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Open letter to President Bush and the US Congress urging more pressure on
Vietnam for human rights Before the US Congress considers bipartisan legislation to grant Vietnam Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status, which paves the way for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization, more than 50 organizations send an open letter to President Bush and the US Congress raising concerns over Vietnam's human rights record, and urging the Congress to vote down the Vietnam PNTR bills until Vietnamese people’s human rights are respected. The Open Letter is published today, July 11, 2006 in the USA Today. Following is the full text of the Letter:
Open Letter on Vietnam from Human Rights and Fair Trade Advocates to The President of the United States and Members of Congress
June 15, 2006
The U.S. Congress is about to consider granting Vietnam Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status which will pave the way for Vietnam’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). We urge you to demand that in order for Vietnam to gain PNTR, the Vietnamese government must release all religious and political prisoners, end house-arrest practice against them, allow and recognize independent churches and labor unions, and truly practice free trade by allowing the importation of American media (print and audio-video) products. As you may already know, the human rights situation in Vietnam has not improved in recent years. Consequently, the U.S. Department of State has retained Vietnam on its annual list of countries of particular concern (CPC). Further, on January 25, 2006, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted resolution 1481 (2006) which strongly “condemned the massive human rights violations committed by totalitarian communist regimes and expressed sympathy, understanding and recognition for the victims of these crimes.” On April 6, 2006, the House of Representatives passed Resolution. 320, calling on Vietnam to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience, and comply with the terms of the European Parliament resolution. Not surprisingly, Vietnam’s communist leaders have rejected our appeals. Further, recent widespread labor unrest in Vietnam reflects the reality that labor rights in Vietnam are not protected. The average salary of Vietnamese workers is less than $1/day and working conditions are extremely poor. This state of affairs is due to the fact that workers in Vietnam have been denied the right to form independent labor unions to protect basic worker rights. In the meantime, Vietnam enjoys the privilege of freely exporting to the U.S. all forms of print and audio-video products including cultural products, books, newspapers, and other audio / DVD releases, many of which explicitly promote communism and government policies. Yet, none of our media / music products including those produced by Americans of Vietnamese origin are allowed to be imported into Vietnam. The Vietnamese government, through its state-owned enterprises, maintains a monopoly and, in effect, an absolute ban on these imports into Vietnam. Vietnamese American artists are routinely harassed and required to obtain government permits before they could perform in Vietnam. This ‘free trade’ concept is neither fair nor free – both core principles of our WTO agreement with Vietnam recently signed. In your second inaugural address, you stated definitively that “it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world”. We hope that you will personally see to it that America will live up to its promise regarding Vietnam and its conduct. We hereby call upon you to deny the communist dictatorial regime in Vietnam the free PNTR status until the aforementioned conditions are met. Thank you for your leadership and continued support for universal human rights. May God bless you and America. Respectfully,
Democracy advocates in Vietnam Tran Kim Anh, Pham Que Duong, Father Nguyen Huu Giai, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Giang, Do Nam Hai (pen name: Phuong Nam), Nguyen Chinh Ket, Father Phan Van Loi, Father Nguyen Van Ly, Father Chan Tin, Nguyen Khac Toan.
Organizations in the United States Alliance for Democracy in Vietnam, Asia Entertainment Inc., Asian Pacific American Cultural Arts Foundation, Assembly of Vietnamese Veterans, Assembly of Vietnam Veterans - Youth Affairs, Association of Vietnamese Cultures - California, ATC Consulting Group, Bolsa Radio, Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam (CRFV), Council for Human Rights in Vietnam - New York, Council on Democracy and Human Rights for Vietnam - California, Dan Chim Viet, Inc., East Coast U.S.A. Vietnamese Publishers Consortium, Florida Viet Bao Newspaper, Freedom & Democracy Voice for Vietnam, Jubilee Campaign USA, Institute on Religion and Public Policy, Institute on Religion & Democracy, Legal Assistance for Vietnamese Asylum Seekers, Montagnard Foundation, National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Ngay Nay Media, Inc., Nguoi Viet Daily News, North Carolina Vietnam Veterans, Inc., National Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, USA, Overseas Hoa Hao Buddhist Congregational Church, USA, Quarterly Human Rights / Droits de l'Homme Magazine, Rallying for Democracy in Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam Navy & Marine Association, USA, Rolling Thunder, Inc., Rural Reconstruction Cadre Association of California, Saigon Broadcasting Television Network (SBTN), The China Support Network, The Movement of the Vietnamese Laity in Diaspora, The Movement of Writers and Performing Artists to Restore Vietnam, The South Florida Buddhist Association, The United Buddhist Church of Vietnam in the USA, The United Methodist Church - San Diego - California, The Vietnam Helsinki Human Rights Committee, The Vietnamese American Community of South Florida, The Vietnamese American Voters’ League of Pennsylvania, The Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Congregation of California, The Vietnamese Community in Arizona, The Vietnamese Community of Central of Florida, The Vietnamese Community of Colorado, The Vietnamese Community of New York, The Vietnamese Community of Southern California, The Vietnamese Community of St Cloud - Minnesota, The Vietnamese Community of Tacoma - Washington, The Vietnamese Community of Thurston County - Washington, The Vietnamese Community of Washington State, The Vietnamese Community of Wichita and Vicinity - Kansas, The Vietnamese Federation of San Diego - California, The Vietnamese Veterans Association of South Florida, Thuy Nga Productions, U.S. - Vietnam Fair Trade Committee, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, Viet Bao Daily News, Viet Minnesota Radio, Vietnam Democracy Forum - Washington DC, Vietnam Human Rights Network - USA, Vietnam Reform Party, Vietnam Restoration Party, Vietnam Review, Inc., Vietnamese American Council of Voters - California, Vietnamese American Medical Research Foundation, Vietnamese-American Public Affairs Committee (VPAC), Vietnamese American Science & Technology Society (VASTS), Vietnamese American Television (VATV), Vietnamese American Veterans Association Coalition of the Washington - D.C. Metropolitan Area, Vietnamese American Voters Association, Vietnamese Culture and Science Association – Washington DC, Vietnamese Lawyers Association, Vietnamese National Military Academy Alumni Association, Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment (VOICE), Vietnamese Youth Club for Human Rights - Sacramento - California, Visual Artists Guild, VNQDD - Overseas Coordinating Council.
Organizations in Other Countries Association for Democracy and Development of Vietnam, Association of Vietnamese Physicians in Canada, Committee to Rethink Vietnam - Paris, France, Forum Asia Democracy & Que Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam – Paris - France, Friends of Vietnam - Findland, General Association of Vietnamese Students in France, International Committee Tran Van Ba - Paris -France, International Foundation for the Development of Vietnam - The Netherlands, Movement of Democracy for China, The Canadian Vietnamese Society for Vietnam Political and Social Studies, The Buddhist Association of “Grass Hut” - Moscow - Russia, Vietnam Center – Hanover - Germany, Vietnam Center for Human Rights - Paris - France, Vietnamese Canadian Federation - Canada, Vietnamese Community in Australia, Vietnamese Community in Montreal - Canada, Vietnamese League for Human Rights - Switzerland, Vietnamese Physicians of the Free World, Vietnamese Writers in Exile Centre - Switzerland.
Notes: * Financial contributors are in bold type * Last update: July 11, 2006 * The open letter in English was published in USA TODAY, Money Section, July 11, 2006
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