Beware of hiding behind 'patriotism' to avoid being exploited and incited

Vice President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Bui Thi Thanh. Photo: TH

In the name of expressing patriotism against the passing of the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units (Special Economic Zones Law), in recent days, a number of people have gathered and illegally protested in a number of localities such as: Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Thuan, Binh Duong...; including gatherings that caused disorder and insecurity, and some extremists even vandalized People's Committee headquarters, burned cars, and destroyed property of organizations and individuals.

Instigators and obvious lessons

(Baonghean.vn) - A lesson learned not long ago, those who incited and incited people to take to the streets and cause riots in response to the environmental incident in the central coastal region, such as Hoang Duc Binh, Nguyen Nam Phong, Nguyen Viet Dung, Tran Thi Xuan... were arrested and received severe sentences under the law.

How should this be viewed and when it is necessary to express opinions on major national issues, including opinions of opposition or disagreement, how should people express them effectively and in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law? From the perspective of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) - representing socio-political organizations and people of all walks of life, where people can express their thoughts and aspirations, Vice President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Bui Thi Thanh spoke to the press about this issue on the afternoon of June 12.

PV:Dear Madam,from the perspective of the Vietnam Fatherland Front-representative of political organizations-society and all walks of life, where people can express their wishes and aspirations, what do you think about recent events?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh:Since June 4, 2018, on social networks as well as reports from localities, we have noticed some signs of gathering and inciting people to take to the streets to protest against the draft Law on Special Economic Zones and the Law on Cyber ​​Security.

From June 10 to the early morning of June 11, there were large gatherings of protesters, destruction of property, public disorder, and violations of the law in a number of provinces and centrally-run cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai, and Binh Thuan provinces.

We have had a preliminary assessment in the past few days, the main reason is that the opposition forces, some bad elements took advantage of the National Assembly discussing the draft Law on Special Economic Zones, took advantage of the patriotism of the people to incite and entice, the people did not have enough information so they participated in the above activities.

The fact that people in many localities, especially Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan, lack information, are lured and incited to participate in reacting to the draft Law on Special Economic Zones - while the Government has submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee permission to postpone the submission time to absorb, revise and complete the draft Law is very painful and regrettable; it seriously affects security, order and social safety, and tarnishes the image of Vietnam in the eyes of international friends.

PV:Some people think thatThese spontaneous protests were to protest the draft Law on Administrative Units.-special economic zones (Special Economic Zone Law) with regulations on land lease up to 99 years, is a demonstration of patriotism. Listening to the opinions ofNRegarding the draft Law, the Government has submitted to the National Assembly a delay in considering and passing this Law, affirming that it does not propose a deadline.giveLand lease for 99 years. However, after that, spontaneous protests with banners "opposing special economic zones" still took place. How do you analyze the development of such a "patriotic" event?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh:True patriotism never goes hand in hand with extremism, nor is it synonymous with extremist actions. Patriotism expressed correctly, soberly and wisely is an important resource to consolidate and strengthen the great national unity bloc. Vietnamese people with their patriotism should not let that patriotism be exploited by bad people.

In fact, in the process of directing and drafting the Law in general and the Law on Special Economic Zones in particular, the National Assembly strictly followed the procedures and listened to and absorbed the opinions of all classes of people.

Regarding the draft Law on Special Economic Zones, when the National Assembly was discussing the land lease term of up to 99 years, some people, due to their incomplete understanding or lack of information, were taken advantage of by bad guys to incite and lure them into protests as a way to express their opinions and oppose the draft Law.

The National Assembly and the Government are always receptive and listen to the opinions of all classes of people. For the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the organization participates in giving feedback on the draft Law through the feedback of all classes of people according to the Front system, through the feedback conferences of the Vietnam Fatherland Front with many responsible opinions of scientists, intellectuals and local people.

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh talks with reporters.

Listening to the people's opinions on the draft law, the Government submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee permission to postpone the submission time to absorb, revise and complete the draft law for the National Assembly to pass at the next session. However, due to lack of information, people in many localities were enticed and incited, becoming tools, helping bad guys incite disturbances to political security, social order, and damage state property, affecting the national image.

PV:Madam, expressing opinions and making recommendations on major policies of the Party and State is a legitimate need of the people. So,,Could you please share how people can currently contribute their opinions and express their attitudes and opinions on important national issues through various channels?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh:It must be affirmed that in the process of drafting the Law on Special Economic Zones, the Government assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to be the focal point to fully absorb and adjust the draft Law on Special Economic Zones according to the critical opinions of the people through the Vietnam Fatherland Front channel. That openness is rarely mentioned, few people see how the positive, highly constructive criticism from the Vietnam Fatherland Front has been absorbed. However, due to lack of information, many people distort and falsify information, leading public opinion to misunderstand the nature of the matter, creating a negative effect in society that the Government has not listened to the people.

To do that, people have many information channels. People can contribute ideas to build the State through official information channels through the Fatherland Front system at all levels and through official press channels.

Social networking sites are also a reference channel, however the way of listening and accessing information must be oriented to guide people to have a deeper understanding of that field, so as not to be taken advantage of, and dragged along by social networking sites to believe in distorted inferences.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front, as the center of great national unity, represents the will and legitimate aspirations of all classes of people, and is responsible for receiving people's opinions to contribute ideas to building the Party and the government. People can listen to the opinions of union members, association members and all classes of people through member organizations and the Fatherland Front system at all levels, and on that basis, synthesize and report to the National Assembly Standing Committee and agencies drafting drafts on projects, policy plans and major policies of the Party and State related to the legitimate rights and interests of the people.

The people showing concern and worry for national affairs is a precious and admirable thing, something that should always be present in every citizen. However, if they lack calmness and clarity, those concerns will become obstacles to the country's development.

PV:Through the incident related to the projectGrass LSpecial Economic Zone Law, in your opinion, how can we solve this problem at its root to avoid future recurrence?

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh:Given the developments in recent days, we need to recall President Ho Chi Minh's teachings and thoughts that we must rely on the people, understand their hearts, listen to their opinions, make them understand, and make them believe.

In the immediate future, we must strengthen coordination to effectively carry out propaganda and advocacy work to help people understand the need to promulgate the draft laws that the National Assembly is preparing, as well as to help people see the impact of being enticed, incited, and directly affected on their own lives and production.

In addition, it is necessary to organize dialogues and discussions for people to exchange information, reflect their thoughts and aspirations; from there, listen to and absorb opinions, and coordinate with relevant agencies to come up with appropriate and practical solutions.

Every citizen needs to have absolute trust in the leadership of the Party and the State, to properly express their patriotism, avoiding being exploited and incited. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen dialogue with the people, innovate methods and approaches to grasp the thoughts and situations of the people. For acts of disturbance, radical vandalism, and violations of the law that cause economic damage and social order and safety, they need to be strictly handled according to regulations so that people are not lured by those subjects.

In particular, the Fatherland Front needs to coordinate with the Mass Mobilization Bloc to strengthen propaganda and mobilization work "Listen to people, tell people to understand and make people believe" to contribute with the Party, State and local authorities to soon stabilize normal life.

PV:Thank you very much!