Fighting against "liberal democracy" around the world
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Vietnam's President Phuc reportedly ousted by party rivals – DW – 01/17/2023
Pro-Western President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has purportedly been forced out of office in a reshuffle that is set to empower Vietnam's oppressive security services.
Vietnam's President Phuc reportedly ousted by party rivals
Pro-Western President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has purportedly been forced out of office in a reshuffle that is set to empower Vietnam's oppressive security services.
David Hutt
21 hours ago
Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced his "resignation" to the party's elite decision-making Politburo last week, Vietnamese sources told DW.
The Western-orientated leader took up the largely ceremonial presidency in 2021, after five years as prime minister. He is seen as one of the main technocrats within the ruling Communist party, and he had developed close connections with Western capitals during his time in office.
His likely dismissal comes just weeks after several other experienced foreign policy hands were booted out of the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party for alleged corruption. The reshuffle is expected to cement the power of the country's security elite.
A diplomatic source told DW that the party's Central Committee will meet on Tuesday for a special session to discuss Phuc's successor, as he is set to formally announce his resignation to the National Assembly, the country's legislature, Wednesday.
What do we know about Phuc's ouster?
Le Hong Hiep of the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute research center in Singapore speculated that corruption might be the reason Phuc was pushed out, according to an article published in the analysis outlet Fulcrum.There have long been rumors that the president's wife was involved in the so-called Viet A corruption scandal that last month resulted in Nguyen Thanh Long, the former Minister of Health; and Chu Ngoc Anh, the former Minister of Science and Technology, being expelled from the Communist Party.
If the reports are true, Phuc would be the highest-ranking official yet to be caught up in the widespread anti-graft campaign launched by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2016. Hundreds of senior officials and businesspeople have already been dismissed or jailed because of the campaign.
It is unclear what reason Phuc will give for his resignation tomorrow, but Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, sees it as a "total power play" by his enemies in the party.
Who stands to benefit from Phuc's departure?
Phuc's likely successor will be To Lam, the Minister of Public Security, who has gained Trong's trust in directing anti-corruption probes. Lam was originally expected to leave his office by April due to informal term limits on ministers.A swift promotion to the presidency would allow Lam to remain in a powerful position while also trying to maintain control over the security ministry from the largely ceremonial presidential office, Abuza said.
Other senior Communist Party members would also benefit from Phuc's departure. Though the next National Congress won't be held until 2026, jostling for the top jobs starts early.
The Communist Party has faced problems with electing its leaders in the past. At the last National Congress in 2021, party chief Trong remained in office for a near-unprecedented third term because the party couldn't agree on a successor.
Hiep of the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute noted that National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue also stands to win big if Phuc departs, as he would emerge as the "only viable candidate to replace General Secretary Trong" in the 2026 reshuffle.
Abuza reckons that apart from Hue, Phuc was the only other Politburo member who had the acumen to become party boss next year. Phuc's departure opens a straight path for Hue, who happens to be Trong's protege.
Le Hong Hiep adds that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is unlikely to get a promotion next time around, may also be at risk.
According to Hiep, he could face trouble because of his alleged relationship with Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, the chairwoman of Advance International Corporation, a firm at the center of another major corruption scandal. Nhan, who is on the run, was last month sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison.
How will the reshuffle effect Vietnam's foreign policy?
Phuc considerably improved Vietnam's ties with the US and the EU as prime minister between 2016 and 2021. The much-touted EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement was signed and ratified under his watch, and the 68-year-old politician is believed to be among Vietnam's most trusted leaders for foreign diplomats and investors.His departure comes on the heels of dismissals of numerous technocratic and Western-leaning officials.
Pham Binh Minh, the former foreign minister and a deputy prime minister, was last month "allowed" to resign from his current posts. Another Western-educated deputy prime minister, Vu Duc Dam, was also dismissed.
