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Call to Italian Government for Montagnards
(AGI) - Rome, Dec. 26 - "In these days the Vietnamese army occupied with troops and police forces 62 villages inhabited by the Montagnards. The violence against the Montagnards who want to celebrate their Christmas out of the control of Hanoi's government continues. This initiative is aimed at asking urgently to the Italian government to intervene both in a bilateral way and trough the EU over the Vietnamese government to protest against the continuous violations of the religious freedom committed against thousands Christian Montagnards who celebrated Christmas in a siege situation". This is the call promoted by the Transnational Radical Party and signed among the others by Guglielmo Castagnetti (Forza Italia Senate III foreign affairs commission deputy chairman), Ugo Intini (Sdi whip), Luigi Ramponi (National Alliance, Lower House Defence Committee chairman) Lanfranco Turci (Left Democrats). The document reads: "Vietnam is one of the few countries that according the Us Department of State continue to violate the religious freedom and the Christian Montagnards, who refuse the regime's political control on the religious activities, are the most hit community as many reports made by NGOs and international organizations, like the UN, show. The Italian government can intervene to the EU asking the urgent convocation of the joint committee EU-Vietnam. The European Union has a policy of opening towards the Vietnamese government and supports it economically and politically. But this support did not take to a political opening. Vietnam continues to be governed by a single party it forbids whatever form of political pluralism; it limits the press and Internet communication freedom and represses every form of dissent or opening also coming from member of the Communist party. The EU
Parliament in the recent weeks approved a resolution that censored the human
rights violations made by the Vietnamese government 30 years after the end of
the Vietnam war. The Montagnards, especially the Christian ones, have been
repressed for dozens of years. The population was decimated. Both in 2001 and
2004 thousands of Montagnards decided to protest in a pacific way,
notwithstanding demonstrations were forbidden by the government, to ask their
political autonomy, the rights on their ancestors' land and the full religious
freedom. Catholic religion is limited in Vietnam. The appointment of bishops and
the ordination of priests are limited and the catholic press must be authorized
by the Vietnamese Communist party. This was not a happy Christmas for the
Montagnards; more than 300 of them are kept prisoners and tortured because they
have dared to demonstrate for their rights. So we unite to the call made by the
Montagnard Foundation to all the free men and democratic governments in order
that the Italian government will intervene at the Vietnamese government in order
that it will respect the rules of the international law".
Vietnam Human Rights Network |