Viet Nam arrests six activists, according to dissident group

A dissident group has reported the arrest of six pro-democracy activists on Saturday by security forces in Viet Nam, Agence France-Presse reported today. The group included two U.S., one French and one Thai national.

The U.S.-based Viet Tan (Vietnam Reform) party released a statement saying that the activists “aspired to publicize information on successful non-violent struggles from around the world and to use these lessons to help empower the Vietnamese people.” Viet Tan said that neither the activists’ families nor the non-Vietnamese citizens’ embassies had been notified of the detentions. The group additionally declared that: “While these individuals may have different backgrounds and reside in different countries, they are Vietnamese patriots who share a common dream to establish democracy and reform the country.”

A police official from the district where the detentions reportedly occurred told AFP that “We have not heard anything about this affair.”

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