Hunter Marston, a researcher on Southeast Asia at the Australian National University, said it seems that "Trong and his Ministry of Public Security are pushing out the more progressive or internationally-minded senior officials who had advanced the US-Vietnam relationship."
The reshuffling of officials is unlikely to radically change Vietnam's foreign policy, although it is "good for China and Russia," said Abuza from the National War College in Washington.
Le Hong Hiep from Singapore doesn't see drastic changes on the horizon either.
"All these personnel changes are more about Vietnam's domestic political dynamics," Hiep told DW. "I don't think they have anything to do with Vietnam's foreign policy."
What is Vietnam's stance on China and the West?
China remains Vietnam's largest trading partner, but historical and geopolitical tensions, especially over disputed territory in the South China Sea, means Hanoi will continue to see Beijing as a threat.Also, Vietnam's business and political relations with Western states have massively improved in recent years. In November, Olaf Scholz became the first German chancellor to visit Vietnam for 11 years.
But Vietnamese Communist apparatchiks remain skeptical of Western intentions. Many of them fear that Western democracies are aiming for regime change in the one-party state and they rankle at foreign organizations lecturing the government over human rights.
Those dynamics are not likely to change but analysts say foreign governments and investors should expect a more inward-looking and potentially less stable political situation in Vietnam.
The ascendant public security apparatus is arguably most wary of interactions with Western democracies. At the same time, foreign diplomats are quickly losing their most trusted conduits within the party, the sort of officials who informally provide information and support.
And although Vietnam's economy grew at 8% last year, according to the government, purges of senior, competent officials may weaken the country's political stability. Trong's anti-corruption crusade shows no signs of slowing down, with Phuc its biggest scalp to date.
Petr
Administrator
Tunisia: Is the democratic transition at a dead end? – DW – 02/25/2023
Tunisia's increased crackdown on dissent has prompted criticism and calls for a return to democratic values. However, European countries remain cautious out of fears of instability and increased immigration.
Tunisia: Is the democratic transition at a dead end?
Jennifer Holleis
February 25, 2023
Tunisia's increased crackdown on dissent has prompted criticism and calls for a return to democratic values. However, European countries remain cautious out of fears of instability and increased immigration.
The worst fears of Tunisia's President Kais Saied's political opponents turned into bleak reality this month, when at least a dozen politicians, activists, and critics were detained and labelled as traitors or criminals by Saied.
Among those arrested by the Tunisian police were Issam Chebbi, head of the opposition Republican Party, prominent Saied-critic Ezzedine Hazgui, and Chaima Issa and Jaouhar Ben M’barek, both leading members of the National Salvation Front, Tunisia's coalition of oppositional parties.
Also this week, Saied targeted the country's minority migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, alleging that undocumented immigration from African countries was changing Tunisia's demographic composition. Dozens of migrants were detained, in a move harshly criticized by human rights organizations and activists.
The president even went so far as to expel Esther Lynch, the Irish general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, or ETUC, after she called on Tunisia's government to release Anis Kaabi, the detained head of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT).
"I am here in Tunisia to say to President Saied: The world sees what you're doing — Stop your attacks on trade unions now," Lynch had told a UGTT rally in the port city of Sfax.
In response, Saied accused her of "blatantly interfering in Tunisian affairs," and gave her 24 hours to leave the country.
"The expulsion of the union official reflects the shrinking space for democracy in Tunisia," Sami Tahri, UGTT deputy secretary general, told DW. "Tunisia's interests and its foreign relations will be certainly affected, as countries require a minimum level of democracy in their relations."
However, Ibrahim Bouderbala, a member of parliament and supporter of President Saied, doesn't expect international repercussions. "Ties with other countries are based on respect for the principle of sovereignty, and Tunisia does not interfere in other countries' judicial matters either," he told DW.
The country's current political crackdown on dissent is a 180-degree turnaround from what developed after the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. For years, Tunisia was seen as beacon of democratic transition in the Middle East.
