HANOI: Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung publicly chastised local authorities for their handling of a land case that ended in a violent clash last month, grabbed headlines and sparked a rare outpouring of sympathy.
In remarks published on the government website (www.chinhphu.vn) late on Friday after a special meeting, Dung accused officials in the port city of Haiphong of mishandling the way in which they allocated a plot of land to farmer Doan Van Vuon and then tried to take it back.
As in China, where land grabs sparked a revolt in the southern village of Wukan that lasted for months, land disputes are a major source of friction between government and the public, particularly rural residents. But open clashes are rare.
"The People's Committee of Tien Lang district, Haiphong city has made mistakes in allocating, reclaiming and using force in taking the land handed to Mr. Doan Van Vuon," Dung was quoted in a statement as saying.
"As the decision to reclaim the land is not in line with the land laws, it is not legal." Dung said the procedures used to try to take back the land were also in violation of the law.
The criticism could help take the air out of an emotive issue that the Vietnamese media, which is controlled by the state, has publicised despite an early attempt by the Haiphong authorities to get news outlets to stop reporting the case.
Vuon and his relatives used homemade landmines and guns to resist the police and army, dispatched by authorities last month to take back the land that Vuon had converted for aquaculture.
Six policemen and soldiers were injured and four farmers, including Vuon, were arrested while his house was demolished.
Critics, including a former state president, were quick to decry the local authorities' heavy-handed move, saying the use of security forces was inappropriate and illegal.
Dung ordered an investigation into the demolition of Vuon's house and said officials behind that action should be suspended.
Vuon and his relatives would also face legal action, Dung said, for "attempting to kill and take action against officials on duty". But the courts, he said, should consider leniency in view of the authority's improper decisions.
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