Vietnam Populist Party (VNPP)
U.N. Security Council fails to pass resolution on Syria
By the CNN Wire Staff
United Nations (CNN) -- As international anger grows over reports of mass carnage at the hands of the Syrian regime, a U.N. Security Council draft resolution condemning Syria failed to be adopted Saturday after veto-wielding members Russia and China voted against it.
Ambassadors from the other permanent members of the council -- the United States, France, and the United Kingdom -- said they were furious at Russia and China for failing to halt the worsening, bloody violence that has consumed the Middle Eastern nation.
Thirteen Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution.
World Report 2012: Vietnam [1]
Events of 2011The Vietnamese government systematically suppresses freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Independent writers, bloggers, and rights activists who question government policies, expose official corruption, or call for democratic alternatives to one-party rule are routinely subject to police harassment and intrusive surveillance, detained incommunicado for long periods of time without access to legal counsel, and sentenced to increasingly long terms in prison for violating vague national security laws.
The Vietnamese government systematically suppresses freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Independent writers, bloggers, and rights activists who question government policies, expose official corruption, or call for democratic alternatives to one-party rule are routinely subject to police harassment and intrusive surveillance, detained incommunicado for long periods of time without access to legal counsel, and sentenced to increasingly long terms in prison for violating vague national security laws.
Vietnam: Systematic Crackdown on Human Rights
(New York) – The Vietnam government intensified its repression of activists and dissidents during 2011, and cracked down harshly on freedom of expression, association, and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012. Bloggers, writers, human rights defenders, land rights activists, anti-corruption campaigners, and religious and democracy advocates faced harassment, intimidation, arrest, torture, and imprisonment.
Myanmar Briefing Note No. 17
24 January 2012
Constitutional Conundrums "By 2015, we should be certain that whichever party wins the majority in parliament should decide how the government is going to be organized." Daw Aung San Suu Kyi - interview with Ms Lally Wentworth of the Washington Post During Lally Weymouth's high profile interviews with President Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi published recently in the 'Washington Post', both she and the President had to dodge questions about whether she might accept a Cabinet post if elected on 1 April. Both knew, but Lally Weymouth probably didn't, that Suu Kyi would have to resign forthwith as an elected MP in order to join the Government under the separation of powers set out in the 2008 Constitution (which is why of course the 48 by-elections are taking place). More than that, although Suu Kyi is not required to resign as a member of the National League for Democracy, under Article 232(k) of the Constitution she could no longer "take part in party activities". I doubt in the circumstances that any ministerial position would interest her. However, there are positions in Parliamentary Committees and National Conferences which could well be offered to her. Suu Kyi made the point that the reason why the National League for Democracy wants to get into Parliament "is not because we expect to do all our work in Parliament. We want to extend our activities into the Parliament". The NLD accepts the need to secure at least a toe-hold there.
China: A Year of Illegal, Politically-Motivated DisappearancesEnforced Disappearances sow Fear; Chinese Public Increasingly Asserts Rights China: A Year of Illegal, Politically-Motivated Disappearances [1] Enforced Disappearances sow Fear; Chinese Public Increasingly Asserts Rights January 23, 2012 [2]  The 676-page report assesses progress on human rights in more than 90 countries, including popular uprisings in the Arab world that few would have imagined. In its chapter on China [3], Human Rights Watch outlines the threat posed by a provision in China’s draft criminal procedure law to effectively legalize such disappearances, which remain a serious crime in international law.
Vietnam shows a need to balance relationships between superpowersVietnam's president's trip to New Delhi in October 2011 deepened strategic and defense ties with the second-largest country in the region. It also expressed its concern about national security, especially as China keeps claiming sovereignty and control over the Eastern Sea of Vietnam. It helps to strengthen the friendship between the two countries and to reinforce, deepen, and add greater substance to bilateral strategic partnerships. With India’s support and defense ties with the U.S.A., Vietnam may have reasons to take on a better role in policy with China, since Chinese ships kept entering Vietnam’s waters and harassing Vietnamese fishermen and the state-run oil exploration projects.
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