VIETNAM: Bloggers Equal Terrorists … Again?

With the drop of a dime (or with a simple substitution) bloggers can become terrorists! Wait,
really?

They’ve done it again- the rights of anti-corruption Vietnamese netizens have been violated. Earlier this month, 14 democracy activists and bloggers were arrested and given long jail sentences because they were trying to overthrow the government. Or so the the government says, with some very thin evidence backing up the arrest.

This happened before in October 2012, when 3 bloggers were sent to jail on the same grounds, with evidence just as thin.

News venues like The Economist refer to the victims as activists and bloggers, while the government controlled Thanh Nien News calls them subversives and members of an “anti-government terrorist organization.”

Activity on the net has become increasingly important as we move forward, so the government might want to deliberate on their control (and word choice). Their concern is understandable, but that doesn’t mean they should change the story with a simple label substitute.

How unfair it can be to be a terrorist—I mean, blogger in Vietnam.

Go to:

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21570732-scandal-ridden-party-lashes-out-dissent-
and-tries-tackle-corruption-thanh-man
http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20130110-14-get-jail-for-attempted-
subversion-in-vietnam.aspx

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