去年台塑河靜越鋼廠污染事件爆發,越南政府也提出五億天價的求償,但受害漁民的賠償卻至今不見下落,2月中天主教神父阮廷淑帶領民眾遞交訴訟文件時,卻遭越南警方毆打。因此15日上午多位越南移工與台灣人權團體跨海聲援,前往越南駐台的經濟文化辦事處抗議。
「我要賠償我要魚」、「不要包庇!不要暴力!」他們問越南政府,一是台塑賠償五億美金後,受害的越南人民何時才能實際得到賠償,再者,將如何處置2月14日警方不當毆打群眾事件。越南辦事處雖有有派人下樓接陳情書,卻不願回答兩個問題。
移工阿國表示, 他原本就家住越南中部,距離越鋼廠約3公里的地方,因為無法繼續出海捕魚,而且只拿到1600元美金的賠償,根本無法生存,只好到台灣打工。同鄉們也都紛紛失業,但是卻得不到應有賠償。死魚事件發生至今,一部份的漁民選擇出國謀生,淪為遭剝削的廉價勞力,或是還留在國內,卻是得不到賠償、沒有工作還得被國家暴力相向。
越南外勞配偶辦公室阮文雄神父表示,2016年事發至今,雖然台塑集團已向越南政府賠償5億美金,但是受害民眾並沒有得到妥善補償,反而在表達訴求時,遭受政府使用暴力手段對待。要求越南政府應尊重言論及遊行自由,停止對上街的人民使用暴力,並公開透明的提出實質檢討,把補償確實給到人民手上。
人權公約施行監督聯盟執行長黃怡碧更指出,越南知名社運部落客「Mother Mushroom」,因為在網路上批評時政與聲援河靜鋼鐵廠居民而在去年10月時遭逮補,至今仍在關押,是違反了多項國際人權法律。
「面積等於22倍的大埔案!」台灣人權促進會專員林彥彤表示,越鋼廠的3300多公頃土地,是迫遷當地居民而來,而且,還讓當地居民因為污染無魚可捕。
「台灣人應該感同身受。」林彥彤提起RCA案的黑歷史,當年台灣正是遭受先進國家設廠、破壞環境,正如現在越鋼廠在越南的惡行。而且,在污染事件發生後,越南政府一直在也不斷刁難、拒絕各國媒體的採訪。這些打壓集會遊行、禁絕新聞與言論自由等行徑,不正是台灣過去承受的是威權政府,所慣用的手段。
中研院研究員更對當地居民的健康感到擔憂,批評越南政府拿了五億美金後,沒有拿來補償居民,也沒有拿來用在維護居民健康上。但這個嚴重污染有可能對居民的健康產生不良影響,而且去年,至少有一個潛水員確因越鋼廠污染而死亡。
環境法律人協會理事長張譽尹感嘆,越南台塑河靜鋼鐵廠污染事件,展現的是台灣企業與越南政府聯手對越南人民雙重剝削。先是台灣外移了高污染產業,再者,越南政府不將賠償金實際用在賠償居民上,讓他們自生自滅。而且許多的漁民選擇到台灣打工,一方面正是台灣污染他們的家、一方面他們來台灣是當低薪勞力,相當諷刺。
越南經濟文化辦事處對於這一波陳情,只派人收下陳情書,卻不願發表任何回應。而台塑則表示,越南政府已兩度撥款給受損害的河靜、順化等中部4省當局,共4兆6800億越盾(約合2.06億美元),以利展開賠償工作;目前到位發放比例達到76.8%。
附註:阮廷淑神父聲明稿中、越、英全文
阮廷淑神父
Với tư cách là người hướng dẫn các nạn nhân tiến hành khởi kiện Công ty Formosa, đồng thời là nạn nhân trong vụ đàn áp tàn bạo của chính quyền tỉnh Nghệ An vào ngày 14 tháng 2 năm 2017 tại Diễn Châu, bằng văn bản này, tôi - Linh mục Gioan Baotixta Nguyễn Đình Thục, quản xứ Song Ngọc, xã Quỳnh Ngọc, huyện Quỳnh Lưu, tỉnh Nghệ An - cùng nhiều nạn nhân khác, theo đây:
Tôi đề nghị quý cơ quan tiếp nhận Đơn Tố Cáo này của chúng tôi, tiến hành xử lý hành vi vi phạm pháp luật của các cá nhân nêu tên ở trên, đồng thời thông báo công khai cho chúng tôi biết kết quả xử lý. Chúng tôi tin rằng một chính quyền chính danh luôn phải tôn trọng ý nguyện của công dân và hành xử trên cơ sở luật pháp.
