VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK
14550 Magnolia Street, Suite 203, Westminster, CA
92683
Tel.: (714) 897-1950; (858) 837-2152 / Fax: (619)
291-3807
Email:
vnhrnet@vietnamhumanrights.net
PRESS RELEASE
October 12, 2009
Vietnam Human
Rights Network concludes its 9th General Congress
Vietnam Human Rights Network
(VHRN) held its 9th Congress in Little Saigon, Southern California
during two days, Oct. 9 and 10, 2009. Attending the event were 30 members from
several states in the US and other countries. The event began with an opening
ceremony in the evening of Oct. 9 with the participation of about 200 friendly
compatriots and guests, including US Congress members Rohrabacher and Royce,
California State Assemblyman Tran Thai Van, and representatives of US Senator
Boxer, US Congress member Loretta Sanchez, and California State Senator Lou
Correa.
The representatives to
the Congress reviewed
last year’s human rights conditions in Vietnam and VHRN’s accomplishments.
Important objectives and projects for the 2009-2011 tenure were also discussed
and adopted. The representatives also elected Dr. Nguyễn Bá Tùng as the Network
Coordinator, and Dr Nguyễn Văn Đức as Supervisory Board Chairman for the coming
two-year mandate. The Congress has unanimously passed a Resolution related to
the current situation of human rights in Vietnam.
RESOLUTION
The 9th
Congress of the Vietnam Human Rights Network held in Little Saigon, California,
USA, on October 9 and 10, 2009
CONSIDERING:
-
That after being removed from the
list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ (CPC) by the United States and
joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) early in 2007, the Vietnamese
authorities, instead of decreasing its suppression against its citizens,
continued their oppressive policy with escalating arrests of many dissidents
and those who had the courage to voice up the truth about the national
situation. They intensify strict
control over the press, prohibit free information through the
Internet, and block foreign radio broadcasts to Vietnam,
-
That the violations of religious
freedom have terribly worsened with continuous terrorism and attacks by the
police against the Protestant pastors and followers in the Highlands, and
the Catholic priests and faithful in Hanoi, Dong Hoi, and Hue. During the
last four months, the authorities of Lam Dong have used police in civilian
clothes and hooligans to attack the Bat Nha monastery, ruthlessly dislodge
400 novices, and force them to go home.
-
That Hanoi authorities continue
to show their incompetence and moral
cowardice in dealing with China’s expansionist ambitions through
its illegal occupation of thousands of square kilometers of Vietnam's land
along the borders and tens of thousands of square kilometers of Vietnam's
sea territory, including its occupation of Vietnam's
Spratly and Paracel Islands,
and exploitation of bauxite in Vietnam's Highlands. In addition, they have
tried at all costs to oppress and imprison Vietnamese patriots who have
bravely denounced China’s evil plots and Vietnam's prospect of being lost to
China.
RESOLVES:
-
To demand Hanoi authorities to
respect the basic human rights of Vietnamese people, and to immediately and
unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience, including clergy,
lawyers, and patriots who work for democracy and the imperiled national
interests;
-
To request democratic
countries in the world and international human rights organizations to
pressure Hanoi into respecting and implementing all human rights for
Vietnamese people, especially the
rights of religious freedom,
freedom of
speech and association;
-
To intensify the moral and
financial support for human rights and democracy activists and movements in
Vietnam;
-
To vehemently denounce all
forms of human rights violation, particularly the illegal arrests of human
rights and democracy activists and the brutal use of terrorist measures to
force them into publicly admitting being guilty before trials.
Little Saigon, California, 10-10-2009.
The 9th Congress of the Vietnam Human Rights Network