In 2019, when the former law professor Kais Saied won the country's presidential election, he enjoyed wide support among a population pinning its hopes on economic improvement and an end to corruption.
However, on July 25 2021, Saied suspended the elected parliament, dismissed the then-Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and dissolved or suspended democratic institutions like the Supreme Judicial Court. According to what he called his democratic roadmap, he held a referendum on a new constitution which consolidated the president's powers. The new constitution was approved in July 2022, despite a low turnout and a boycott by several political parties.
Meanwhile, recent parliamentary elections in December and January ended with a record-low voter turnout of around 11%.
"Europe should say farewell to its own projections and wishful thinking of Tunisia as the poster child of the Arab Spring," Heike Löschmann, director of the Tunis office of the German Heinrich Böll Foundation, told DW.
Isolated position
However, Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), pointed out that Kais Saied is a "comparatively isolated figure within Tunisia, as he doesn't have an institutional base or a party behind him, only the backing of the security forces." In turn, he doesn't see "this as a kind of stable, long-lasting new political settlement."Yet a lack of public support for Saied's political opponents has played a crucial role in the recent crackdown, and Tunisia's opposition remains deeply fractured.
"The entire political class in Tunisia has been somewhat delegitimized by their failure to deal with the country's economic problems," Dworkin told DW.
Tunisia has been grappling with a string of economic crises for years, a situation that was further exacerbated by the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The current inflation of around 10% could also rise in the coming months due to higher taxes, lower food and energy subsidies, and the halted funding by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Three previous agreements, which were struck by Saied and the IMF, had fallen through due to the resistance of the labour union as they refused to cut the salaries of their some one million workers.
But for Heike Löschmann "democratic transition cannot be successfully sustained without improving the economic situation of the people that stood up in the first place to get jobs and strive for prosperity," she told DW.
Kais Saied allegedly spoke against sub-Saharan immigrants at a recent meeting of the National Security Council. Image: Tunisian Presidency/AA/picture alliance
International interests
Meanwhile, European countries have been reluctant to use their ties to exert pressure on Saied's move towards authoritarianism, despite the fact that "Kais Saied is very ready to take steps that appear confrontational with Europe," Dworkin said."Europe's concern is that this would affect the well-being of Tunisia's population, and Europeans really want to avoid anything that creates further instability in the country," Dworkin told DW. "This could potentially lead to increased migration towards Europe."
Nevertheless, he feels that "European leaders should not hesitate to call out what is clearly taking place in Tunisia, which is a strong move away from democracy and an increasingly repressive environment."
Meanwhile, German government spokesperson Wolfgang Büchner said at a press conference on February 17 that "the German government views with great concern that many representatives of the Tunisian opposition, politicians, journalists and activists have been arrested in recent days."
He also said that "Tunisia is in a difficult economic and social situation, and we do not want to leave the Tunisian people alone, but to help overcome the challenges."
However, he then highlighted Tunisia's own responsibility when it comes to tackling their economic situation. "In our view, the best way out of the crisis is through an International Monetary Fund program. Tunisia should complete this quickly."
Lord Osmund de Ixabert
I X A B E R T.com
The dissemination of Yankee liberal democracy to foreign shores is a most cunning and pernicious plot. A cynical scheme of the Yankees, devised to sow discord and unrest in the affected nations, and ultimately take over the world, all with a sly grin on their vile Yankee faces.
The proponents of Yankee liberal democracy do not believe in its principles; it is merely an instrument or weapon that the Yankees weild and use against the targeted nations and social classes, all with nefarious intent - as a means to an end.
A tool, not a belief. It's a sick joke to these Yankee scoundrels, really. A twisted game these Yankees play. Yet the fate of mankind hinges upon the outcome of this struggle.
These are nefarious forces which have been brewing in the shadows for aeons and now threaten to emerge and consume the entire world.
