About 10 Vietnamese women evicted by local government authorities in Dien Ban village in central Vietnam’s Quang Nam province chained themselves inside their homes on Tuesday to prevent police from forcibly removing them.
The women chained themselves in protest against what they consider low compensation of 720,000 dong (U.S. $31.50) per square meter for their property, though the country’s 2013 Land Law specifies that the rate should be 3 million dong (U.S. $131) per square meter, Dang Quoc Minh, one of the evictees, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service.
The local government wrote on the women’s official eviction notice that the land was supposed to be handed over on June 30, 2014, when in fact it was transferred between June and November 2015, she said.
The country’s Land Law did not take effect until July 1, 2014.
The women did not move out of their homes at the time because of the dispute over compensation.
About 200 policemen arrived on the site on Tuesday to carry out the evictions, and at about 2 p.m., a digger started operating on the land, Minh said.
“They [the women] are still sitting in there waiting for the security forces to come in and evict them,” she said.
“The women are fighting like they are in prison,” she said. “They have chained their arms and legs so the police can’t arrest them. We don’t oppose them [the officers]. We are only fighting for our rights.”
Minh said the evictees want to be paid the amount of compensation they are due according to the law.
Nguyen Dat, vice chairman of Dien Ban People’s Committee, was quoted by the state-run Danang police newspaper on May 21 as saying that the government will have to evict 14 households to prepare for upgrade work on a road that passes through the area.
The upgrades to the road, which connects the coastal city of Danang city in central Vietnam with the town of Hoi An in Quang Nam province, will ease traffic congestion during morning and evening rush hours, the report said.
The newspaper report also noted that the evictees had filed a complaint with the provincial People’s Committee, and that Quang Nam’s government had resolved it on Oct. 2, 2017.
“The land appropriation and compensation for 14 households have been carried out in accordance with the law to ensure the rights and benefits of the people,” it said.
Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
This makes me want to rush back in the ole country and buy me a few acres!
Dang you goons, whenever does motherland is so cheap? It's a joke to put that kind of price on motherland.
You are a bunch of dirty thieves and you have repeatedly proven to us that there isn't an ounce of decency in you or your systems.
If memory serves me correctly, there are less than 20 miles in between 2 cities. Where you are planning to build is even shorter than that and you can't acquire the land without a fuzz! You have to steal and beat it out of the people. Everything has to be a big commotion or a 'Chinese fire drill' for you!
Can you perform a civil task civilly?
This is why the people are against you! Do the right thing at all time and you will see the different attitude towards you. If not, then don't cry as to why there are 're-actionaries'!
May 24, 2018 02:57 PM
