The severe punishment against three generations of Dong Tam communal leader Le Dinh Kinh is a sentence that many people uttered after hearing the sentence pronounced by the Trial Panel with two death sentences imposed on Mr. Le Dinh Kinh’s two sons named Mr. Le Dinh Cong and Mr. Le Dinh Chuc together with the life sentence for Mr. Kinh’s grandson Le Dinh Doanh and hundreds of years in prison for 26 Dong Tam land petitioners in the afternoon of September 14.
The barbaric atrocity took the peak at its highest level when they killed Le Dinh Kinh without trial, now seeking to kill his children and grandchild, the long-time party member who believes strongly in General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
“VTV1 commented that in the middle of the night, going into the house to kill their father, now killing up to 2 sons and long-term imprisonment of 2 grandchildren, not to mention 26 other sentences, in just a commune with only 9400 people is” humanity and reasonable! Words have never been so terribly distorted!” – Dr. Nguyen Hoang Anh from Hanoi made a comment.
The social media was full of exclamations, pain, and resentment from activists as if the Court had sentenced their most loved ones to death.
On the afternoon of September 14, Saigon poured rain like an illustration of activist Vo Hong Ly’s verse:
“Saigon rains and cries Dong Tam
The pain is like cutting, stabbing the stomach“
Professor Mac Van Trang made a comment
“The Dong Tam case shows that this regime has reached the pinnacle of lies, cruelty, stubbornness, despite the people’s hearts.”
Facebook Thanh Mai commented:
The “humanity and the civilized superiority“ of the justice system, even the regime, is reflected in the fact that 19 people in the middle of the courtroom “say” that they were beaten during the investigation, and then neither the executive legislature nor the judiciary cares about it.”
70% of defendants beaten in a case millions of people are following. Beating a suspect is physical abuse of another person, it can be intentionally causing injury, and it can also be a false impact on the results of an investigation, impeding judicial action. Yet, no legal agency stepped in, no media company spoke up.
Right in court, even in the case of hundreds of millions of followers, so this judgment, this trial, this dreadful silence shows that the so-called Rule of Law, the so-called Freedom is far from very ethnic.
As the whole nation is quiet, what do we expect a change?” Facebook Thanh Mai bitterly asked.
Dr. Nguyen Xuan Dien from Hanoi wrote a verse that:
“Shot on a bed and considered terror.
Falling into pit became heroic ones“
Activist Nguyen Thuy Hanh bolded the sentence:
“All words at this time are redundant when resentment has filled the clouds.”
Activist Nguyen Lan Thang made a strong statement: “Communism is a species that cannot be changed. They deserve to be rejected and permanently isolated from human society!”
Former editor-in-chief of RFA Vietnamese Program Nguyen Khanh commented:
“The whole world sees the case as a bad play, bad from editor to director, and even the main actors in the police department, the court, as well as the procuracy. The whole world has also heard someone I know cursing at court, my friend cursed for a long time, but now it is true. Damn the court!”
Activist La Viet Dung from Hanoi commented:
“Today, the Vietnamese communist government declares one thing: it will never tolerate opposition.
One thing is for sure, the people will never forgive the communists. For the communists, just using their laws to punish them is enough.
We wish one day people would punish the families of Nguyen Phu Trong and To Lam!”
Facebooker Trang Le from the US said:
“A barbaric regime with its barbaric justice system like today is the fault of the entire people. We have been silent and tolerated for too long before resentment and injustice!”
Netizens also shared pictures and sobs of Dong Tam villagers welcoming 15 people back to the village upon receiving suspended sentences from the Court.
In the evening, the people in Dong Tam visited the grave of their communal leader Le Dinh Kinh and lit a fire, and burned incense for him. A lot of people mourned beside his grave.
“Just like in 2017, he returned on a bed with a broken leg, Dong Tam people welcomed him in joy and full of people. Are you an evil mighty power? Honest people, there must be no wrong feelings,” lawyer Le Van Luan commented.
Before the image of dozens of Dong Tam people sobbing at Le Dinh Kinh’s grave at night, a former prisoner of conscience Pham Minh Vu exclaimed:
Never before have I seen the death of a “terrorist” who took so many tears from people like Uncle Kinh.
Never before have I seen a terrorist like this when the people die.
I have never seen the “terrorist” loved by the villagers, lined up to welcome him and shed tears when I saw the “terrorist” coming back from the hospital but like Mrs. Kinh.
I have not seen a “terrorist” that has passed away and the people of Dong Tam commune come to cover the funeral scarf, although the funeral towels are not enough during the day of the funeral like the funeral of Mr. Kinh.
Never before have I seen a terrorist claiming land but speaking by law that makes an entire political institution bow to the arguments of that terrorist.
I have also never seen many intellectuals, compatriots of Uncle Kinh speak out in support of the actions of that “terrorist,” many Party officials and the people stand on the argument of the “terrorist” to condemn the behavior of those in power.
And never before have I seen any evil mighty, so poor, and so loved by the people of the country!
The ancients have a saying:
People build temples for their loved ones,
Causing harm to people will get crushed all time.
Mrs. Kinh will live with the people because of his sacrifice. And those who, in the name of leaders, I see people cursing like singing well, and Tô Lâm and Nguyễn Phú Trọng are among them.”
Journalist Bach Hoan pityingly wrote: I was a silent person. What happened today is partly because of my silence. The injustices and unreasonable today are partly because I lived a mediocre, petty life, lived a selfish, narrow life. The tragedy of this nation is partly because of me – I am typical of a generation of weakness, a generation that only kneels and bows.”
Journalist Truong Huy San said:
“Don’t just be disappointed with the judiciary, there will be sentences like that if everyone is silent instead of speaking conscientiously.”
Phil Robertson, P. Asia Regional Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) commented:
“The heavy judgments, including two death sentences, for defendants in Dong Tam are not surprising. Like all court levels, the Hanoi court is not independent because the tribunal has to follow pre-determined decisions by the Communist Party. The rulers in Vietnam are taking the opposite step to show the toughest face possible to the villagers of Dong Tam. The reason is only that the Vietnamese leaders worry that the villagers’ resistance or challenge can be spread, even though the people of Dong Tam have to suffer the most severe punishment.”
Mr. André Menras, the director of the movie “The Screaming From Inside” with an interview with Mr. Le Dinh Kinh about Dong Senh land, shows that Mr. Kinh is very confident in the Party even though he was deceived into the Senh field and a broken leg in 2017.
“One thing can be affirmed, Dong Tam marks a new phase in the process of self-isolating the Communist Party from the people, especially the peasants. Dong Tam will be a typical image of a regime of the same road, considering the people as enemies,” film director André Menras commented.
“Of the two death sentences, Chuc pleaded guilty, but Cong denied the charges and will appeal. The case still has a number of unresolved issues, including exactly how the police officers were killed,” lawyer Ha Huy Son told Reuters.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
