Ongoing land confiscation in Loc Hu’ng area in Vietnam More than 100 homes – including a church-run home for disabled war veterans – were forcibly demolished earlier this month by state officials in southern Vietnam.
People living in the dwellings, most of whom are Catholic, said they were given little or no warning about the demolitions in Loc Hu’ng near Ho Chi Minh City.
Among the destroyed buildings was a Redemptorist-owned house that was home to 18 war veterans who lost limbs in the Vietnam War. The veterans have no relatives and sell lottery tickets for a living.
Veterans said police forced them to immediately evacuate and take their belongings with them before demolition of the building began early last week. The veterans said no notice was given about the demolition; some did not even have time to take their prosthetic limbs and crutches with them.
A veteran said police promised to give them each $86 if they moved to police stations, but the former soldiers refused because they do not trust the police.
He said his fellow veterans went to the Redemptorists’ monastery for support. Authorities from Tan Binh district “completely knocked down 112 illegally built houses” on a plot of land on, the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.
The publication quoted district officials who accused local people of illegally trading the land which the government said it has plans to use for building schools and public facilities.
