From the Tien Lang incident, thinking about the role of the press

(Baonghean) - The Tien Lang incident (Hai Phong) has come to an end, the causes and violations have been concluded by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The issue now is that the authorities continue to investigate and find out to identify the right person, the right crime and handle it strictly according to the provisions of the law. Through this, we see the role of the press in contributing to clarifying the issue.

This was acknowledged by the Prime Minister through the statement of Minister and Head of the Government Office Vu Duc Dam: “First of all, I would like to convey the Prime Minister's words of praise and thanks to the press for providing timely, diverse, and rich information, with many multi-dimensional analyses of the incident. That contributed to the conclusion reached by the authorities...”.

It can be said that the Tien Lang incident holds many records, including the special attention of public opinion. For more than a month, people across the country have been waiting and following the developments of the incident through the media almost every day, hoping that the relevant agencies will intervene impartially. And this event has also attracted the special attention of veteran leaders, former generals and National Assembly deputies, along with many experts and intellectuals. With their knowledge and experience, many people have analyzed and assessed the incident accurately and sharply from many perspectives. These are the appropriate suggestions for the relevant agencies to investigate and clarify.

Minister, Head of the Government Office Vu Duc Dam answers the press -
Photo: xaluan.com

From the Tien Lang incident, public opinion has recognized and raised many issues in the current period: Corruption and bureaucracy of a large number of cadres and party members; abuse of positions and powers in law enforcement and signs of group interests; the role of the political system at all levels; the shortcomings of the Land Law and weaknesses in management; democracy and ensuring discipline and law... These are all things that "challenge the leadership role of the Party" as pointed out in the document of Resolution 4 of the Central Committee, Session XI. From there, the urgent issue is to build and rectify the Party, step up the fight against corruption and bureaucracy, and eliminate degenerate cadres and party members from the Party's ranks...

The Tien Lang incident is not only limited to Tien Lang district or Hai Phong city, but also a profound lesson on land use, management and recovery for all localities, including our province. It is a lesson on openness, transparency and democracy in implementing projects related to land recovery from the people.

Returning to the issue of the role of the press in the Tien Lang incident, it can be said that from the beginning, the authorities here showed a lack of goodwill, even avoiding providing information to the press. This action made public opinion indignant and questioned the mechanism of speaking, the right to information and being informed of press agencies and public opinion. Finally, with their expertise, professionalism and bravery and ingenuity in their work, journalists have contributed to clarifying the truth. In fact, currently, many local leaders, socio-political organizations and businesses still avoid the press, are afraid to contact journalists, even during "hot" events. This has created an unnecessary distance and suspicions that are detrimental to localities, agencies and businesses. Perhaps, in the eyes of the leaders of these agencies, businesses and businesses, there is always a one-sided view, thinking that journalists are people who specialize in "digging up" negative and shady deeds.

In conclusion, we would like to continue quoting Mr. Vu Duc Dam: "The Prime Minister hopes that the press will increasingly contribute to the common development of the whole country, especially the issue of national economic development." To do this well, the press really needs the cooperation of Party committees, authorities at all levels, departments, unions, organizations, businesses and all the people!

Cong Kien