FOCUS: VIETNAMVietnam: Searching for long lasting peace and ethnic equality by SEACSN Vietnam.
FOCUS: VIETNAM Vietnam: Searching for long lasting peace and ethnic equality by SEACSN
Vietnam
The dragon-shaped Vietnam is situated in the east of the Indochina peninsula. It borders China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west and looks to the Bien Dong (the South China Sea) to the east. Vietnam lies in the strategic East-West sea-lanes linking the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
The history of Vietnam is a long story of human resistance to natural calamities and foreign invasions. The conflict between Vietnamese patriotism and foreign aggression has prevailed throughout all historical periods. Thus, the national concern about real independence is central to peace and conflict issues in Vietnam. History has witnessed the unity of different Vietnamese groups in the struggle for national independence. A great block of national solidarity has been formed in the consecutive resistant wars for national independence and unification, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
During the wars, the Vietnamese were forced to use military power to defend their country. When the wars were over, the Vietnamese shelved rifles to take ploughs and hoes to build up their nation. They would like to live in peaceful harmony with all countries of the world, considering it to be the best way to maintain their national security. In reality, Vietnam has improved relations with all world countries, including former rivals. In addition, Vietnam has eliminated the sources of its inter-state conflicts with others. Vietnam has signed agreements on overlapping areas with Thailand and Malaysia and is negotiating with the Indonesians over the exclusive economic zones (EEZ). Besides this, Vietnam and China reached the Land border Treaty and the Agreement on Demarcation of the Tonkin Gulf in 1999 and 2000 respectively.
A peaceful environment creates favourable conditions for the country’s development. Since the start of doimoi (renovation), Vietnam has scored many economic achievements. Driven from economic crisis in the mid 1980s, Vietnam now enjoys an economic growth rate of around 7 %. Yet, Vietnam, like other developing nations in the process of nation-building and international integration, has to settle some economic conflicts such as those between economic sectors, and between domestic and international economic laws. In the multi-sector economy, it is natural that each economic sector competes with another to set up its own position. Even in one sector, new comers compete with old guards. Furthermore, to let every single Vietnamese enjoy economic achievement, one task is to fill the gap between the rich and the poor, or in other words, to eliminate poverty, particularly in the mountainous areas.
Currently there are 1,870 villages in difficulties. The rate of poverty is 11%, down from 13% in 1999. In 52 minorities ethnic, poverty and hunger account for two-third of population while in ethnic Kinh the ratio is just 35-38%, i.e. the hunger and poverty in ethnic groups are 1.5-3 times bigger than those in majority, depending on different areas.1 The main reasons are connected with characteristics of disadvantaged, mountainous areas in terms of geography, habits and customs, and production methods. Thus, it is necessary to have long-term, synchronised policies to help the mountainous areas catch up with areas in the plains, creating an equal development in the country.
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FOCUS: VIETNAM Vietnam: Searching for long lasting peace and ethnic equality by SEACSN Vietnam.
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Environmental conflict in Ha Long Bay by Dr Wongsa Laohasiriwong, Khon Kaen University
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The report from the meeting to discuss the Conflict Mapping Project in Lao PDR.
FOCUS: VIETNAM Vietnam: Searching for long lasting peace and ethnic equality by SEACSN Vietnam
To narrow the gap, Vietnam advocates to “institutionalize more support for difficulty-ridden areas to develop infrastructures and human resources, raise the people’s educational levels, eradicate hunger and alleviate poverty, thus helping those areas out of under-development.”2 The 1992 Constitution of Vietnam also points out, “The State adopts a comprehensive development policy, gradually raising the material and spiritual life of ethnic minorities.”3 On July 23, 1998, the Vietnamese Prime Minister issued the Decree No 133/1998/QD-TTg to approve the Programme on Hunger Elimination and Poverty Alleviation and eight days later, on July 31st 1998 the Prime Minister issued the Decree No. 135/1998/QD-TTg to approve of the Programme on Socio-economic Development for Extremely Difficulty-ridden Mountainous and Remote Areas (abbreviated to the Programme 133 and 135). The aim of the Programme is to accelerate the material and spiritual living standards of ethnic minorities in the extremely difficulty-ridden mountainous and remote areas, to help bring the rural areas of these regions out of poverty, backwardness and under-development, into the common development of the whole country, thus safeguarding social law and order, national security and defence. It is the Programmes that take on great significance in economic, political, social and security aspects, which with its profound humanity, promotes national fine qualifications, thus contributing to the country’s sustainable development.
The measures of the Programmes on hunger eradication and poverty reduction, on narrowing the gap between the majority and minority taken by Vietnam are as follows:
- The government has a strong determination.
- The strength of the entire nation has been brought into full play. The Programme 135 acts as a stimulus to encourage sectors, localities, social organizations and individuals at all levels to do a humanitarian job. Many ministries, sectors and localities have linked other development programmes to the programme on hunger elimination and poverty alleviation.
- There has been a widespread organizing mechanism from the centre to localities.
- Vietnam has received assistance from other countries and international organizations. In the past years, external assistance resources have accounted for about 20% of the expenditures for the Programme on hunger eradication and poverty reduction in Vietnam.
- The structure of crops has been properly shifted, making best use of the potentials of the mountainous regions.
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FOCUS: VIETNAM Vietnam: Searching for long lasting peace and ethnic equality by SEACSN Vietnam.
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Environmental conflict in Ha Long Bay by Dr Wongsa Laohasiriwong, Khon Kaen University
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The report from the meeting to discuss the Conflict Mapping Project in Lao PDR.
FOCUS: VIETNAM Vietnam: Searching for long lasting peace and ethnic equality by SEACSN Vietnam
Over the last few years, implementing the programme on hunger eradication and poverty reduction, Vietnam has gained two main important achievements:
First, there has been a remarkable reduction in poverty nationwide, from 25% in the Northeast of Vietnam and around 40% in the Northwest, the Central region and the South down to 11% in the whole country.
Second, the growth rate in the mountainous, remote and distant regions has been increased to 8-10% per annum, roughly or rather higher than the common development growth rate of the entire country.
In summary, there have been disparities between majority and minority in Vietnam due to her geography, customs and practices, people’s educational levels, population growth and bad impacts of the market economy. Over more than the last 55 years, Vietnam has made many efforts to implement the programme on hunger elimination and poverty alleviation, to narrow down the development gap between majority and minority. The achievements recorded by Vietnam bear great significance in economic, social, security and defence respects. That result is from the strong resolve of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Vietnam government, active participation of the people, sectors, localities and the assistance of other countries and international organizations.
(Endnotes)
1 Ha Que Lam,
Xoa doi giam ngheo o vung dan toc thieu so nuoc ta hien nay-thuc trang va giai phap
(Hunger elimination and poverty alleviation in Vietnam
’s ethnic groups: Present situation and solution). National Politics Publishing House, Hanoi, 2002, p. 61.
2 Communist Party of Vietnam,
The Document of the Ninth National Congress of the Party
. The National Politics Publishing House, 2001, p. 94.
3 The 1992 Constitution, Article 5, the 4th paragraph