Ambassador Urged to Press Rights
RFA
09/21/2011
Congress members want a
greater focus on human rights in Vietnam.
More than a dozen U.S.
lawmakers have urged the newly appointed American Ambassador to Vietnam to give
a higher priority to raising human rights issues in the communist-ruled nation.
The 14 members of Congress sent a letter to Ambassador David Shear requesting
that he address concerns such as rule of law, Internet freedom, and suppression
of political dissent, in addition to strengthening ties between the former rival
nations.
Congressional Caucus on Vietnam Representatives Loretta Sanchez, Zoe Lofgren,
Chris Smith, and Frank Wolf led the group in pushing for the tougher stance.
The lawmakers said that Shear’s appointment comes at “a pivotal time as Vietnam
pursues economic gains through its bilateral relations with the U.S. but
continues to fail on what the United States regards as a priority: respect for
the fundamental human rights of its citizens.”
They said that his commitment to improving U.S.-Vietnam educational cooperation
must be coupled with advocacy for a free Internet.
“When the Vietnamese government curtails Internet freedom, they are placing
limits on the country’s economic future as well as on people’s social mobility
and education.”
The members of Congress said that Vietnam’s rapid growth in Internet penetration
since 2000 has provided a space for civil society to grow, but has also become
an increasing target for repression, noting that dozens of bloggers and
cyberactivists have been harassed and detained in recent years.
Meanwhile, they said, Vietnam has jailed hundreds of political and religious
prisoners who have advocated for social justice and religious freedom.
Repression of dissent
The lawmakers pointed specifically to the May 30 trial in Ben Tre province of
seven religious and pro-democracy activists, who they said were “denied their
right to an open and fair trial according to the Vietnamese Constitution and
international norms.”
Pastors, priests, and members of Vietnam’s religious community have faced forced
renunciation of their faith, harassment, arrest, and imprisonment for following
their spiritual convictions, they said.
“Rather than encourage religious expression, the Government of Vietnam continues
to suppress peoples of faith,” the letter read.
The members of Congress urged Shear to push the Vietnamese government on the
unconditional release of prisoners detained for peaceful activism and to end the
repression of religious freedom.
They recommended that he meet often with jailed dissidents and their families to
show the U.S. commitment to protecting human rights in the country and to learn
about the challenges facing activists there.
The lawmakers also asked Shear to “deepen the focus on legal reform” by
insisting that the Vietnamese government repeal or revise vague national
security provisions which are used to arrest and detain citizens advocating for
religious freedom, free speech and association.
They recommended that the new ambassador work with Hanoi to ensure that existing
laws do not restrict the practice of religious freedom and that legislation on
trafficking in persons be strictly enforced, guaranteeing the protection of
victims and the punishment of traffickers.
International criticism
Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department did not include Vietnam in its
annual "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPC) blacklist of top violators of
religious freedom, as demanded by rights groups.
Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Michael
Posner indicated that the situation in Vietnam, which was in the CPC blacklist
from 2004 to 2006, would continue to be monitored.
The independent U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a
congressional watchdog, had asked President Barack Obama's administration to
reinstate Vietnam on the blacklist, saying the communist government there
severely restricts religious practice and "brutally" represses those who
challenge its authority.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch has accused Vietnam of mounting a
sophisticated and sustained attack on online dissent that includes detaining and
intimidating anti-government bloggers.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Vietnam 165th out of 178 countries on its press
freedom index and listed the country as an “Enemy of the Internet” in a report
issued in March this year.
Reported by Joshua Lipes.