Elections on Truong Sa Archipelago are
Viet Nam’s internal affair and have long been conducted in line with the
Vietnamese Constitution to ensure the interests of its citizens.

At a ceremony to present Uncle Ho statue to Truong Sa soldiers. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga yesterday, May 12, commented on Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesperson’s statement on Tuesday regarding elections on Truong Sa
Archipelago.

“Viet Nam has
sufficient historical and legal evidence to prove its sovereignty over the Hoang
Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos,” Nga said.

Muong Nhe

Nga confirmed that
law and order had returned to Muong Nhe District of the northwestern mountainous
province of Dien Bien where local authorities and citizens were preparing for
National Assembly and People’s Committee elections.

She said that
exaggerated information, which had spread during the last few days, intended to
distort the State policy as well as the real situation in Viet Nam.

Members of the Mong
ethnic minority had been deceived and even coerced by extremists into gathering
in villages in Muong Nhe District in order to drum up the so-called
“establishment of a Mong kingdom”, causing disorder and instability while
affecting the lives and production of local residents. Due to severe weather and
unhygienic living conditions, a number of people had fallen ill while one child
had succumbed to disease.

In the face of the
situation, authorities and mass organisations in the district helped people
understand the extremists’ scheme and assisted them in voluntarily returning
home, providing them with cooking, medicine and allowances to help stabilise lives.

Those who had engaged
in extremist conduct were arrested for investigation, Nga said.

The spokeswoman
affirmed that Viet Nam, a united nation of 54 fraternal ethnic groups, had been
attaching special importance to the implementation of policies related to
equality, solidarity, respect and mutual assistance amongst minority groups to
create favourable conditions for minority groups to develop side by side while
adhering to the common development of the country as a whole.

Viet Nam had always
given top priority to ensuring the rights of ethnic minority groups, as
evidenced by its laws, policies and national programmes, the achievements of
which had been widely acknowledged by the international community, she stressed.

An independent UN
Expert on ethnic minority issues visited Viet Nam recently and highlighted State
determination, policies, measures and programmes designed to ensure the rights
of ethnic minority groups.

With State investment
and local effort, the border district of Muong Nhe has effectively carried out
government target programmes including programmes 134, 135 and 167, focused on
reducing the poverty rate by 5 percent a year.

In 2009, the district
implemented a socio-economic development programme aimed at speeding up poverty
reduction in a sustainable manner. Total programme funding came to around VND6
trillion (US$291 million) for the 2009-20 period.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News