VietNamNet Bridge – 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+)

"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 food, 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