At the weekend in Vietnam, a fish farmer who became a cult hero for fighting off an illegal eviction with homemade guns & mines, was jailed for attempted murder.
Doan Van Vuon, two of his brothers & a nephew, were given jail terms of 2 – 5 years for injuring 7 police & soldiers in Haiphong in January, State media reported. Two wives (it’s not clear whose) received suspended sentences of 15-18 months for “resisting officials”.
National television showed footage from the courtroom displaying the propane gas cylinders, electrical cables & steel pipes Vuon’s family army used for bombs & guns.
Almost as an aside, the authorities in Haiphong have admitted their eviction was unlawful & a number of (very) junior officials face trials beginning at the end of this week.
One of the defense lawyers in the trial, claimed Vuon had no intention of causing harm & had exercised “all legal means” (an interesting claim, because there are none) to protect his land before staging his more direct resistance.
Rapid economic growth, foreign investment & industrial expansion has made land (all of which is technically owned by the State & leased to its citizens on 20 years contracts) disproportionally valuable. This has encouraged the abuse of standard clauses in leases that allow land seizures for reasons of national security, defense, economic development, public interest & any other reason that often corrupt beaurocrats can dream-up.
Of course, had someone explain to Vuon that fish thrive best in water, rather than amongst the area of trees he had actually leased, the whole sorry incident could have been avoided (but I can’t wait to see a 70-year old Stallone play the lead in the movie…..)
ThursdayAgain 
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