First Amendment Paper

First Amendment Paper
Vietnam number 13, restriction of Internet speech Danielle Bernard
Legalized oppression in Vietnam through the strict restriction of the internet and harsh punishment for any exercise of the constitutionally given right to freedom of speech. In Vietnam Law the right to freedom of speech is guaranteed. Found in the Vietnamese Constitution: In principles, freedom of expression and information is officially provided for in the Vietnamese Constitution. 1 Explicitly, stated in Article 69 of the Vietnamese Constitution guarantees to all citizens freedoms of expression, association, and assembly.2 Also, as a member of the United Nations in 1982 Vietnam was expected to implement and ratify its laws to adhere to the govern laws of the United Nations on member states. This international guarantee as a member of the United Nations is found in Article 19. 3 Article 19 specifically states that "Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference."4 And continued
Violations of Freedom of Expression and Information In Vietnam Today, Updated in August 2004 by Dr. Lam Thu Van, Democracy for Vietnam / Montreal Campaign for Freedom of Expression and Information in Vietnam.
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Examine the Democracy and Human Rights Situations In Vietnam. http://democracyforvietnam.net/m 4 Examine the Democracy and Human Rights Situations In Vietnam. http://democracyforvietnam.net/m
that, "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any media of his choice." 5 Freedom of speech and expression in reality in Vietnam is nonexistent. Even though Vietnamese law, both through their constitution and by United Nations charter promotes and protects freedom of expression and speech, Vietnamese people in reality do not have these protections. 6 The Vietnamese Prime Minister and Vice-Minister of Culture and Information has passed several laws, decrees and direct orders to the police that heavily restrict freedom of expression and speech in Vietnam. 7 Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in an interview done in 2005 stated "Some people may argue that Vietnam does not have freedom and democracy and only has a one-party system. But you know, our ultimate goal is to maintain political stability and serve the interests of the people,"8 and continued that "We do not agree with arguments from the outside that there are prisoners of conscience in Vietnam. We do not have any prisoners of conscience in Vietnam."9
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Examine the Democracy and Human Rights Situations In Vietnam. http://democracyforvietnam.net/m 7 Examine the Democracy and Human Rights Situations In Vietnam. http://democracyforvietnam.net/m 8 Washington Post Foreign Service, By Ellen Nakashima, Thursday, September 29, 2005. 9 Washington Post Foreign Service, By Ellen Nakashima, Thursday, September 29, 2005.
The Vietnamese government restricts freedom of speech over the internet through legalization their oppression. The free flow of information through the internet is controlled through several different legal ways such as administration detention decrees, the Vietnamese Penal Code and by utter control of the judiciary branch. 10 Administration Detention Decrees is a well recognized form of oppression by the international community, several human rights organizations and etc. For example, in 2003 the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, in the name of maintaining security for the Vietnamese people and preventing government overthrow passed the Internet Resources Administration Regulation 92/2003/QD-BBCVT. Article 2 of the decree prohibits Internet users to send or receive anti-government materials. 11 The Vietnamese Penal Code specifically uses broad and ambiguous language to allow the government to restrict and apply harsh punishment on any type of speech or expression that they see fit. 12 Also it seems that this is away to outwardly appear to protect freedom of speech and expression, while systematically restricting it, oppressing their people and completely
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control the flow of information to and from the Vietnamese people. For example Penal Code Article 73 states that speech or expression that is threatening national security or attempting to overthrow the government
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can be punished by imprisonment up to 12 years or by death. Under
Article 80 anyone is punishable if they are found to have committed espionage, and Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code outlines any individual who does propaganda activities against the socialist government of Vietnam 14 can be punished up to 20 years of imprisonment. Something I found extremely interesting is the fact that the Vietnamese government controls the judiciary branch and their decision making. This is how they secure harsh convictions that carry unforgiving punishment and allows the government to continue legally restricting the freedom of speech over the internet. The judiciary branch is not independent, judges set sentences based on the recommendations or explicit instructions of Vietnamese Communist Partys leaders. Trials of political prisoners are always closed, and quite often without the counsel of independent
