Using the 'Covid-19 cover' to distort citizens' freedom of movement

Consistent viewpoint: People's health and lives are paramount

In preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the leaders of the Party and Government of Vietnam consistently hold the following views:People's health and lives are paramount, first of all. To achieve that goal, Vietnam has taken many measures to minimize the impacts and influences of the Covid-19 pandemic on people's health, lives and livelihoods.

Along with professional measures, many social management measures have been implemented. To limit the spread of the epidemic, Vietnam has implemented social distancing measures, "stay where you are", set up checkpoints to control people's movements and implement regulations on epidemic prevention and control. The Prime Minister directed: Social distancing must be done thoroughly and in a short time, achieving the goal of controlling the epidemic. Absolutely do not let the situation of social distancing last long, affecting socio-economic development and people's lives,... Thus, Vietnam's policy on this is very clear, public and transparent. Through a survey of public opinion, people from all walks of life agree that the Government's epidemic prevention and control work is on the right track, and the people agree with the synchronous solutions on social distancing, treatment, ensuring social security, security and order.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh encouraged the medical staff of Binh Duong General Hospital in particular and the medical staff of the whole country in general who are fighting day and night against the Covid-19 pandemic to protect people's health. Photo: baochinhphu.vn

In that spirit, in localities, especially in hotspots, social distancing measures have been effective, contributing significantly to limiting the spread of the epidemic. After the epidemic was controlled, social distancing measures were also stopped and quarantine checkpoints were also removed. Up to now, although it has been controlled, the Covid-19 epidemic situation is still complicated, causing difficulties for people's lives in many localities and efforts to prevent and control the epidemic are still continuing. In the new conditions, Vietnam recommends that people limit travel; in high-risk areas, only sell take-out goods, do not gather in large crowds; implement "1 route, 2 destinations"... to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic.

Citizens' freedom of movement and residence is guaranteed.

It is necessary to strongly affirm that the Vietnamese State always respects and ensures human rights, including the freedom of movement and residence of citizens. Article 23 of the 2013 Constitution of Vietnam affirms: “Citizens have the right to freedom of movement and residence within the country, and the right to travel abroad and return home from abroad. The exercise of these rights is prescribed by law.”

In the context of integration, in order to meet the needs of socio-economic development of the country, the need to develop exchanges and relations in all aspects between Vietnam and the international community, legal regulations on travel and residence of Vietnamese citizens and foreigners in Vietnam are increasingly supplemented and amended in an open and free direction. Administrative procedures that cause inconvenience to citizens' travel and residence are abolished. The right to freedom of exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens is enshrined in the 2013 Constitution and specified in the Law on Exit and Entry passed by the National Assembly on November 22, 2019. Accordingly, Vietnamese citizens have the following rights regarding exit and entry: “To be granted exit and entry papers according to regulations; people aged 14 and over have the right to choose to be granted a passport with an electronic chip or a passport without an electronic chip; to exit and enter the country according to regulations; to have personal and family secrets guaranteed in the National Database on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, except in cases where information and documents must be provided according to regulations of law; to request information on their exit and entry; to request updates and corrections to information in the National Database on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens and their exit and entry papers to ensure completeness and accuracy; to use their passports to conduct transactions or other procedures according to regulations of law; to make complaints, denunciations, initiate lawsuits, and request compensation according to regulations of law”.

Passengers queue up in front of check-in counters at Noi Bai airport on the morning of October 23, 2021. Photo: vtr.org.vn

Vietnam has signed Consular Agreements; Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements; Overseas Resident Agreements; Visa Exemption Agreements; and unilateral visa exemptions for citizens of several countries, thereby facilitating the entry, exit, and residence of citizens and foreigners, creating a legal basis for the protection of Vietnamese citizens abroad as well as resolving issues arising from the residence and travel of Vietnamese citizens and foreigners in Vietnam.

Reality has affirmed the right to freedom of movement,freedom of residenceof Vietnamese citizens are always respected and guaranteed by the State. The management of citizens' exit and entry, and the regulations on exit and entry of the Vietnamese Government have met practical requirements, creating conditions for citizens to go abroad to work, study, work, travel, receive medical treatment, visit relatives, etc. Thanks to administrative procedure reforms in the field of exit and entry management, the number of Vietnamese citizens going abroad for various purposes is increasing.

Cannot fool our people

The truth about ensuring citizens' freedom of movement and residence in Vietnam and restricting travel to prevent and fight the Covid-19 pandemic is just that, but on BBC NEWS Vietnamese, RFA and a few websites, those who have long made a living by "nitpicking" have disguised themselves as "human rights defenders" and proclaimed thatmeasures to prevent and control epidemicsof the Vietnamese Government is "violating the people's freedom of movement and freedom of residence". More dangerously, they also fabricate stories and distort stories saying that our State is taking advantage of social distancing to prevent and fight the Covid-19 epidemic to suppress and detain "democrats" and "human rights activists". They thoroughly exploit difficulties, shortcomings, and problems arising in society to distort and falsify the nature, thereby inciting social outrage, making inferences, and making false accusations against our Party and State.

It must be affirmed that all the measures that Vietnam has taken have no other goal than to prevent and repel the Covid-19 pandemic to protect people's lives and health. Along with preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, other fields and aspects of work must still ensure operations. Vietnam does not relax social management and maintain order and discipline because of preventing and fighting Covid-19. Those who were arrested by authorities during the period of social distancing are because they violated Vietnamese law. They are not "democrats" or "human rights activists" as some individuals and organizations have called them as tools to sabotage Vietnam.

Vietnam has been proactive in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic. Photo: Archive

Those voices have no other motive than to slander and undermine the prestige of the Party and State of Vietnam; to spread pessimism, skepticism, and distrust in the Vietnamese Government's epidemic prevention and control measures; to incite division in the great national unity bloc; and to deny Vietnam's efforts and results in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. But in the end, the ultimate goal of those voices is still to distort the Government's guidelines, policies, leadership solutions, and direction, and in essence, to attack the ideological foundation, worldview, and methodology of our Party.

But all those arguments and tricks, no matter how insidious, cannot fool the Vietnamese people. The vast majority of our people understand that the policies and measures applied by the Government and localities are flexible, appropriate and necessary for the specific situation of the work of preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and have no other purpose than to protect people's lives and health as well as ensure human rights. Vietnam's great achievements in protecting, ensuring and promoting human rights in general; the right to freedom of movement, freedom of residence and the right to care for and protection of citizens' lives and health, etc. are undeniable. Our Party, State and people are determined to fight against and smash all arguments and tricks of "hiding under the guise of Covid-19" to sabotage Vietnam.