Bloc 8406 () is a small unified coalition of political groups in Vietnam that advocates for democratic reforms in Vietnam. It is named after the date of the group's ''Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam 2006'' () declaring the need for democratic reforms in Vietnam. The manifesto was issued on 8 April, 2006 and was signed by 118 dissidents calling for a

multiparty In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional r ...

nation. The support later grew into the thousands.

Notable Bloc 8406 members

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

Nguyen Van Ly Nguyễn (阮) (sometimes abbreviated as Ng̃) is the most common surname of the Vietnamese people. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as ''Nguyen''. By some estimates 30 to 39 percent of Vietnamese peopl ...

was sentenced to eight years in prison on March 30, 2007, for his support of the group's manifesto. He was released in 2011, but then he was returned to prison that same year. Lawyer and labor activist Tran Quoc Hien was accused of being a part of Bloc 8406 in his 2007 trial that led to a five-year prison sentence for "endangering state security". He also posted articles critical to the government online, such as "The Tail", a description of life under plain clothes police monitering. Former Communist Party cadre Vi Duc Hoi joined the Bloc after leaving the party in 2007. He was imprisoned in 2011 for "spreading anti-government propaganda" after posting copies of pro-democracy articles online.

Trần Anh Kim Trần Anh Kim (born 15 August 1949) is a Vietnamese democracy activist and former lieutenant colonel in the People's Army of Vietnam. In 2006, he rose to prominence as a pro-democracy activist associated with Bloc 8406. Kim has been charged twic ...

was a founding member of Bloc 8406. In 2009, he was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government; shortly after his release in 2015, he was arrested again on the same charges, and in 2016 was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Kim's sentence was criticised by the

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as well as

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, who recognised him as a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

References

External links

Manifesto
{{Vietnamese political parties Political opposition alliances Political party alliances in Vietnam Politics of Vietnam National liberation movements Vietnamese democracy movements Political repression in Vietnam Vietnamese human rights activists Banned political parties in Vietnam