From what I can remember VTC had to deal with a very high rate of inflation, making the current price unsustainable without consistant high investments.
The issue here is probably a mix of most altcoins stuggling right now, the BTC price plummeting, and a brutal pump and dump.
I doubt we will see the price rising significantly for a while, a lot of people are itching to cut their losses still, but if the developers deliver something this might still be a good, if risky, longterm investment.
Edit: And I seriously doubt there is any "supression" or "attack" going on, its more likely a bunch of people wanting to exit.