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DECLARATION OF OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE MASS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ON THE CURRENT CAMPAIGN OF REPRESSION IN VIETNAM
After a period of lying low in order to curry favor with the U.S., obtain PNTR status and secure entry into WTO, the authorities in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) in recent days have shown their true nature by launching a brutal campaign of repression characterized by Human Rights Watch (March 9, 2007) as “one of the worst crackdowns on peaceful dissidents in 20 years,” witness: On the eve of Tet (Lunar New Year), February 16, Mr. Nguyen Phong, head of the Vietnam Progression Party (VPP), was arrested in Hue and the next day, Mr. Nguyen Binh Thanh, his deputy, and Ms. Hoang Thi Anh Dao, member, VPP, were also taken into custody. February 18: Police raided the living quarters of Father Nguyen Van Ly, 60, within the Archbishopric Rectory of Hue. One week later, he was forcefully removed to the alien parish at Ben Cui. March 5: Saigon police issued an arrest warrant for Prof. Nguyen Chinh Ket, a leader of the Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam, who is traveling in Europe. March 6: Two famous human rights activists, Attorneys Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, were arrested in Hanoi and told that they would be detained at least four months “for investigation.” March 8: Attorney Le Quoc Quan was arrested in Hanoi despite the fact that he had just completed a NED (National Endowment for Democracy) internship and returned to Vietnam only four days earlier. March 8: Gia Rai police in the Central Highlands raided Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh’s home, beat him up and his wife before taking him to the local police station. All of this despite the fact that many others are still in jail, including journalist Nguyen Vu Binh, who is undergoing a five-year sentence and is very sick; cyberdissident Truong Quoc Huy; Messrs. Huynh Viet Lang, Nguyen Hoang Long, Nguyen Bac Truyen and Le Trung Hieu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP); Mr. Hong Trung of the Populist Party; Mr. Nguyen Tan Hoanh, 22, founding member and leader of the United Workers-Peasants Organization of Vietnam (UWFO), Mrs. Tran Thi Le Hang, aka Le Hong, 47, Doan (aka Hoang) Huy Chuong, 21, Doan Van Dien, 52, Le Van Sy, a peasant, Nguyen Thi Tuyet, a worker, Le Ba Triet and Nguyen Tuan, both Saigon residents, all members or suspected members of UWFO, arrested in November 2006; Mr. Tran Quoc Hien, a UWFO spokesman arrested on January 12 this year; monks Thich Thien Tam and Thich Hue Lam of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) in Binh Thuan Province, nine or more members of the Cao Dai religion, 10 Hoa Hao Buddhists, and more than 350 ethnic minority Christian “Montagnards” from the Central Highlands. No wonder that the freshly released Human Rights Report of the U.S. State Department (March 10, 2007) describes Vietnam as an arbitrary, one-party state with unfree and unfair elections, severe restrictions on freedom of opinion, of the press, of association and on Internet freedom, characterized by arbitrary detention and arrest of dissidents and no guaranteed speedy and fair trials. It is for the above reasons that we, a broad coalition of overseas Vietnamese mass and community organizations that span the world, hereby: 1/ Declare our strong support and vigorous actions on behalf of the democracy activists who are daily confronting the repression machine of the Vietnamese communist authorities; 2/ Issue an urgent call to Vietnamese all over the world to eagerly participate in protest activities against Hanoi such as peaceful demonstrations, vigils, writing to newspapers and lobbying with one’s legislators in countries where they reside, together with speaking up at all forums. At the same time, we call on our foreign friends to boycott Vietnam Airlines, the most visible of all state enterprises; 3/ Call on the Pope, the Secretary General of the United Nations, and leaders of governments throughout the world to urgently intervene with the SRV and take all appropriate measures to demand that Hanoi release at once all illegally detained dissidents.
Done this 15th day of March, 2007
ORGANIZATIONS SUBSCRIBING TO THIS DOCUMENT: Assembly of Vietnamese Veterans Assembly of Vietnamese Veterans in Michigan, USA Association for Democracy & Development of Vietnam, Germany Committee for Religious Freedom Committee to Protect Vietnamese Workers Committee to Support Democracy for Vietnam Committee to Support the Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam Da Hieu Youth Organization of Pennsylvania, New Jersey & NYC, USA Federation of ARVN Veterans, Dallas-Ft Worth Chapter, Texas, USA Foundation of Democracy for Vietnam, Germany Grand Viet Party “Grass Hut” Buddhist Association, Moscow, Russian Federation Hung Ca Movement Nang Moi Youth Organization National Congress of Vietnamese Americans Oregon Vietnamese Community Association, Oregon, USA People's Democratic Party Republican Foundation Saigon for Saigon Movement The Vietnamese Laity Movement in the Diaspora Vietnam Human Rights Network Vietnam Progression Party – Overseas Office Vietnam Reform Party Vietnam Restoration Party Vietnamese American Community of Georgia, GA, USA Vietnamese American Community of Greater Ft Worth, Texas, USA Vietnamese American Community of Kansas City and Vicinity, Kansas, USA Vietnamese American Community of Northern California, USA Vietnamese American Community of Pomona Valley, California, USA Vietnamese American Community of USA Vietnamese American Science & Technology Vietnamese American Pharmacists Association in Southern California, USA Vietnamese Canadian Federation Vietnamese Center of Hannover, Germany Vietnamese Community in Australia Vietnamese Community in San Antonio, Texas, USA Vietnamese Community of DC, Maryland & Virginia, USA Vietnamese Community of Florida, USA Vietnamese Community of Iowa, USA Vietnamese Community of South Florida, USA Vietnamese Community of Southern California, USA Vietnamese Community of Tampa Bay, Florida, USA Vietnamese Federation of San Diego, CA, USA Vietnamese National Military Academy Alumni in Pennsylvania, New Jersey & NYC Vietnamese Nationalist Community of Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA Vietnamese Nationalist Community of Dallas and Vicinity, Texas, USA Vietnamese Nationalist Community of Detroit, Michigan, USA Vietnamese Nationalist Community of Lancaster and Vicinity, Pennsylvania, USA Vietnamese Nationalist Community of Northeast Pennsylvania, USA Vietnamese Nationalist Community of Northeast Bethlehem Easton, Pennsylvania, USA Vietnamese Nationalist Community of Reading, Pennsylvania, USA Vietnamese Political & Religious Prisoners Friendship Association Vietnamese Refugee Community of Minnesota, USA VietSoul Youth Organization.
Vietnam Human Rights Network |