Viet Tan reactionary party behind riots in Vietnam hub: police Workers at a company in Linh Trung Export Processing Zone in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City are seen in this file photo. Tuoi Tre Police in Ho Chi Minh City have concluded that the riots that broke out in Thu Duc District last month was incited and caused by what so called the Viet Tan (Vietnam Reform) Party, an outlawed reactionary organization based in the U.S. The police released the conclusion while reviewing the order and security situation in the past several months in the city, especially since China dispatched its illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981  in the Vietnamese waters on May 1. Last month, local workers have joined peaceful marches to protest China’s illicit oil rig, and many members of Viet Tan, which has been listed as a terrorist organization, took advantage of these rallies to incite riots and illegal acts on May 13. As a result, hundreds of rioters rushed into many companies, including foreign-invested enterprises, in Binh Chieu Industrial Park and Linh Trung 1 and 2 Export Processing Zones in Thu Duc District to smash corporate assets and steal property. Police have timely prevented these riots and detained 134 suspects, of whom 23 have been indicted on charges of disturbing public disorder, stealing property, and others. On May 16, deputy chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Manh Ha visited foreign enterprises hit hard by the riots, pledging that the municipal government would try its best to ensure a safe investment environment for all foreign investors. Three days laters, all the affected companies in the IP and the two EPZs resumed normal operations. Similar riots also erupted in two southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai and the northern province of Ha Tinh on May 13-14. Police in Binh Duong have arrested about 800 people, and later prosecuted 259 of them for inciting the unrest, which caused serious damages to hundreds of companies including foreign-invested enterprises. In Dong Nai, police have arrested over 200 people, while Ha Tinh police have captured at least 76, of whom six have also been indicted on charges of causing public disorder and destroying or deliberately damaging property. On May 25, two young men were tried in two separate courts in Binh Duong for causing public disorders and looting during the riots erupted in the province on May 13. One of the defendants is Le Van Nghiem, 23, hailing from the southernmost province of Ca Mau, and the other is Chau Minh Tuong, 18, a native of southern Dong Thap Province. Nghiem was sentenced to 36 months in jail by the Ben Cat Town People’s Court for causing public disorder and deliberately damaging property. Meanwhile, Tuong was given a 12-month term by the Tan Uyen Town People’s Court for stealing property. Tuoitrenews