Print version
|
| Thu, May 17, 2012 |
|
Local officials dismissed over land dispute
Updated:
10:21PM (GMT+7), Wed, February 8, 2012
Nhan Dan - Local officials from Tien Lang district in the northern city of Hai Phong have been suspended from their posts for wrongdoings in the land confiscation case, said Hai Phong Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Thanh in a press conference yesterday.
Officials dismissed and reprimanded include Chairman Le Van Hien, Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Khanh of the Tien Lang district People’s Committee, Head of the Tien Lang Police Le Van Mai and Chairman of the Quang Vinh commune People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem. Hien and Khanh are the officials in charge of the land grab. Secretary Thanh told the media that the Tien Lang authorities were wrong when they did not have a plan for using confiscated land, did not set up a compensation board before repossessing the land and did not hold a dialogue with the owner of the land to be reclaimed. The authorities were also wrong when the forced eviction was conducted at an inappropriate time (close to the traditional new year), which has sparked public outcry and undermines the relationship between the authorities and the people. Secretary Thanh said he has also ordered a probe into the demolition of a house owned by Doan Van Vuon. On January 5, over 100 policemen and soldiers of Tien Lang district were dispatched to the house of Doan Van Vuon in Quang Vinh commune in a bid to reclaim a stretch of marshland allocated to the 49-year-old farmer in 1993. Doan Van Vuon and his family resisted the eviction by engaging in a shoot-out in which two policemen were knocked out by a home-made landmine. Doan Van Vuon and his relatives were later arrested for violence against the authorities. The case has been making headlines and has put conflicts over land ownership and allocation into the national spotlight in Vietnam. Special attention has been given to the case by both the public and senior government officials. Senior government officials criticised the Tien Lang authorities for their use of force in a civil case and for their wrongdoings in the implementation of the Land Law. The Government Inspectorate, relevant ministries, and the Hai Phong municipal People’s Committee were requested to conduct detailed investigations into the case and to report their findings to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who will chair a meeting on February 10. The Vietnamese Fatherland Front, Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Vietnamese Farmers’ Union were also asked to voice their opinions on the case at the February 10 meeting.
|
