while the duo was sitting on pavement to raise concerns over the catastrophe in Vietnam’s central coastal region which has massively killed aquatic species for months.
In the evening of May 5, Mr. Phong and Mr. Luc, who are Chinese Vietnamese, made their peaceful demonstration on Nguyen Hue Street, a well-known road for walking in District 1, with banners to demand the Vietnamese government to thoroughly investigate the causes of the en-mass aquatic killing in the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.
Soon later, local security forces came and detained the two activists and took them to a police station where police officers questioned and brutally beat them.
Phong was released at 11 PM of the same day while Luc was freed at 6 AM of the next day.
In the previous evening, Phong was also detained for hours by local police by conducting the same activity on the same place.
Thousands of Vietnamese activists, fishermen and traders have rallied across Vietnam to raise their concerns about the mysterious deaths of hundreds of tons of aquatic species in the central coastal region which started on April 6. Experts and environmentalists blame the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant in Ha Tinh for discharging toxic waste into the local sea water for the serious environmental pollution.
Formosa steel plant, a unit of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics, has an underground pipe via which the factory throws waste into Vietnam’s sea. The company admitted that they imported over 300 tons of toxic chemicals for cleaning their machinery.
Vietnam’s government has still conducted investigation to determine the real causes of the en-mass fish death.
The state media has reported that along with fish death, toxic substances have also destroyed coral in the central coast.
Many Vietnamese protestors have been detained, beaten and harassed in recent days. On May 1, the police in HCMC beat and detained dozens of demonstrators during the rally with participation of around 2,000 people, the highest number in the city in the past several years. Police severely beat the detainees during interrogation in custody before releasing them in late Sunday and Monday.
Vietnam’s security forces also kidnapped two former prisoners of conscience Truong Minh Tam and Chu Manh Son when the two activists tried to cover news on the mass fish poisoning in the central region. Mr. Tam reported that during the seven-day detention ended on May 4 in Ha Tinh, he was tortured and treated like an animal. Police had not shown him any warrant or decision of relevant authorities for the detention.
The police forces in Hanoi also barred a number of local activists from attending the environmental rally which occurred in the city’s center on Sunday in which thousands of people participated. Some activists, including blogger Le Hoang, complained that they had been detained and beaten by the local police on May 1.
Vietnam’s government has offered a number of incentives for foreign investors in a bid to boost the country’s economy. However, it has also ignored warnings on environmental issues and lacked strict regulations on waste discharge by foreign factories, according to experts.