Specter of
Religious Persecution Hovers Over Vietnamese PM's Visit
Patrick Goodenough
International Editor
(CNSNews.com) -
President Bush has held a first-ever meeting at the White House with a
Vietnamese head of government, a day after a leading Republican lawmaker urged
Hanoi to "come out of the dark ages of repression, brutality and abuse."
Bush and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai did not take reporters' questions at a
10-minute White House press conference, but a joint statement issued afterwards
said the two agreed on "open and candid dialogue" on issues including religious
freedom.
"The president welcomed the steps that Vietnam has taken recently, and we
encourage them to continue on that path and do more," White House spokesman
Scott McClellan told a press briefing later.
The two leaders also put their signatures to what Bush called a "landmark"
agreement on freedom of religious worship, which the State Department early last
month announced had been concluded.
In the agreement, the communist government said it would release religious
prisoners of conscience, reopen shut-down churches, and end attempts to force
believers to renounce their faith.
At the time, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an
independent statutory body set up to make recommendations to the government,
said dramatic improvements were still needed.
Vietnam has since last September been designated by the State Department as a
"country of particular concern" (CPC) for religious freedom violations.
Despite the agreement concluded in May, abuses of religious freedom are still
reported to be taking place, said 45 members of Congress in a letter urging Bush
to keep the pressure on Khai.
A range of human rights and religious groups also called for a focus on Hanoi's
human rights record, particularly on the reported persecution of ethnic minority
Protestants, Catholics and independent Buddhists.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported last week that a Vietnamese Baptist
pastor, Than Van Truong, was being incarcerated in a mental asylum though
perfectly sane - a situation the British-based organization said echoed the
Soviet Union 50 years ago.
On Monday, a House International Relations Committee subcommittee was briefed by
USCIRF vice chairwoman Nina Shea,, and heard that the situation in Vietnam was
"repression as usual."
"The actions taken only signal promises of improvements, and not actual
measurable progress," Shea said.
"Promises do not mean progress ... religious prisoners remain behind bars,
churches remain closed, and restrictions and harassment on all of Vietnam's
diverse religious communities continue."
Also testifying, Vo Van Ai of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam - a major
target of the official clampdown - charged that the Vietnamese government was a
"past master in the art" of deception.
At the same time as it had concluded the May agreement with the U.S., he said,
it had "cynically" stepped up repression against religious groups.
Subcommittee chairman Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) rejected Hanoi's "tired
mantra" that U.S. concerns about human rights were somehow connected to the
Vietnam War, which ended 30 years ago.
"Today's hearing is about the shameful human rights record of a country - more
accurately, of a government - and it is not about the war," he said.
"Vietnam needs to come out of the dark ages of repression, brutality and abuse
and embrace freedom, the rule of law, and respect for fundamental human rights."
Several anti-Hanoi protests have taken place since Khai arrived in the U.S. on
Sunday, and on Tuesday hundreds of Vietnamese-Americans demonstrated near the
White House.
"When the leaders of Ireland or Poland visit the U.S., they are met warmly by
Irish- and Polish-Americans," Vietnamese-American Public Affairs Committee
spokesman Dan Hoang told Cybercast News Service Tuesday.
"But that's not the case for the leader of communist Vietnam."
Hoang noted that Bush had called the religious freedom document a "landmark"
agreement, and said by doing so the president was committing his administration
to ensure there was true progress in religious freedom before Vietnam's CPC
designation could be lifted.
'Litmus test'
Khai's visit was timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the
normalization of diplomatic relations between Washington and Hanoi.
Trade has increased considerably since 2001, and McClellan said Bush confirmed
Washington's strong support for Vietnam's bid to join the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
The president also accepted an invitation to visit Vietnam late next year, when
Hanoi hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Other topics discussed included ongoing efforts to trace the remains of American
soldiers missing in action in the Vietnam War.
"We talked about security issues and a mutual desire to coordinate in the war on
terror," Bush said at their joint appearance.
Khai said the two countries should aim to build "a friendly relationship,
constructive partnership, a comprehensive cooperation on a long-term and stable
basis, as well as on the basis of equality, mutual respect and benefits."
Khai's visit to the U.S. was closely watched by members of Australia's
200,000-strong community of Vietnamese exiles.
Trung Doan, general secretary of the Vietnamese Community in Australia, said
Wednesday that Washington's policies would be a "litmus test" for the
president's statements on supporting democracy.
"The Hanoi regime is one of the most authoritarian and corrupt regimes in the
world," he said.
Doan said the U.S. should make its support for Vietnam's WTO bid conditional on
an agreement by Hanoi to allow the import of American newspapers, magazines,
books, music, and Internet content.
"Presently Vietnam is free to export these products to the U.S., but under the
U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement, they are listed in a schedule of
prohibited items," he said.
"That is neither fair, nor free trade, nor in the U.S.'s national interest, nor
in relevant U.S. industries' interest."
Doan also warned against military cooperation with Vietnam, charging that the
military has been used to oppress the Vietnamese people.
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