Vietnam PM tries to resolve eviction dispute

THE prime minister of Vietnam is expected to meet this week with other government officials to resolve a land dispute between a Catholic family and authorities in Hai Phong, which turned violent last month.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is to preside over a special meeting on February 10 with high ranking officials from the government inspectorate, four ministries, and Hai Phong city representatives, according to an announcement issued yesterday by the government office.

On Jan. 5, Peter Doan Van Vuon and his relatives used homemade guns and bombs to try and prevent around 100 policemen and soldiers evicting them from land that had been allocated to them several years ago.

The confrontation injured six policemen and soldiers and saw the arrest of Vuon and several of his relatives. Their two-story home was demolished by the authorities.

“This case can be seen as a warning that people’s anger could boil over if it is not solved reasonably,” said Le Duc Tiet, a lawyer and vice chair of the Advisory Council on Democracy and Law of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.

Report from ucanews.com