The forces of darkness, like "Doctor Robotnik" from Sonic the Hedghog, "Claw" from Inspector Gadget, the "Shredder" from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - nay, like the the very embodiment of evil, Satan himself - shall not triumph in their quest for Yankee world domination.
We shall stand firm and steadfast in the face of the tyranny of these verminous Yankee scoundrels.
The proponents of Yankee liberal democracy do not believe in its principles; it is merely an instrument or weapon that the Yankees weild and use against the targeted nations and social classes, all with nefarious intent - as a means to an end.
A tool, not a belief. It's a sick joke to these Yankee scoundrels, really. A twisted game these Yankees play. Yet the fate of mankind hinges upon the outcome of this struggle.
These are nefarious forces which have been brewing in the shadows for aeons and now threaten to emerge and consume the entire world.
The forces of darkness, like "Doctor Robotnik" from Sonic the Hedghog, "Claw" from Inspector Gadget, the "Shredder" from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - nay, like the the very embodiment of evil, Satan himself - shall not triumph in their quest for Yankee world domination.
We shall stand firm and steadfast in the face of the tyranny of these verminous Yankee scoundrels.
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Petr
Administrator
Lord Osmund de Ixabert
I X A B E R T.com
The diabolical intention of these vile Yankee scoundrels is simple: they plan on taking over the world, enslaving humanity, and plunging the entire world into an eternity of darkness.
A most cunning and malevolent scheme indeed.
Opposition to this Western liberal democracy, if handled haphazardly, and without due diligence, is liable to produce the very turmoil and turbulence that this liberal-democratic New World Order was fashioned to facilitate in the first place.
That only plays into the hands of our arch-nemesis.
The salvation of the world falls on those who have the courage and fortitude to resist the evil one's power, the moral superiority to resist its malevolent machinations, the perspicacity to perceive the hidden hand behind the evens of the world, and the cunning and foresight to anticipate the strategies of the arch-nemesis.
A very rare combination indeed.
A most cunning and malevolent scheme indeed.
Opposition to this Western liberal democracy, if handled haphazardly, and without due diligence, is liable to produce the very turmoil and turbulence that this liberal-democratic New World Order was fashioned to facilitate in the first place.
That only plays into the hands of our arch-nemesis.
The salvation of the world falls on those who have the courage and fortitude to resist the evil one's power, the moral superiority to resist its malevolent machinations, the perspicacity to perceive the hidden hand behind the evens of the world, and the cunning and foresight to anticipate the strategies of the arch-nemesis.
A very rare combination indeed.
Petr
Administrator
The El Salvador diaries: The cult of Nayib Bukele
Who is the self-proclaimed “coolest dictator in the world” really?
Petr
Administrator
We Need an American Bukele
The point of Bukele's crackdown is clear: Join a gang, go to prison.
www.newsweek.com
We Need an American Bukele | Opinion
AVIN WAX AND NATHAN BERGER, NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB
ON 3/1/23 AT 6:00 AM EST
The relationship between the United States and its hemispheric neighbors has long been a critical driver of both foreign and domestic policy. Since the Monroe Doctrine, the United States has, to varying degrees, sought to instruct the nations of South and Central America on how to manage their affairs. Today, Americans must reverse that paradigm and look to a small Central American nation as a blueprint for restoring law and order to its rightful place in governance: El Salvador.
When Salvadorans elected President Nayib Bukele in 2019, they gave him a clear enough mandate: Fix things. Since the conclusion of the Salvadoran Civil War, which raged from 1979 to 1992, El Salvador has experienced modest economic growth. However, persistent corruption and inflation hampered quality of life, and emigration to the United States drained the nation of productive members of its labor force.
Bukele directly addressed the problems facing El Salvador when he took power. As he told VICE News in an interview, "The gangs have been running this parallel state. They charge taxes, they control territory, they provide security. But I'm not [going to] convert their de facto power into formal power."
