Police freed after new unrest hits Vietnam province

By Adrian Edwards
HANOI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Villagers in northern Vietnam's troubled Thai Binh province have released more than 20 police officers taken captive following renewed unrest in the area earlier this month, police and local residents said on Tuesday.

A provincial police officer told Reuters that villagers in Quynh Phu district -- a hotspot during troubles which first erupted in April -- had detained at least 23 officers following new clashes over the past two weeks.

He said several of the men had been beaten and were injured.

``We have taken all of them to hospital for checks on their health,'' he said. ``Several have been placed on leave, to recuperate.''

Local residents told Reuters the troubles broke out earlier this month as Vietnam was hosting its first international summit in Hanoi, just 80 km (50 miles) away.

They said the police had been sent into the district in an attempt to restore order in the area. However, they arrived without adequate back-up, and were overwhelmed by groups of angry villagers.

Further details were not immediately available, and the province has been off-limits to foreign journalists.

Rural unrest has been rarely reported in Vietnam, but a series of incidents in recent months has prompted concern about discontent among the 80 percent of Vietnam's 77 million population who live outside the cities.

The troubles in Thai Binh erupted in April when protests over local taxes turned violent. Homes of local officials were destroyed and several people injured, prompting a protracted standoff between angry villagers and the security authorities.

Other incidents have been reported in nearby Thanh Hoa province but also in southern Vietnam's Song Be and Dong Nai, where several thousand Catholics clashed with police in a dispute earlier this month, reportedly over land ownership rights.

Government and other analysts have pointed to low rural incomes and a recent fall in commodity prices as a possible cause. But popular anger over issues linked to corruption, such as land rights and taxation, have also been blamed.

So far the government has sought to resolve the situation through peaceful means, but Hanoi's efforts have been patchy.

In early November an extraordinary meeting of the local government in Thai Binh province, attended by politburo member Pham The Duyet, voted to dismiss two senior officials amid vague official charges of ``wrongdoings.''

They were a member of the provincial council, Vu Manh Rinh, and the province chairman Vu Xuan Truong -- who is also a member of the National Assembly.

An official with the National Assembly told Reuters on Tuesday that Truong was still taking part in assembly functions as a representative for Thai Binh province, despite the dismissal, and was present at the current assembly session.

``When you have been elected to the National Assembly you represent the people of the whole country, as well as those of the area in which you are elected,'' he said.