Anthony
Lê Thanh Tùng, VRNs
Đăng ngày: 22.05.2014
VRNs(May 22th, 2014) – Saigon –
9:40pm: I entered the entry area at Tan Son Nhat airport after
more than 23 hours of traveling (including transit time in Japan) from
Washington D.C. to Saigon, Vietnam. The airport at that time had more than 300
passengers including Vietnamese and foreigners waiting in-line for customs and
immigration clearance. At the passport control booth, I handed my passport to
the agent and after having scanned it, the agent looked at me and picked up the
phone to call someone. In less than 1 minute, there were more than 20 policemen
in uniforms and plain clothes rushed out and they jumped on me and attacked me,
their action is not unlike a pride of lions attacking a prey.
I wasn’t sure how to respond to protect myself other
than holding on to the metal rail separating the waiting lines and shout out in
both Vietnamese and English “police beating people, công an đánh người”,
“please help, vui lòng giúp tôi”, and “please take a picture of this scene,
chụp hình cảnh này giùm tôi”, etc.. At the same time, the police continued to
attack me, some of them twisted my arms behind my back, others pushed my head
down, and still others picked up my legs and carried me away as if carrying an
animal. One of the bigger plain clothes police officers in jean and green
T-shirt kicked me twice on the rib cage which caused a severe convulsion on my
body. The two violent kicks on my rib cage forced me off the arms of the
policemen who were lugging me. I sweat profusely because of the pain, and the
handle on my backpack was broken in half. I tried to get up and looked at the
plain clothes police officer who kicked me and I told him that I would post
pictures of his violent assault on newspapers, and he tried to attack me again
but this time Mr. Le Dinh Vinh, the man who I later found out was a chief
security officer on duty, stopped him. The policemen threw me into a room deep
in a back corner and one by one, each of them shouted threats and expletives at
me.
After a while, two policemen without name tags who I
later found out were Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen and Mr. Le Tien Hoang, asked me to
answer some questions but I refused and asked to work with the people with
proper authority and warrant. At that time, Mr. Le Dinh Vinh walked in and said
he’s with the airport security department and he’s responsible for this working
session while the other two Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen and Mr. Le Tien Hoang belong
to the police department and they will work with me on a number of issues
related to my trip to the United States to attend the World Press Freedom Day.
I was still reeling in pain from the violent kicks, and exhausted from hunger
and thirst, however, Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen kept asking me to sit up straight
and be attentive to work with them. I told them that I’m still in pain and
can’t be attentive. The following is the dialogue between me the the police
officers:
Le Thanh Tung
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Mr. Tung, I’m asking you to
sit up straight to work with us.
Me: I’m in severe pain, please go ahead and ask me.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: I’m asking you to put your
feet down to be polite.
Me: I’m not able to sit up straight.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: How much are you getting
paid as a democracy and political activist?
Me: Uhm, funny you asked that.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: You’re really willing to
sell out your family and yourself for a few hundred bucks?
Me: Excuse me, please be polite, is that how low you
think about me?
At that time, Mr. Le Tien Hoang interrupted.
Mr. Le Tien Hoang: Mr. Tung, I suggest you tell us
some basic facts about yourself.
Me: Thank you Mr. Hoang for stopping this line of
incoherent and impolite questionings from Mr. Nguyen.
Me: My name is Le Thanh Tung, Dc…, SCMND…
At that time, my phone rang, and not knowing who’s
on the other side, but I surmised it’s Father Thoai, so I shouted out to the
phone: “Father, they detained me and beat me”, but before I was able to finish
my sentence, someone yanked the phone from my hand and turned off the cell
phone and removed the battery.
Taking advantage of the situation, Mr. Nguyen Tran
Nguyen called out some expletives about Father Thoai, such as “is that how you
ask for freedom of religion?”, “Don’t you see Ngoc Lan as an example?”, “Is
that how you fight for freedom and democracy? Don’t you see how VH was jailed
and beat up?” <<Cau nay can check lai vi khong biet VH la ai.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: I ask you, do you know VH?
Me: I suggest you speak politely. I
don’t know who the person you’re asking me is.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: When you’re in the USA, how
much money did Viet Tan give you?
Me: I don’t receive any money from anyone, you
seems to see me pretty lowly.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: You’ve been out of work for
more than a year, where do you get the money to pay for expenses of the trip?
Me: The expenses of the trip is taken care of
by the organizing committee and specifically EFF.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Did you carry any money with
you on the trip?
Me: What do you think? Did you think I
just go empty handed?
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: How much did you bring with
you? And where did that money come from?
Me: I asked my wife for some money, the exact
amount is $700 USD for emergency situations.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: As a man, don’t you feel
shameful when you have to ask your wife for money?
