The general meeting of JAPA VIETNAM was held on November 19, 2006 at Shinanomachi, Tokyo. This time, we invited Ms. NAKANO Ari who researches the politics and diplomacy of Vietnam. She gave a talk under the title, "The politics and Citizen of Vietnam - Some Issues on Volunteer Activities, " which is summarized below.

It is generally believed that the war against the US and the economic blockade after the north-south unification drove the country to destitution. Yet, the Vietnamese government's policy has also to be questioned. It is not properly coping with the poverty, educational issues, and difficult situation of the handicapped. People are depending on familial network of self-support but not on the government.

During and after the Vietnam War, they received support from socialist nations, and the Vietnamese government got used to depend on them. Foreign NGOs are under the control of the government, while there rarely exists independent civil activity. Existing civil organizations are either government-made or connected to the central government and/or to local governments in some way. Under such circumstances, however, independent civilian groups are gradually increasing and are trying to cope with social issues including poverty, HIV, the handicapped, keeping with an agreeable relationship with the government. There are also movements of organizing opposition parties and independent media.

Under the influence of the Vietnam War, the government is still cautious against anti-government movements, keeping a strong tendency of controlling non-governmental activities. It is a critical issue for Vietnam to establish a society that respects general human rights.

Ms. NAKANO sounded strong sometimes. But we felt that it came out of her sincere attitude to observe the present situation correctly and to cope with it accordingly. With our experiences in Vietnam, we agreed with her points. But at the same time, we felt that there is something worth to be appreciated in the government side.

We have learnt a lot from Ms. NAKANO in order to think about the issues between the state and the citizens. Thank you very much, NAKANO-san.