The Vietnamese National Assembly confirmed this Wednesday, May 22, the appointment of the Minister of Public Security To Lam to the post of president of this authoritarian regime, on the proposal of the Communist Party, after the resignation of his predecessor, who had been swept away by a vast anti-corruption purge.
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To Lam has spent his entire career in the top-secret Ministry of Public Security, which deals with controlling dissent. It was he who supervised police and intelligence operations in a particularly strict manner.
Rights groups say basic freedoms have been systematically suppressed. The secret services have been accused of violating international law on several occasions.
Under To Lam’s leadership, civil society was subjected to new restrictions, the country imprisoned climate advocates and laws were introduced to censor social media.
To Lam exploited corruption investigations, and systematically eliminated politburo rivals who were eligible to become secretary general of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
In 2021, during the Covid-19 outbreak, a video surfaced showing Turkish chef Nusret Gokce, better known as Salt Bae, feeding To Lam a steak covered in gold leaf , in London.
Despite efforts to censor it, the video went viral and caused a scandal in the Vietnamwhere the average income is a few dollars per day.
By secret ballot, this Wednesday, 472 of the 473 Vietnamese deputies approved the choice of To Lam, according to state television. But in this communist country, the strong man remains the general secretary of the Party, Nguyen Phu Trong.