Filed under: APEC, Death Penalty, Guardian, Hanoi, News and politics, US, bush, expat, media, politics, protests, vietnam
Speaking of the death penalty, here’s an article from, again, the Guardian, about 7 activists in Viet Nam who may just face the firing squad for agitating against the government. All this comes just ahead of a major APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation – Summit to be held in Hanoi later this month, to be attended by Senior Bush, as well as Viet Nam’s official entry into the WTO.
Vietnam Puts 3 U.S. Citizens on Trial
Tuesday November 7, 2006 3:01 AM
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) – Three U.S. citizens are among seven people who will go on trial in Vietnam this week over an alleged attempt to take over state radio stations to call for an uprising against the communist government, a court official said Tuesday.
The seven will stand trial Friday at the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City on charges of terrorism, an offense that carries possible sentences ranging from 12 years in prison to death by firing squad, the court’s chief judge Bui Hoang Danh said.
The defendants, who were arrested in September of last year, include three U.S. citizens of ethnic Vietnamese descent: Thuong Nguyen “Cuc” Foshee of Orlando, Fla.; Le Van Binh “Phu” of Tampa, Fla, and Huynh Bich Lien “Linda” of San Gabriel, Calif.
Three Vietnamese nationals from southern An Giang province and a Vietnamese national who is a resident of the U.S. will also be tried, Danh said.
He said the trial would last one day.
The trial comes just before Hanoi is set to host the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month. President Bush is scheduled to attend the Nov. 18-19 meeting.
A one-day trial, eh? Yeah, that’ll be fair. The kangaroo courts they operate here are hardwired for conviction. Just ask Gary Glitter!!
As for Viet Nam’s WTO accession… I can’t help but feel like the country is signing away its soul, perhaps without even really knowing what it’s getting into. With a population of 84 million people, 80% of whom are farmers, they just cannot handle influxes of cheap foreign foods and goods. China will swamp the market, and what then for the farmers? Off to the factories to be worked like dogs?
Here are some pics from Vietnamese executions. The government is considering doing away with the firing squad in favour of lethal injection, apparently because some of the soldiers doing the firing get nervous and miss their target.
