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            Vietnamese Activists Stopped from Holding Rights Rallies

   Dissidents in Vietnam say authorities have stopped them from holding
   gatherings to mark International Human Rights Day.
   In interviews with VOA`s Vietnamese service, online activists say
   officials dispersed crowds in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday.
   Activist Trang Loan said his group was treated roughly by police.
   "They had members of Communist Youth Union yelling at us through
   loudspeakers Assembling is not allowed,` and asking us to leave the
   site. I was slapped in the face by a police officer in plain clothes.
   They beat me and the other participants, which showed they were
   frightened by our peaceful activities for human rights."
   But Phuong Dung says activists like him will not be intimidated.
   "When organizing and participating in these activities we know
   beforehand that we are going to face with such harassment and
   repression from the government. However, we want to show to everybody
   that these advocacy acts are normal. We want our country to develop and
   we want our people to understand their basic rights. We will definitely
   continue such activities and keep going with what are beneficial to our
   society . We will not give up."
   The bloggers say they were only trying to discuss human rights, and
   hand out copies of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N
   .Convention Against Torture and balloons with rights advocacy logos.
   Vietnamese officials have not commented on the gatherings.
   U.N. International Human Rights Day is Tuesday.
   (This report was produced in collaboration with the VOA Vietnamese
   service.)
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/vietnamese-activists-stopped-from-hol
   ding-rights-rallies/1806835.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/vietnamese-activists-stopped-from-holding-rights-rallies/1806835.html