New Unrest In Vietnam, Southern Catholics Involved

By Adrian Edwards
HANOI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Popular anger over corruption and land ownership issues boiled over at the weekend in a dominantly Catholic region of southern Vietnam as thousands of people clashed with police, leaving several injured.

In a rare report of serious rural troubles, residents and officials in Dong Nai province detailed a series of incidents following protests which began on Friday, in an area which lies some 60 km (80 miles) northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

A resident, who declined to be identified, told Reuters that the troubles started when women converged on the local government offices in Thong Nhat district.

As the afternoon wore on, the discontent became heated, she said. Groups unfurled banners denouncing officials for confiscating land from farmers. Some of the women were said to have stripped naked in protest.

On Saturday, they were joined by thousands of other residents, some with children, prompting riot police to intervene. In battles that followed, police vehicles were attacked, and several officers were injured by crowds wielding sticks and throwing stones.

Several homes of local officials were said to have been burnt down.

Unrest in Vietnam is rare. But the violence in Dong Nai follows recent trouble in a northern province, Thai Binh, where thousands have protested for months against corruption.

The discontent there, in an area considered the cradle of Hanoi's communist revolution, has prompted concern at the top levels of Vietnam's leadership. Several politburo officials have been despatched to the area to assess the situation for themselves.

While it was too early on Monday to say whether the situation in Dong Nai might also spread or be protracted, there appeared to be reasons for concern.

Diplomats and analysts say the potential for volatility in southern Vietnam is greater than in northern parts of the country because of historic and residual regional animosity.

A potential further factor is that Catholics in Vietnam are often associated with the defeated U.S-backed South Vietnam regime. However, there was no indication on Monday that religious issues lay behind the troubles.

A provincial official told Reuters on Monday that many of the protesters had dispersed, but said ``some bad elements'' were continuing to cause problems.

``We have asked the church authorities to restore order,'' he said. ``The bishop (Nguyen Minh Nhat) has issued a statement calling for calm. We don't know what's behind this, but these people are taking advantage of land issues to achieve other aims,'' he said, without elaborating.

Land rights issues are often cited as reasons for protests or local discontent in Vietnam, where state ideology dictates that all land belongs to the state.

Residents in Dong Nai -- an area largely populated by Catholics who migrated from northern Vietnam in 1954 -- said popular concern over incidents in which land had been confiscated from farmers had been building for some time.

Vietnam's foreign press regulations prevented journalists from being able to visit the area on Monday.