Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong dies at 80

Vietnam's long-serving leader Nguyen Phu Trong has died " after a period of illness ", marking the end of a political era.

The announcement came days after the government said he was stepping back to focus on his health and had handed duties to President To Lam.

As the general secretary of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party since 2011, and at one point also double -като беше президент, господин Тронг беше считан за един от най-могъщите водачи на страната от десетилетия.

Освен че наблюдаваше бурния напредък на стопанската система на Виетнам, 80-те години -old беше прочут със своята антикорупционна акция „ пламтящи пещи “.

Смъртта на господин Тронг идва във време на политическа турбуленция за комунистическото управление на Виетнам. През последните месеци трима висши водачи напуснаха след неуточнени обвинявания в непозволени дейности.

Според публично изказване, оповестено в петък, господин Тронг е умрял „ заради напреднала възраст и съществено заболяване ".

Това идва ден откакто виетнамското държавно управление сподели в изненадващо известие, че господин Trong се нуждае от време, с цел да се „ концентрира върху интензивно лекуване “ за неуточнено здравно положение. It added that the president would take over Mr Trong’s duties in running the party’s central committee, politburo and secretariat.

On that same day, the government also awarded Mr Trong the Gold Star, the highest honour given in Vietnam, for contributions to the party and country.

Mr Trong was seen as recently as late June, when he welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin on a state visit.

But after that he failed to attend several events, including the official launch of a book compiling some of his speeches.

In recent years, there were several instances where he would disappear from the public eye for. In 2019, he was reported to have had a stroke.

Little would be said about these absences by the state, though Mr Trong occasionally acknowledged he had health and ageing issues. Observers say the state’s discretion over the health of party leaders and government officials is one way of portraying Vietnam as a stable nation under single-party rule.

In 2018, the country passed a law classifying top officials’ health as a state secret, prompting the already tightly-controlled local media to be even more cautious. Интензивни спекулации по отношение на здравето му от дълго време процъфтяват в обществените медии.

Наблюдатели споделят, че той оставя надълбоко, само че ненапълно завещание. After rising to power in 2011 he stayed on as general secretary for a rare three terms. През този интервал той работи и като президент от 2018 година до 2021 година

Той видя нуждата от отваряне на стопанската система на Виетнам - под негово наблюдаване Брутният вътрешен продукт на страната на глава от популацията повече than doubled and Vietnam inked a series of free-trade agreements with the West and Asian neighbours. Mr Trong was seen as more keen to engage the world than his predecessors, building relationships with US leaders as well as Mr Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

At the в това време той енергично се придържаше към своите социалистически идеали. „ Той беше идеолог през целия си живот… той беше същински набожен и мисля, че това е повода в някои връзки връзките сред Виетнам и Китай да станат толкоз близки “, сподели Закари Абуза, професор и специалист по Югоизточна Азия от Националния боен лицей в Washington DC.

“He always believed in making the party clean and relevant so that the party could live with the country for another 1,000 years - that's his quote. So he saw the fate of the Vietnamese Communist party and the nation as bound together, ” said Giang Nguyen, a visiting senior fellow with the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and former BBC Vietnamese editor.

Г-н Тронг започва своята акция за „ пламтящи пещи “, с цел да изкорени корупцията, която се задълбочи в тандем с растежа на Виетнам. Смята се, че близо 200 000 длъжностни лица са били престъпно упрекнати или са били подложени на дисциплинарни дейности от този момент.

Но има малко признаци, че в действителност е съумял да изкорени проблем. Страната към момента е в интернационалните ранглисти за корупция. In recent months Vietnam has been rocked by one of its ever, involving a staggering $44bn (£34bn) filched from banks.

The anti-corruption drive has been се преглежда като пораждащ в бранша на публичните услуги. It’s also been seen as contributing to instability within the Communist Party, where so many top officials have been purged - due to corruption or infighting - that very few are left as possible successors, particularly in the paramount political leadership team, the Politburo. Only two currently meet the conditions to inherit his post: Mr Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

“The talent pool hasn’t been prepared by Mr Trong. It shows he couldn't control the forces within the party anymore, ” said Mr Nguyen.

Dr Abuza pointed out that the anti-corruption drive in many ways “ served to delegitimise the party in ways that [Trong] didn't expect, because it exposed just how sweeping corruption is at the highest level of the party ”.

По време на неговото ръководство Виетнам също продължи да стяга контрола върху човешките права и свободата на словото. It has jailed or deported scores of dissidents, activists and bloggers, and passed draconian laws limiting the press and internet.

His death, and the question of succession that it poses, puts Vietnam in uncharted waters. For many Vietnamese, “we share the feeling of anxiety of the unknown ”, said Mr Nguyen.

“It is the end of an era. That version of communism or socialism, the old times, it’s now gone. What’s next is going to be very difficult to foresee. The system is still there, but without that veneer of ideology and ideals. ”

Additional reporting by BBC Vietnamese.