Police brutality in Vietnam skyrockets

Oriana Robertson
4: 47 pm

Within the last year, cases of police brutality have steadily been increasing in the nation of Vietnam. Specifically, cases like Nguyen Thanh Nam’s, who died after repeatedly being interrogated, summoned, and beaten by the government over disputed land, have been showing up in the media. Authorities have repeatedly resisted the blame claiming it was a natural death. A total of 19 cases of death caused by the lethal force of authorities have been reported in all regions of the narrow country. The government of Vietnam controls the press, however, nineteen of many more cases have been presented to the public.

These cases; however, are insignificant compared to a lot of cases that are far more brutal. Citizens report that they have fear of speaking out about the brutality because of the “close-to-home” nature of it. Additionally, the government filtration of the media contributes to the uneven coverage. Currently, the Human Rights Watch continues to document such cases and is keeping a watchful eye on the matter.

A major weakness of this tactic is the promotion of a false society, and a fearful one. This under the carpet method also builds up producing public fear and anger. Vietnam has repeatedly been under the spotlight for its police brutality cases in the last year. The issues are usually minor, but some underlying issues include corruption, official wrong doing, and land policies; violent crimes are rarely the case. In Serau’s chapter on crime, it states that amid social and economic change, many societies struggle to find balance between order and opportunity. In the situation facing Vietnam, conservatives support the strict law enforcement while others tend to promote wider opportunities to be more involved with the government in order to insure cooperation and understanding. It is clear that the conservative mode of working with a society is non succeeding, so it would be more efficient to adopt a different position to ensure both the happiness and cooperation of the government and of the citizens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10864806

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/09/22/vietnam-widespread-police-brutality-deaths-custody