Vietnam stops anti-China protest, detains many
HANOI: Vietnamese police
detained scores of people taking part in an anti-China rally in Hanoi on
Sunday in defiance of a government order to end a string of
demonstrations that has stretched three months and put authorities on
edge.
One witness said plainclothes police
forced around 40 demonstrators onto two public buses and drove them away
within minutes of the start of the demonstration. A blogger who has
chronicled the demonstrations and has contacts among the regular
protesters said at least one bus left with 19 people aboard.
It was the 11th anti-China rally in an
unprecedented series of public protests that have taken place nearly
every Sunday since early June against what Vietnamese see as China’s
violations of their country’s sovereignty in the South China Sea. “We’re
very concerned that protesters were arrested by the police and call for
their immediate release,” said Phil Robertson, deputy head for Asia of
Human Rights Watch. “Sadly, the over-reaction of the authorities was
shown by the fact that the police outnumbered the protesters, and their
aggressive actions to prevent the assembly from going forward. These
protesters have done nothing wrong, the police should release them
unconditionally.” reuters
HANOI: Vietnamese police
detained scores of people taking part in an anti-China rally in Hanoi on
Sunday in defiance of a government order to end a string of
demonstrations that has stretched three months and put authorities on
edge.
forced around 40 demonstrators onto two public buses and drove them away
within minutes of the start of the demonstration. A blogger who has
chronicled the demonstrations and has contacts among the regular
protesters said at least one bus left with 19 people aboard.
It was the 11th anti-China rally in an
unprecedented series of public protests that have taken place nearly
every Sunday since early June against what Vietnamese see as China’s
violations of their country’s sovereignty in the South China Sea. “We’re
very concerned that protesters were arrested by the police and call for
their immediate release,” said Phil Robertson, deputy head for Asia of
Human Rights Watch. “Sadly, the over-reaction of the authorities was
shown by the fact that the police outnumbered the protesters, and their
aggressive actions to prevent the assembly from going forward. These
protesters have done nothing wrong, the police should release them
unconditionally.” reuters