Bauxite Việt Nam

Dated June the 1st of 2013 Sent from the prison No 5 – Ministry of Police, in Yên Định, Thanh Hóa Dear Journal / Review, On June the 1st 2013, even refused by the General-Department VIII the permit in quality of a lawyer to meet the prisoner Cù Huy Hà Vũ on his sixth day of hunger strike, I by all means tried to reach the Prison No 5 – Ministry of Police in Yên Định, Thanh Hóa to visit my husband. During the 60 minute meeting, although very weak, the lawyer Cù Huy Hà Vũ gave me a dictating text – the letter as I transcribed as follows. Surrounding us were four jailers controlling, scrutinizing every single word, and from time to time, sent us provocative insulting speech … even so the letter is entirely here for you, dear friends. Please help us to widespread to all whom the content of this letter might be concerned. Thank you very much, Nguyễn Thị Dương Hà

I am the lawyer Cù Huy Hà Vũ, the citizen who was sentenced by the Tribunal of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to 7 years in jail and 3 more years under house arrest, the “crime” of mine was the “Propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” of which I always affirm and re-affirm not-guilty. Today, on June 1^st 2013, I met up with my wife named Nguyễn Thị Dương Hà and my son named Cù Huy Xuân Đức, both came to see me due to my hunger strike aiming to oppose to law violation acts of the prison director named Lường Văn Tuyến.

Following are my statements:

On November 11th 2012, I sent the prison director of the prison No 5 – Ministry of Police, in Yên Định, Thanh Hóa named Lường Văn Tuyến a paper the objective of which is to denounce the acts of the jailer named Lê Văn Chiến in the same Prison No 5 about his “deliberated acts aiming to kill the citizen Cù Huy Hà Vũ”.

The said paper of mine was written accordingly to point a, item 1 Article 168 and item 2 Article 168, item 1 Article 169 of the Law on Criminal Law Exercises, but, in May 12^th 2013, after 180 days, the prison director Lường Văn Tuyến did not resolve my requests, worse, he kept sending the jailer Lê Văn Chiến to get intruded into my prison room. That is why, on May 12^th 2013, I sent another paper asking for the resolution of my former requests as exposed in the accusation paper of November 11^th 2012 – in my new accusation paper I bluntly declared that after two weeks in case when my requests will not be resolved I will practice my hunger strike!

Then, on May 27^th 2013, I ceased to take any meal, until now June the 1^st 2013 the strike has lasted six days, and I will continue the strike aiming to oppose the prison director Lường Văn Tuyến about his violation of my legal and legitimate interests, namely, the no-response to my request papers, the ban of the permit to share the same room with my wife no more than 24 hours, the ban of sending letters to my family members, the ban of receiving of not-banned necessary materials, and ten items the Tribunal had made use as argumentations against me (for my appeal in court).

I declare to continue the hunger strike until the time the prison director Lường Văn Tuyến would agree to solve my requests along with other legal and legitimate interests.

In case if I would die, Vietnamese people will take revenge for me by sending to tribunal anyone who once organize my arrest, then illegally sentenced me and sent me in prison, including the prison director of the prison No 5 named Lường Văn Tuyến and everybody linked to him who pushed me to the hunger strike then to my death in the prison No 5 of the Ministry of Police.

I, the lawyer Cù Huy Hà Vũ, always combat for justice, democracy, human rights and the human values in Việt Nam, I always oppose to the inhuman one-party dictatorship in Việt Nam. I also indefatigably combat for the independence and territorial integration of Việt Nam.

Thus, I, the lawyer Cù Huy Hà Vũ, I am always ready to sacrifice my life for the happiness of the Vietnamese people so that my countrymen would have the right to live in Liberty, Democracy, all Human Rights respected, so that my Fatherland will live independence and territorial integration.

I, the lawyer Cù Huy Hà Vũ, will use my life for the Re-incarnation of my Vietnamese nation. I choose my Death for the Life of my Nation.

I would like to send my respect to the entire Vietnamese people, to all people in the globe, to different governments: the USA’s, the 27 European Union’s, the Australian’s, the Canadian’s … and also to different international organizations who strongly supported me in my fighting for Justice, Democracy and Human Rights, for the Dignity of Vietnamese people. I am strongly convinced myself that in the near future Việt Nam will become a true democratic nation with multi-party political regime and with a State acting under the Three Distinct Branches in the Rule of Law. I am convincing myself that Vietnamese people will become the true owners of their country having as the short objective their right for Referendum to pass their 1992 Constitution as well as any others’.

I always loved my wife Nguyễn Thị Dương Hà, my eldest son Cù Huy Xuân Đức, my youngest son Cù Huy Xuân Hiếu, my grandson Cù Huy Xuân Hoàng, my daughter in law Hoàng Kim Thanh as well as other members of the great clan Cù Huy – the clan Ngô Xuân and my native land Hà Tĩnh until the last breath of my life.

I would to reiterate on the reason I take my own life for the fight for Justice, Democracy and Human Rights in Việt Nam, for the independence and territorial integration of Việt Nam in general, also for the fight against every Human Right violation of the prison director Lường Văn Tuyến – there are three main causes:

1. The tradition of my clan, my family, since the patriot “Cù Ngọc Xán” in his role as commander in the Lê Lợi revolt in Hương Sơn, Hà Tĩnh until the future generations, my great-grand father, grand-father, my father the poet and revolutionary minister Cù Huy Cận, the poet Xuân Diệu, all of them they incessantly run their combat for the right for determination of the Vietnamese people as a whole and individually.

2. I am a lawyer, so I know how to run my combat on the basis of legal peaceful means, thus I gave my contributions to the edification of the State of Law in Việt Nam.

3. I am 56 years old, 57 according to the lunar calendar, I have enough experience and understanding about anti-democratic acts of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam, about the repression of the communist power in Việt Nam against its people, that is why I have to run this fighting against these criminal acts.

I am grateful to the Man who gave birth to me – the poet-pioneer the minister Cù Huy Cận; to my Mother the medical doctor Ngô Thị Xuân Như; to my uncle and adoptive father the poet Ngô Xuân Diệu, all of them my great educators.

If I would die in this hunger strike, it means that I am worth of Them. I would like to pay my respect to my father in law Nguyễn Bá Phụng and my mother in law Dương Thị Kính, these people had loved my like their son born to them.

My entire family, my wife, my sons and my grand son will continue my fighting for Justice, Democracy and Human Rights to Việt Nam, for the independence and territorial integration of Việt Nam, as I said earlier.

[The lawyer Cù Huy Hà Vũ added after finishing his text dictating to the lawyer Nguyễn Thị Dương Hà]

I ceased taking meals for the aim of the fighting, not for any suicidal objective, this fighting action is aimed at opposing the acts violating my legal-legitimate interests committed by Lường Văn Tuyến the director of the small prison inside the greater prison known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam State.

Translated by Phạm Toàn