Bukele was referring primarily to two gangs, MS-13 and Barrio 18, which de facto controlled vast swaths of El Salvador and brought drug and sex trafficking, violent crime, and extortion to every community. Traveling between Salvadoran towns put lives at stake, as gangs controlled public transportation. MS-13, in particular, has also exported its destructive violence abroad, including to the United States.
But rather than take the approach typical of far too many American politicians—talking about the problem, creating committees to study it, and ultimately doing nothing to solve it—Bukele took decisive action. He promptly launched the popular Territorial Control Plan to rein in gang violence.
It was not enough. After a sudden spike in homicides in March 2022, which resulted in 87 deaths over a weekend, Bukele did not just offer thoughts and prayers to his nation; he cracked down hard. With the strong backing of Salvadorans (over 90% of them approve), Bukele expanded the rights of Salvadoran law enforcement and empowered them to detain gang members for immediate processing.
Within a month, Bukele's language became more firm: "There are rumors that [gang members] want to start taking revenge on random, honest people. If they do that, there won't even be one meal in prisons. I swear to God, they won't eat a grain of rice, and let's see how long they last."
Salvadorans applauded. Safety returned to the streets. The nation dropped from the most dangerous in the world to the safest in the Americas.
And what did the United States and the so-called "human rights groups" do? They complained about it. They simply could not accept that the Salvadoran people have a sovereign right to govern their nation in accordance with their own laws, and for the benefit of their own people.
In this handout image released by Casa Presidencial El Salvador President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele announces he would run for re-election despite the country's constitution prohibiting presidents from having consecutive terms during a speech on El Salvador's Independence Day on September 15, 2022 in San Salvador, El Salvador.CASA PRESIDENCIAL EL SALVADOR/GETTY IMAGES
Amnesty International whined about purported "human rights violations." Human Rights Watch claimed that "officers refused to provide information about the detainees' whereabouts." The complaints from the "human rights community" were predicated on the idea that gang members had an inherent right to continue terrorizing their fellow citizens, and that the Salvadoran government had no authority to constrain them.
These groups apparently want Salvadorans to live in fear for their lives, with innocent blood spilled every hour to protect gangbangers' "human rights."
Fortunately for the lemmings at Human Rights Watch, their concern around detainees' whereabouts will, in short order, be addressed. Bukele commissioned a new facility, the Terrorism Confinement Center, doubling the detention capacity of El Salvador's prison system, and began filling it on February 24. As he noted, "This will be [the gang members'] new house, where they will live for decades, mixed up, unable to do any more harm to the population."
The single facility will house, in safe but unluxurious conditions, a majority of the 63,000-plus gang members identified by Salvadoran security forces. The point is clear: Join a gang, go to prison.
El Salvador is not the United States, and identical standards of detention should not be applied here. However, the responsive mentality to crime that Bukele has demonstrated stands in stark contrast to the permissive attitude that American politicians at the federal, state, and local level have adopted in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots and concomitant years-long crime wave.
Put simply: American society has been subsumed by rampant criminality, and it must end.
Police must be empowered to detain and arrest criminals without fear of losing their livelihood or suffering prosecution on bogus charges of unnecessary force. Prosecutors must seek the highest reasonable charges for crimes—not negotiate them away. Judges must sentence as harshly as possible for sound deterrence, rather than perpetuate a plea deal conveyor belt. Politicians must stop their ridiculous histrionics about our criminal justice system being "racist"; the American people are capable of an adult conversation about how the distribution of criminality does not directly mirror demographic statistics.
American justice must be fierce; it must scare the would-be thief into the pursuit of an honest life, and it must assure American citizens that their lives will not be upended.
Bukele's spirit has shown that this model can succeed. We now need a champion to bring it home.
Gavin M. Wax is a New York-based conservative political activist, commentator, operative, and strategist. He is also president of the New York Young Republican Club. Twitter: @GavinWax.
Nathan E. Berger is an entrepreneur and the vice president of the New York Young Republican Club.