~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Five arrested after mob attacks Vietnam police

HANOI - Five people were arrested in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City after a mob attacked a police station, torched a patrol car and injured three officers, state media said on Wednesday. The city's deputy police chief Phan Anh Minh blamed extremists for Monday night's melee in which 400 people attacked the District 1 station after police officers seized a motorbike and accused its owner of breaking traffic laws.

"The extremists used sticks, bricks, stones and petrol bottles to attack the traffic police station," the state-run Nong Nghiep Vietnam newspaper said. It published the names of the five young men accused of inciting the crowd. "We will launch a formal investigation into the case and detain the leaders on charges of causing public disorder," the newspaper quoted Minh as telling a news conference on Tuesday.

State media said the motorbike owner shouted for help after traffic police seized his bike. A crowd quickly gathered and blocked traffic, prompting the nervous officers to call in riot police. Such crowds will be outlawed after a decree signed by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai comes into force sometime in April. It bans any large public gathering on streets, in front of government offices or near state buildings where legislative sessions are under way.

Under the decree, all public gatherings would be licensed by local authorities, the official Vietnam News Agency said in a report earlier this week. Groups of farmers are often seen in the streets of the capital Hanoi before and during sessions of the National Assembly, demanding settlements of their land-related disputes.

Reuters - March 23, 2005