Me: According to you, what is considered
shameful?
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: It’s shameful if you don’t
work and use your wife’s money.
Me: Let me ask, do you give your paycheck to
your wife to manage? Or do you just keep the paycheck for yourself so you
don’t have to ask your wife? Where does your wife find money to put food
on the table and take care of your children’s education?
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: What is your opinion about
the Vietnam Reform Party (Viet Tan)? Who from the Vietnam Reform
Party have you met in the United States?
Me: I met Mr. Đỗ Hoàng Điềm. chairman of the
Vietnam Reform Party, Mr. Hoàng Tứ Duy, Ms. Huỳnh Trang, Ms. Hồng Thuận and a
number of others whose names I don’t know. We met and shook hands
and exchanged greetings and took some pictures together. I think Vietnam
Reform Party is a good organization, their members are courteous and very
smart.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Were you asked to join the
Vietnam Reform Party or any other organizations in the United States?
Me: What do you think? Can you guess if
any organization asked me to join them?
At this point, Mr. Hoang interrupted.
Mr. Le Tien Hoang: Mr. Tung, please let me know some
main points about your personal history, your family, …
Me: Thank you Mr. Hoang for getting me out of this
intimidating interrogation from Mr. Nguyen. Since you asked, I’ll give
you a few basic facts about me …, my wife …, my children …, my parents …, and
my siblings…
At this point there were two cameramen pointing
their cameras at me and continuously recorded what I said. I took
advantage of the situation and talked to the camera about the people who
violently assaulted me at the entry area previously, and their lack of civility
with their insults and expletives which Mr. Nguyen constantly threw at me.
I also asked them to turn off their cameras because I haven’t given them
my permission to record.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Did you see Mr. Quốc Quân
when you’re in the United States?
Me: I’m aware Mr. Lê Quốc Quân is currently in
jail.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: You seem to know many
things. However, I’m asking you about Mr. Nguyễn Quốc Quân.
Me: I met many Vietnamese expatriates there,
but I’m not sure who is Mr. Nguyễn Quốc Quân.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: What did you speak about at
the World Press Freedom Day conference?
Me: I spoke about the issues with the Internet
and Facebook in Vietnam, its development, its limitations and consequences.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Other than those you’ve just
stated, what else did you speak about?
Me: I was given only one minute to speak so
that was only enough time for me to speak about those things.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Which organizations were at
the conference and how many attended?
Me: There were more than 100 attendees, of
those attendees, I heard the names of these organizations and dignitaries:
- A number of United States congress men and women
- Vietnam Reform Party
- Radio Free Asia
- Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF)
- Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
- U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
- EFF
- Access
- SBTN
- other news organizations and various NGOs
Mr. Le Tien Hoang: Which congressmen attended the
conference?
Me: I don’t remember all the names but I
recall these names such as
- Ms. Loretta Sanchez, - Ms. Zoe
Lofgren, - Mr. Alan Lowenthal, - Mr. Ed Royce, - Mr. Scott Bussy
- …..
By
about 2 A.M., there were two policemen in uniform (I don’t recall
their names) brought in a citation which explains the reason why they used
force to arrest me and put me into the room because I didn’t cooperate with the
police. I read the citation and returned it to them and said:
“What’s a piece of paper to you and why you didn’t present this paper so
that I can walk into this office to work with you peacefully, and on the
contrary, you had more than a dozen people assaulted me and lugged me into this
office like a pig? Don’t you feel shameful when you did this in front of
more than 300 international passengers in the process of entering the country?
You guys represent Vietnam’s police and you behave with such barbaric
manners, didn’t you hear me screaming out in both English and Vietnamese:
“police beating people, công an đánh người”, “please help, vui lòng giúp tôi”,
and “please take a picture of this scene, chụp hình cảnh này giùm tôi”, etc.. ?
One of the men said: “If you don’t sign this we’ll get a witness to sign
it” and he took the citation and left. All the while, two cameramen were
recording the entire scene.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: What did Mr. Đỗ Hoàng Điềm
speak about at the conference?
Me: His speech was in English and I can’t
remember all of it, however in general it’s about the Vietnamese press being
under strict surveillance and control from the authority and the dire situation
about serious human rights violation from the authority.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: What did other members from
Vietnam speak about?
Me: I don’t remember what they spoke about,
but I assume they spoke about the issues with freedom of the press in Vietnam
because this is the World Press Freedom Day conference.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Do you know those people
from Vietnam?
Me: I’ve heard of them from Vietnam, but I
haven’t had a chance to meet them so I can’t say I know them.
Mr. Le Tien Hoang: From which airport did you depart
to the United States?
Me: I departed from Mộc Bài airport on April
19th, 2014.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Why did you choose to depart
from Mộc Bài instead of Tân Sơn Nhất airport?