Linh mục quản xứ Song Ngọc
Formosa Vietnam: not only the victims get no compensation for the damage but they are brutalized by the police!
Today (3/15), Vietnamese migrant workers and spouses living in Taiwan, together with Taiwan NGOs (Environmental Jurists Association, Convenants Watch and Taiwan Association for Human Rights) came to the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office, the representative office of the Vietnamese government in Taiwan, to protest against the attitude of the Vietnamese government with the victims of the marine disaster caused by Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, in Central Vietnam. Last April the discharge from the factory of toxic pollutants in the sea caused the collapse of millions of fishes and the fishermen have not been compensated. On February 14, Catholic priest Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc led a group of fishermen to file lawsuits to the local court in Ky Anh, Ha Tinh Province were violently beaten by the police. We therefore ask the Vietnamese government to face seriously the followings:
(1) The Vietnamese government should explain why, despite the US $ 500 million paid by Formosa Plastics last July, the fishermen and local people have not obtained compensation? The situation is so drastic that many have become migrant workers in Vietnam!
(2) Is there any investigation about the violence committed by the local police on the people who were marching pacifically on February 14?
According to several Vietnamese migrant workers, they could not continue fishing as they used to do because of the pollution. Since the mass dead fish happened, the local people either became unemployed in fear of government violence or had to become migrant workers in foreign countries as cheap labor. Either way is the result of pollution by Formosa and negligence of government.
The Vietnamese government should respect the freedom of speech and stop the use of violence against people taking to the streets. We strongly condemn the attitude of the Vietnamese government. Not only the compensation paid by the Formosa Plastics Group is not reversed to the fishermen, once again their legitimate demand is violently repressed.
We ask that the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan hear the voice of the Vietnamese people in Taiwan and convey our protest to the Vietnamese government: the compensation procedure must be open and transparent.
Environmental Jurists Association Chairman Chang Yu-Yin said that the Formosa Ha-Tinh Steel plant pollution incidents has provoked two forms of policy mistake and injustice:
1) It was a mistake to bring such a high-polluting industry to Vietnam. It is obviously not compatible with the activities of fishermen and other primary industries of the coastal areas. Now that they have lost their job and they have no resource.
2) Unable to sustain a living, and by lack of any compensation, these people are now compelled to look for jobs elsewhere, as far as Taiwan, the very country that has caused their misery. But the salaries they get here is not sufficient for them to sustain their family. This shows the absurdity of environmental injustice under capital globalization!
Thus, Attn. Chang is appealing to Vietnamese government that the usage of compensation from Formosa should be publish transparently, make sure all amount of compensation go to programs which can help to restore victims’ livelihood and environment. In this way, Vietnamese government would show a responsible attitude.
Taiwan Association for Human Rights coordinator Yan-tong Lin said that the 3,300 hectares of land provided to Formosa by the Vietnamese government was acquired by way of forced removal of local residents. After the disaster, foreign news medias were forbidden access to the place to conduct interviews with local residents. Demonstration have been repressed, the freedom of speech is very restricted. The response of the Vietnamese government to this crisis reminds us the authoritarian period in Taiwan decades ago. The Vietnamese government should apologize, involve the public decision-making that regards their own living environment, and provide them appropriate compensation.
A researcher expresses: Last year the Vietnamese government compelled Formosa Plastics to pay 500 million US dollars for the compensation of fish loss, but so far, the local fishermen had received nothing. So not only the government is not helping people who are desperate for a living, it let the local police repressing them brutally. By its silence, the government is adding insult to injury. One cannot help thinking that the government is keeping the money paid by Formosa Plastics for its own purpose, while ignoring the fundamental rights of its own people.