Vietnam tough on internet abuse

2005-07-26 14:38

Hanoi - Vietnam's communist party has issued a directive to check what it called "reactionary and hostile forces" from abusing the internet, said a party official on Tuesday.

The official said: "It seeks notably to implement the tasks set by the communist party regarding the country's political, security and defence issues."

Vietnamese authorities had last year issued rules to ensure a close check on internet content was kept, but the latest directive was issued after previous attempts to enforce those laws fell short of expectations.

The reports said: "Some e-newspapers still provide sensational news and articles, while other providers even distribute reactionary and slanderous information and depraved culture.

"Relevant agencies still fail to take effective measures to prevent reactionary and hostile forces from abusing the internet service and electronic press to undermine Vietnam's revolution."

Political, ideological weapon

The directive wanted to "renew State management of the electronic press" and launch "new high-quality electronic newspapers to serve as a sharp political and ideological weapon of the Party and State, and contribute to national development and defence."

The communist party official noted that in Vietnam, it was the party's central committee secretariat, which decided the broad directions on developing national media.

International human rights groups had accused Vietnamese authorities of using national security as a pretext to silence all dissent.

A few dissidents had been jailed for using the internet to call for democracy and respect for human rights.

Vietnam's communist regime retained a tight grip over all domestic media activities. No private media outlets were permitted.

- AFP