Editor's note: Phu Quoc Special Zone (An Giang Province) - Pearl Island in the western sea of the Fatherland is facing a painful and persistent problem of complicated and prolonged land litigation. This is not only a story of demanding the legitimate rights of the people, but also an opportunity for "mmugal brokers" to take advantage of profits through litigation costs.
They seek every way to cause problems, even recreate cases that have been resolved by competent authorities... This not only causes insecurity and disorder, but also erodes trust in the public authority system and seriously affects the investment environment of Phu Quoc.
The case of land acquisition and resettlement support related to Phu Quoc National Park (VQG) that Lao Dong reporter approached is a typical example.
Suing at a sensitive time
Recently, Lao Dong Newspaper received a petition from reader D.V.C, representing a group of households in Cay Sao Hamlet and Bai Bon Hamlet, Ham Ninh Commune, Phu Quoc City, now Phu Quoc Special Zone, An Giang Province.
The content of the complaint: "The Phu Quoc National Park has relocated the national forest boundary markers behind the land plots of households since 2004, affecting the rights of many households...".
However, the attached documents do not have any legal basis.
In the petition, Mr. D.V.C affirmed: "Our island households have little education and understanding, so the Phu Quoc National Park and Phu Quoc Government, now Phu Quoc Special Zone, An Giang province, took land, took the fruits of the labor of households that have been cultivating and cultivating since the years after the South completely unified the country until now".
When we learned about this story, we discovered that the problem was not as simple as the content of the don. Because the incident happened since 2004 (more than 20 years ago), but was simultaneously "activated" again. Realizing the complexity of the problem, we quickly went to Phu Quoc to directly meet households, verify the situation and compare with local authorities.
Identifying "tortured brokers"
During our first contact, Mr. D.V.C took us to the house of a household named D.T. Here, we heard the story in a script as Mr. D.V.C had told us before. Basically, due to limited legal knowledge and archiving records, they have a shortage of documents, but the loss of land rights is the truth.
All of this is a sign to think about the story of "going short on one script" that Mr. D.V. C is not only a "representative" but also plays the role of "conductor" in guiding people to talk to the press. Therefore, we put ourselves in a highly vigilant working mode.
After that, Mr. D.V.C continued to take us to a house more than a distance away, where many people were waiting to present (including preparing dishes for the festival).
After listening and observing, we realized that we continued to listen to the old script: lacking necessary documents and legal documents but really needing the press to support and reclaim justice.
When we heard that if we could not provide additional legal documents, it would be difficult to make the article according to the reader's petition, many people tried to beg. Seeing that, we took the time to visit and suggest research and extract documents, in accordance with our duties as journalists.
Because it was quite dark at this time, we would like to not eat the prepared meals. Our interest is considered by Mr. D.V.C as an opportunity to make a private connection.
The next morning, Mr. D.V.C proactively called us and directly suggested that we do the paper with a 50/50 diet.
"If I receive 1 billion (VND 1 billion - PV), my brothers will receive 500 (VND 500 million - PV), my brothers will receive the same. I am also trusted and authorized by the people for this...", Mr. D.V.C said.
The blatant proposal to divide has clearly revealed the hidden nature of the profiteering axis after the lawsuits of D.V.C.
We flatly reject Mr. D.V.C's offer: "We do not accept any benefits".
The government needs dialogue again
We decided to meet the authorities to continue verifying, learning the truth and were surprised to realize that the representatives of the households filing the lawsuit in this case were not necessarily for justice.
Assigned by the leaders, Mr. Dang Minh Lieu - Director of the Center for Eco-tourism and Rescue, Phu Quoc National Park, directly discussed the contents related to the complaint.
Greece affirmed that, comparing with the records, determining the land area of 30 households (in the same complaint collection), all were within the scope of being recognized as special-use forests.
This land has been allocated by the Provincial People's Committee and granted a land use right certificate to the Special Protection Forest Management Board since 1998 (according to Decision 2163 of the Provincial People's Committee), Mr. Hy Lap affirmed.
Mr. Hy Lap also added that before Lao Dong newspaper came to work, Phu Quoc National Park had also received instructions from the Provincial People's Committee and invited representatives of households to complain, including Mr. D.V.C, to work. However, when the Phu Quoc National Assembly invited him to discuss, Mr. D.V.C was not present in the locality. Even when the person responsible contacted them, they did not receive information.
contacting the Head of Cay Sao Hamlet, where Mr. D.V.C. expressed his residence, we learned that he rarely visited the locality. This makes us question why Mr. D.V.C affirmed that "people have legally petitioned since 1975" in the lawsuit, but when the competent authority directly invited him to a dialogue so that he had the opportunity to demand justice, he was not present?
