Ex-deputy minister apologizes to displaced residents Former deputy minister Dang Hung Vo: "I am at fault for causing your losses..." Photo: Nguoi Lao Dong Dang Hung Vo, former deputy minister of Natural Resources and Environment, apologized to residents in Van Giang District, Hung Yen province, for his shortcomings related to a land withdrawal there in April.   The apology was given in a dialogue lasting about 3 hours between him and roughly 30 residents of the district held at the ministry’s office yesterday afternoon. “I am responsible for my failure in supervision that led to shortcomings at that time, when I was in office. I am at fault for causing your losses,” he told Van Giang residents about his actions eight years ago, when he was a deputy minister of the ministry. On June 29, 2004, Vo, by order of the minister, signed Statement No. 99 for the Prime Minister about withdrawing land from local residents to build the Hung Yen-Hanoi expressway, which runs though Van Giang and the Van Giang Urban Trading and Tourism Area. Three days before that, another statement related to the same issue was also signed by Vo. On June 28, 2004, one day before Vo submitted Statement 99, the Hung Yen Province People’s Committee also submitted a document to the Prime Minister about withdrawing land and allocating land to the Viet Hung Urban Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, the project’s investor. These actions took place just before the 2003 Law on Land went into effect on July 1, 2004. Regarding his signing of the two statements, Vo said, “The signings were not in accordance with authority. Even though they were made based on an authorization, they were still unlawful...” Asked by residents why he was hurried in submitting such a statement to the Prime Minister before the valid date of the Law, Vo said, “The project is a major one, so if the land withdrawal could have been carried out quickly, it would have helped boost the progress of the project. The route under question is strategic and benefits Hung Yen, Hanoi and even Van Giang residents.” “If Statement 99 had been signed and submitted after July 1, everything that had been carried out under the 1993 Land Law would have to be made in accordance to the new law, and the project therefore would have been delayed for 18 months, or up to 2 years,” he explained.  As previously reported, twenty people in Van Giang District were detained after they attacked law enforcement officers in a forced land eviction there on April 24 of this year.  They used stones and bottles of petrol to attack the local police force, which was there to help maintain order during the forced removal by local authorities of 5.8 hectares of land from 166 households in Van Giang. No policemen or residents were injured in the attack. These households, which are among the 1,720 households to be affected by the construction of the Van Giang Commercial and Service Urban Area, were forced to withdraw from their land since they had not agreed to hand it over to the investor, although the project was approved by the Prime Minister in 2004. The families did not agree to accept the rate of compensation of VND48 million (US$2,300) per hectare, since they considered the sum too low. Meanwhile, 1,554 other households have received compensation and given up their land to the investor (Viet Hung Urban Investment and Development JSC). TuoitreNews