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attorneys. 15 Hence, allowing the governments further domination and control over the internet and their people. Vietnam has roughly 5000 internet-cafes that are operated and controlled by the joint control of the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. 16 The Ministry of Culture and Information exercises this control by demanding that every internet-caf owner monitor all online activity preformed by their clients. The Ministry claims this suggested monitoring is in order to prevent them from accessing state secrets or reactionary documents. 17 The Director of Post and Telecommunication asked all provincial and municipal authorities to severely punish Internet users caught spreading dissent online.18 An estimated two thousand websites are blocked, apparently for alleged disseminating "subversive" or "reactionary" messages. 19 Access to the free
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flow of information through the internet is under the complete and utter control and direction of the Vietnamese government. For example, the Vietnamese legal oppression over the flow of information over the internet was furthered by the 2003 Decree 92/2003/QD-BBCVT to regulate the use and access of the Internet. Article 2 of the decree prohibits Internet users to send or receive anti-government materials, by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.20 There are countless examples of unforgiving punishments for the Vietnamese people when they use the internet to receive and send information that the government sees unfit for the people to have. 21 The heavy internet restrictions carry the governments policies of oppression and control over their populace. One example was in reported by the Washington Post in 2005 of a business manager in Hanoi Vietnam, Pham Hong Son that was sentenced to 13 years in a Vietnamese prison for downloading off of the internet an essay titled "What is Democracy?" that he found on a United States State Department website. He then translated and sent the essay to others. 22 According to the Vietnamese Constitution what Son did was legal and protected under his right of free speech. However the Vietnamese government after a one day trial that was closed to the public, Sons family
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Examine the Democracy and Human Rights Situations In Vietnam. http://democracyforvietnam.net/m 22 Washington Post Foreign Service , By Ellen Nakashima, Thursday, September 29, 2005.
members and members of the media, Son was found guilty of espionage. 23 People who have similar stories of persecution, imprisonment for exercising their right to freedom of speech by using the internet have been labeled by the international community and human rights organizations as a prisoner of conscience. 24 There are several documented cases of journalists, political personnel, students and just your everyday regular person receiving harsh punishments Vietnam forms of punishment for exercising their constitutionally given right of freedom of speech over the internet carries convictions such as imprisonment up to twenty years, house arrest, being sent labor camps and death, simply for exercising their constitutionally given right of freedom of speech by using the internet. 25 I am sure there are several cases that are undocumented and kept secret through closed judiciary hearings and further restraints of the flow of outgoing information through the internet.26 The Vietnamese government by obstructing the free flow of information from the internet to their people are repressing the constitutionally given right of freedom of speech. This is possible through the legalizing of their oppression by creating binding laws, decrees and controlling the judiciary branch. 27 The restriction of the internet and harsh punishment for any
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Washington Post Foreign Service , By Ellen Nakashima, Thursday, September 29, 2005. Washington Post Foreign Service , By Ellen Nakashima, Thursday, September 29, 2005. 25 Violations of Freedom of Expression and Information In Vietnam Today, Updated in August 2004 by Dr. Lam Thu Van, Democracy for Vietnam / Montreal Campaign for Freedom of Expression and Information in Vietnam.
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Washington Post Foreign Service , By Ellen Nakashima, Thursday, September 29, 2005. Examine the Democracy and Human Rights Situations In Vietnam. http://democracyforvietnam.net/m
exercise of the constitutionally given right of freedom of speech is another form of complete and utter control of a people, that we so often see throughout the international community. As can be seen throughout the global community, free access to information is imperative to a democratic society, and the internet is the driving force behind it.

First Amendment Paper - Danielle Bernard Mic Office

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Vietnam number 13, restriction of Internet speech Danielle Bernard

can be punished by imprisonment up to 12 years or by death. Under

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