Sixteen people to face trial for golf course protest

Sixteen people are to be tried for leading a violent protest against a proposed golf course outside Hanoi, a local official said Dec. 27. "These people will be prosecuted under two different charges, distrubing public order and opposing officials on duty,"
said Ngo Van Hai, head of the Dong Anh district People's procuracy. Some 400 people had been removed from the site after a clash with around 300 police at a ground-breaking ceremony for the 18-hole course. Petrol bombs were allegedly thrown, and more than 20 policieman and ten security guards were injured. The protesters could be sentenced to anything between two and ten years imprisonment under Vietnamese law. Local residents of Dong Anh, located about 30 km. from central Hanoi, claim they have not been properly compensated for their removal from their homes. Inadequate compensation for forced relocation has become a growing concern of residents in the area around Hanoi. Another protest took place in November at a proposed industrial site 50 km. south of Hanoi, when 22 people were arrested in protests over the low compensation. (Deutsche Press-Agentur, Dec. 27).