Vietnam PM wants media punished for "wrong" graft accusations
HANOI - Vietnam's Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has called for punishment for journalists and media who published "wrong" information on a massive corruption scandal, a state newspaper said Thursday.
"The prime minister asked the ministry of culture and information to take measures in order to sanction press agencies and people involved with the writing and printing of untrue information," An Ninh Thu Do (Capital Security) said.
"Recently, regarding... corruption in PMU18 and other corruption cases ... many newspapers violated the law when printing untrue information, or violating the citizens' private life, causing great concern," the Hanoi police mouthpiece said.
Vietnam has been rocked this year by a scandal in which millions of dollars, including foreign funds intended for infrastructure projects, were siphoned off by the transport ministry's now notorious Project Management Unit (PMU) 18.
Some of the cash was used to buy property and to bet on top English and Spanish league football matches.
Transport Minister Dao Dinh Binh was forced to resign and his deputy minister, Nguyen Viet Tien, was arrested along with a dozen other people.
Several other high officials were also accused by the press of involvement but were not prosecuted.
Khai said relevant agencies should punish those found guilty of publishing wrong information on the case, instead of just asking for corrections or administrative sanctions as usual.
He invited "organisations and people who suffer from wrong information on the newspapers... to file a lawsuit."
Analysts said the move was a clear attempt by the government to tighten its grip on the local press and make sure it would now adopt a low profile on the PMU 18 scandal.
"The ministry of culture will pass on the message during the next meeting with the newspapers' chief editors," an observer said.
Media investigation reached a peak last month, just before Vietnam's communist party held its tenth national congress. And corruption overshadowed the five-yearly event.
Since the end of the congress, papers have been more cautious.
"It was to be expected that after the frenzy of press coverage on PMU 18 in the run-up to the congress, the party and government would feel the need to remind the media who is boss," a foreign expert told AFP, asking not to be named.
The communist party is unwilling to let the media go too far in the fight against corruption, he said. "The party is still uncertain about what role it wants the media to play."
Agence France Presse - May 11, 2006.
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