VIETNAM 1 Jan 2010 Socialist country assumes presidency of ASEAN

Vietnam assumes the presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Jan 1, turning a spotlight on Vietnam that could stoke unrest over human rights issues. Protests by the country's Catholics in Jul 2009 could be seen as a foretaste. As ASEAN president, the government will host two summits of the bloc, eight ministerial meetings and many other conferences.

Vietnam aims to use its term as president to speed up the formation of the ASEAN Community in 2015, consolidate regional solidarity and cooperation and heighten the country’s image on the international arena. The growing unrest could threaten the last goal. An estimated 500,000 Vietnamese Catholics participated in a mass protest against police violence-- the largest such demonstration of the country's Communist era--on 26 Jul. The protest was a response to a police assault on Catholics protesting the confiscation of parish property. The demonstrations sparked new police violence, as two priests in the central coastal city of Dong Hoi were badly beaten and left in critical condition.

The country is likely to assume the ASEAN presidency with its economy more or less intact. Nomura International group predicted a 6.4 GDP growth rate for 2010 for the socialist country. Citing these and other official figures released by Vietnam, the World Bank Country Director in Vietnam, Victoria Kwakwa, expressed optimism about the country's economic prospects. The 3.9 percent economic growth in the first six months this year was lower compared with previous years, but it is better than several other countries in the region, said Kwakwa in a recent interview with Xinhua

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

RELATED READING:

ASEAN web
http://www.aseansec.org/

Vietnam trade deficit narrows through July (Bloomberg 24 Jul 2009)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=ah7yypgITsaw

Priest beaten into a coma by police. Catholics Protest throughout Vietnam (AsiaNews 28 Jul 2009)
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15896&size=A