Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Public Security has labelled “Boat People SOS” (BPSOS) based in the US as a terrorism-linked organisation.
Established in 1990 and now headquartered at 6066 Leesburg Pike, Suite 100 Falls Church, VA 22041-2220, the US, BPSOS is led by Nguyen Dinh Thang (67 years old, born in Ho Chi Minh City, and a US citizen), who is residing in the US.
It operates several media channels, including bpsos.org, machsongmedia.com, the Mach song newspaper, and Facebook pages BPSOS - Vietnam Advocacy Project and Ban Tron Da Ton Giao Vietnam.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, BPSOS operates under the guise of refugee relief but in fact exploits this activity to connect and assist organisations and individuals in carrying out activities to undermine Vietnam, including participants in the group “Montagnard Stand for Justice” (MSFJ), which conducted terrorist attacks on the administrations’ headquarters and civilians in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on June 11, 2023, killing nine officials and people.
The Ministry of Public Security added MSFJ and related individuals to the list of terrorist organisations on March 6, 2024.
Thang is identified as the head and CEO of BPSOS. He has maintained close ties with MSFJ. Thang directly orchestrated and provided financial support, resources, and salaries to certain MSFJ members to carry out activities aimed at undermining Vietnam, including the terrorist attacks in Dak Lak in 2023.
After the ministry included MSFJ and its members into the list of terrorists, the Security Investigation Agency under the Dak Lak provincial Department of Public Security issued a wanted notice for Y Quynh Bdap, who is one of the key suspects accused of masterminding and directing the terrorist attacks in Dak Lak./.