Me: A few days prior to my departure, I’ve
heard that your people have assaulted and arrested reporter Huyền Trang and
since I’ve promised the organizer that I’d be in the United States to attend
the conference so I had to find a way to get there by all means.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: There is quite a crowd
waiting for you outside, they’ve also carried banners to welcome you, I truly
admire you.
Me: Is that so? Thank you for letting me
know.
Mr. Le Tien Hoang: Who picked you up in Cambodia?
Did you meet Trúc Hồ?
Me: No one picked me up in Cambodia, I didn’t
meet Trúc Hồ.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: How much money did Trúc Hồ
give you and did he give you any gift? Didn’t everyone get an iPad?
Me: Wasn’t that quite contemptuous of you to
ask me such question? You’re being very rude to me.
Mr. Le Tien Hoang: You’re becoming quite famous, how
did you become so famous?
Me: Ha, am I famous really? Why do you
think I’ve become so famous?
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Well, because of your
political activities, democracy activities, that’s why you’ve become famous.
Me: Ha, you’ve set quite a high regard on me,
thank you.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: How did you choose to become
a democracy activist?
Me: I hadn’t chosen to fight for democracy,
I’d only chosen to fight for my own justice, but you guys have lead me to this
road.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: Who have led you to this
road?
Me: You police people, specifically it was
PA67 who led me to this road.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Nguyen: How did the police lead you
to this road?
Me: Since you’ve asked, I’ll explain in
detail. On May 6th, 2011, I accidentally participated in a gathering with
many of our citizens in Saigon to protest China’s blatant act of aggression in
entering Vietnam territorial sea and cut off the anchors of two Vietnam oil
exploration ships – Bình Minh 02 and Viking. For some reason, the police
had noticed my presence and within a few weeks, I was summoned to appear at a
police station for a working session, and on October 18th, 2012, five police
officers appeared at the place where I was working and arrested me as if I was
a criminal in front of many of my co-workers. That action puzzled my
fellow employees as well as Bunge’ management team and subsequently, they found
a good reason to laid me off. I was laid off quite unfairly and since
then people started to pay attention to me. Therefore, since you asked
how I’d become famous and the certain answer is that I’ve become famous because
you guys made me so.
By
5 A.M., I was so exhausted, I closed my eyes and breath
faintly, I couldn’t even sit up straight… Mr. Le Tien Hoang asked: “Are
you able to continue?”, and I said: “I’m so exhausted, please let me take a
short break”, and Mr. Le Tien Hoang said: “I’m also quite tired, why don’t we
just take a break”, and with that I dozed off and woke up at about 7 A.M.
The police escorted me to the bathroom for my morning hygiene activities
and afterward, Mr. Nguyen and Mr. Hoang asked me to continue with the working
session.
Mr. Nguyên continued with his line of propagandizing
stories and mockery questions and asked irrelevant questions such as how much
money I’d received from the reactionaries (bọn phản động) and who gave me such
dirty money, what do I think about the men who don’t take care of their
families and spend all their times with the reactionaries to oppose the
government etc…
Me: You’ve offended me enough, and I’m sadden
by the fact that the police force has someone like you working for them.
I don’t want to continue this conversation.
I was quite hungry by now and I’ve consumed all the
chocolate I’ve with me since last night. There were a few chewing gums
but they didn’t fill my stomach in any way. I asked if they had anything
I can eat and Mr. Hoang said he had a leftover of ramen noodle from last night
which is now cold, he brought the left over ramen to me and there were a few
slices of meat in it but since I was so hungry, I ate all of it. I didn’t
forget to say thank afterward.
By
8 A.M. on May 18th, 2014, someone continuously called
Mr. Nguyen’s phone and he left the room several times to answer his phone, and
afterward he left for quite a while.
In the room at that time there were only me and Mr.
Hoang, and Mr. Hoang said he wanted to share with me a few things on a personal
level about the situation in Vietnam, and he hopes that I’d listen so we can
gain better understanding of one another. I responded by saying I’m
honored to listen and share with him.
Mr. Hoang said, the issue about Vietnam territorial
sea and the defence of the country in the face of China aggression is an issue
of grave importance. Our Party and State are very careful in considering
every options to deal with this situation, and he being in the security sector,
has attended many meetings to discuss and learn about this issue. The
fact that the people to the streets is a good thing and need to be promoted,
but there are many who take advantage of this situation to do this and that, ….
About
8:30 A.M, Mr. Nguyen entered the room and brought with him my
passport which was taken from me by the airport police. Mr. Nguyen put
the passport on the table and continued with questioning.
Mr. Nguyen: Mr. Tung, can you guarantee that
you’ll not participate in any political organization that undermine Vietnam’s
national security?
