Known dissidents prevented from going to public memorials to pay respect to Vietnamese civilians and soldiers killed by the Chinese during the war

RFA Viet 17 Feb https://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/news/vietnamnews/commemoration-of-sino-vietnam-war-prevented-by-security-forces-02172023075452.html

The police from two major cities HCMC and Hanoi continued to prevent citizens to pay respect to those killed by the Chinese during the war.

On 17 Feb, local authorities reportedly deployed the police, civilian guards, neighbourhood security personnel... to guard private residences of activists and blocked entry to public memorials of Vietnamese heroes [in the fight against Chinese invaders in history] such as King Ly Thai To memorial in Hanoi, General Tran Hung Dao memorial in Bach Dang wharf, HCMC.

Dissident poet Hoang Hung - a member of the independent writers' league Van Doan Doc Lap - told RFA Viet he and his wife tried to go to Bach Dang wharf on Fri 17 Feb.

... When we reached the gate of our apartment block, two policemen politely stopped us and said 'don't go anywhere today'.

They said 'we received order to stop you two from leaving. To pay respect [to those killed in the war] is the right thing to do, but [our superiors] are afraid some people take advantage of this activity to cause troubles, please understand, don't go anywhere today'.

Mr Hung's two brothers were fallen soldiers, one sacrificed his life in the war against the Chinese [in 1979], the other one in the war against Cambodia's Polpot [1978 - 1989].

Mr Le Than, president of Le Hieu Dang club - members include former Party officials / members turned democracy supporters - told RFA Viet he managed to come to Bach Dang wharf to pay respect at General Tran Hung Dao memorial, as he had left his house the previous day. On 17 Feb, in the morning, he came back and stood hidden at a location close to the memorial, waiting for friends to come as they had planned, but he didn't see anyone known to him who had managed to come close to the memorial.

He said the authorities allowed citizens to light joss sticks to pay respect [at the memorial], but wanted people categorised as "sensitive elements" such as poet Hoang Hung, Prof Mac Van Trang, himself, to stay home.

In Hanoi, on 17 Feb, Mrs Hoang Ha said she was under police guard.

'My house is still under police surveillance. Since last night [16 Feb], [the police] rang me and came to my place to check if I was home. This morning [17 Feb], people had been deployed [to my place] to guard me.'

Later, her daughter rode a motorbike with her sitting behind and managed to leave home without being stopped. She wasn't sure the police didn't find out or they knew but ignored them. However, when she returned home after going to Tay Tuu cemetery (Tu Liem district) to pay respect to fallen soldiers in the war - several thousands were laid to rest there - the police were still guarding her place.

Mr Le Hoang, an active member of No-U Hanoi (an anti-Chinese hegemony soccer club), told RFA Viet, since early morning [17 Feb], the local police already came to his place then left to go to a coffee shop for their morning coffee, after telling him, he 'could go to Tay Tuu cemetery to pay respect, but don't go to [Hoan Kiem] riverside, or we [the police] will stop you and cause you trouble'.

He said when he travelled past Ly Thai To memorial, he saw many police and civilian guards deployed there, ready to take action when the crowd was getting bigger.

Mr Le Than, Mr Le Hoang, Mrs Hoang Ha noted that the police's attitude towards them on this occasion was more easy going compared with previous years. Mr Le Hoang said, in previous years, many activists were detained or arrested on days of commemoration of the wars against the Chinese.