Civil society in one-party Vietnam raises profile
HANOI - Only a few years ago, a public discussion in one-party ruled Vietnam among Vietnamese and foreigners about the politics of civil society would have been considered too sensitive.
But on Tuesday, international and Vietnamese groups jointly released the first study on Vietnam's civil society, or non-governmental groups, that have emerged since the 1990s.
It highlighted their strengths and weaknesses and relationships with the ruling Communist Party and the increasingly influential National Assembly legislature.
"The doors are opening for advocacy these days," said Irene Norlund, coordinator of "An Initial Assessment of Civil Society in Vietnam", part of a look at non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in more than 50 countries.
"A few years ago you could not mention the term 'civil society' because that was so-called sensitive, now we can sit here and discuss it," Norlund told a conference at the offices of the United Nations Development Programme.
The research showed there were about 2,000 diverse NGOs in Vietnam, many of them engaged in charity and volunteerism and who were trusted by the citizenry.
"Cooperation among the groups is still weak and they are having limited impact," said a summary of research by the World Alliance for Civic Participation (CIVICUS) and the Vietnam Institute for Development Studies.
The study included "mass organisations" under the auspices of the Party but which have become more independent in the last 10 years of market-oriented reforms that have driven rapid growth.
Policy influence
In Vietnam, policy is mostly formed within the Party and the bureaucracy, "while civil society's influence on policymaking is mostly indirect", the report's section on political rights said.
Vietnam's constitution allows citizens to vote, stand for election if approved by the Party and express opinions, but "in reality there are some limitations on these rights", it said.
Civil society, defined as "outside of the family, the state and the market where people associate to advance common interests" was involved in many of Vietnam's legal reforms, researchers said.
About 74 percent of Vietnamese are members of at least one organisation, comparatively higher than similar societies in China and Singapore, according to the April 2005 to March 2006 study.
At Tuesday's briefing, Institute director Dang Ngoc Dinh referred to a comment by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh at April's five-yearly National Congress that while Vietnam was open to business competition, there would be no political competition.
Dinh said he believed civil society "should focus first on empowerment and social economic development and not yet on political competition".
By Grant McCool - Reuters - May 9, 2006.
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