Me: I’ve done this in 2011 with PA67.
Mr. Nguyen: But at this time I want you to
guarantee with me.
Me: It’s quite funny when I have to guarantee
with you. If you would like, I suggest you provide a form from your
office issued by proper authorities with red stamp and I’ll sign it for you.
Mr. Nguyen: Why are you so cautious? You
have the gut to take action but you don’t have the gut to take the
consequences?
Me: Ha, what you said sounds so funny.
Mr. Hoang: Mr. Tung, do you have any request?
Me: I’m not sure I understand your question.
Mr. Hoang: Do you have any request of the
police so we can help you?
Me: I’d like the police not to bother me
anymore especially do not come to my workplace to arrest me and make me lose my
job.
Mr. Hoang: Then please write it down on a
piece of paper and I’ll send it to the police department.
I wrote down: “Request that the police to stop
bothering me, don’t come to my workplace to arrest me and make me lose my job,
I’ll look for a job and would like to have a stable life”
Mr. Nguyen: Do you not dare to sign the
guarantee?
Me: I have nothing to guarantee to you.
Mr. Hoang: Speaking to Mr. Nguyen, the
questioning ends here.
By
about 9 A.M. Mr. Nguyen’s phone rang again, and he went outside
to answer his phone. Shortly he came back and asked Mr. Hoang to go
outside with him. I sat alone in the room with two soldiers guarding the
door outside. A few minutes later Mr. Hoang came back and said that we
should sit here until 8 P.M. to complete 24 hours because outside people are
protesting and we’re concerned that if we let you out then you may lead the
protest. I said to Mr. Hoang: “You guys set a high regard on me,
thank you.”
Mr. Hoang leaned back and closed his eyes. I
said to him I’m also very tired and I’ll rest for a while, please rest too.
By 11 A.M. Mr. Nguyen returned, put my belongings, which include my
passports, a few phones and other miscellany, into a bag and carried my
luggages and follow me.
I carried my luggages, Mr. Hoang also carried a
backpack for me, at that time there were 6 person with me going downstair and
they pushed me into an Inova van and said these men will take you home.
I was a bit concern sitting in that van because
there were 6 muscular men surrounding me. They drove me toward Phan Dang
Luu street, and I thought they may put me in the jail at 4 Phan Dang Luu
street, where police uses to temporarily detain suspects for further
investigation.
We got to the end of Phan Dang Luu street, and I
thought for sure they were taking me home, and I overheard the conversations
about real estates in the area where I live and realized that these are the
policemen belonging to District 9 and Ward Tang Nhon Phu B where I live.
Instead of taking me home, they brought me to the police station a Ward
Tang Nhon Phu B, and they said that it’s noon now so please come in for lunch
and take a nap and by the afternoon someone will take you home.
I asked these men: “It’s Sunday today, what’s
happening in our Ward? Why are we having such a big party?” and some of the
men said: “Tomorrow is May 19 which is chairman Ho’s birthday therefore the
Ward is having a party.” I sat and had lucnh with these policemen, after
lunch, we shared a few cigarettes which I’ve bought at japan airport during
transit. We talked openly, one policeman said: “Your son and my son go to
the same school, yours is in middle school and mine is still in kindergarten”,
still other said: “I really respect your two sons, they’re still young children
but they can already ride bike to school by themselves. Once I saw them
on a busy street and I was so worried so I called your wife because I’m afraid
they may get into an accident, poor thing”. I was moved and expressed my
thankfulness for the local police for having concerns about my family. Afterward,
we went inside an air conditioned room and took a nap.
At
4:10 P.M. a police officer woke me up, he said I’m taking you
home. I gathered my belongings and get on the van with other police
officers to get home. Once I arrived home, they returned my cell phone
and passport and reminded me not to go outside that night. The door to my
home was locked so I thought my wife and children have gone somewhere and I
called my wife on the cell phone and learned that she and my children were
still at the Tan Son Nhat airport to ask the police to release me. She
answered the phone and was extremely happy that I was already home and she
complained that I didn’t let her know that I was coming home and she has only
learned about my return from the web.
After talking to my wife, I called Father Thoai to
inform him that I have returned home, and Father Thoai was surprised to learn
that the local police has taken me home. Father Thoai said that they have
stationed at the airport throughout the night before to wait for my return, and
they have said many prayers for my safety through the night.
There was a rumor that the airport police has spread
the news that I was involved in a drug trade along with Ms. Trần Thị Thanh and
therefore was detained by the police for investigation.
I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to the
Fathers at Redemptorist, brothers and sisters, family and acquaintances inside
and outside of Vietnam during this ordeal. I am very grateful to all.
Anthony
Lê Thanh Tùng, VRNs
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