VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK

MẠng LƯỚI NHÂN QUYỀN VIỆT NAM

A Nonprofit Organization – EIN 33-0910909

8971 Colchester Ave.,  Westminster, CA 92683, USA

Tel. (714) 657-9488 / Email: vnhrnet@vietnamhumanrights.net / http//www.vnhrnet.org

 

 

Press Release – October 13, 2013

 

VNHRN Concluded Its 11^th General Congress and Announced the Names of the 2013 Vietnam Human Rights Award Recipients

 

The Vietnam Human Rights Network (VNHRN) 11th Congress was held in Little Saigon in Southern California, United States, from October 11 to 13, 2013, with the attendance of its 30 members from various countries. 

The Congress began with an opening reception on October 11, attended by about 100 guests, including representatives of many organizations in the community and elected officials from Southern California. The keynote speaker, Dr. Can Thi Bich Ngoc from Montreal, Canada, Chairwoman of the Association of Vietnamese Physicians of the Free World, delivered her speech on the role of the overseas Vietnamese community in pushing for democratic reforms in Vietnam.  

The first part of the reception was a special remembrance of the late poet Nguyen Chi Thien and Dr. Nguyen Tuong Bach, long time members of the VNHRN and well-known human right activists, who had devoted their entire lives for the ideals of human rights, freedom, and democracy for Vietnamese people.  

Then, the announcement of the winners of the 2013 Vietnam Human Right Award:  labor rights activist Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, lawyer Le Quoc Quan, and activist Tran Huynh Duy Thuc.  The selection was made from a list of 19 nominees. All three award recipients are currently in prison. The official award presentation ceremony will take place in Paris, France on December 8 of this year in conjunction with the celebration of the 65^th International Human Rights Day. 

Following are brief biographies of the 2013 award recipients: 

 

Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, 32, is a graduate from Saigon School of Technology. He had devoted all his time to fight for workers’ rights by secretly joining the 2nd Congress of the Committee to Protect Labor in Malaysia at the end of 2009 and going with two close friends to the Highlands region to take pictures of the Red Chinese bauxite exploitation operations, subsequently posting them on the Internet to serve as evidence against the authorities. He was one of the organizers of labor strikes for workers rights, forcing business owners to accept the workers’ demands, in particular one joined by over ten thousand workers of the shoe and leather factory My Phong in Tra Vinh at the end of January 2010. He was eventually arrested on February 24, 2010 in Lâm Đồng, held in isolation under mental and physical torture, and prohibited from receiving his family’s supplies. At the Lower court in Trŕ Vinh on October 26, 2010, as well as at the Higher court on March 18, 2011, two fellow activists in prison and he bravely rejected all accusations from prosecutors. He firmly maintained his innocence and denounced inhuman threats by the communist security police during their interrogation. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison, together with Do Thi Minh Hanh and Doan Huy Chuong, who received 7 years in prison each. While being transported back to prison, the three of them shouted, “Down with the communists” and were cruelly beaten by police agents.  Lawyer Le Quoc Quan, 42, is a long-time human rights lawyer and activist. He has fought for religious freedom through his participation in prayers and demonstrations held by Hanoi Catholics in front of the former Vatican Residency Palace and in the Thai Ha parish in 2007 and 2008. As a lawyer, he volunteered to fight against unjust cases such as that of Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu; as a patriot, he joined anti-China-invasion demonstrations and made himself a candidate for the National Assembly in order to fight publicly, but this effort was in vain as the government rejected his candidacy. Despite numerous arrests and threats by the Communists, he strongly maintained his stance and ideal in his continuous fight for justice, human dignity, and human rights. He was arrested for the third time on December 28, 2012; and to neutralize his activities, a communist court sentenced him to 30 months in prison and a penalty of 1.2 billion VND for a fabricated tax evasion charge this October.  Le Quoc Quan is well-loved and well-trusted by the Vietnamese people, particularly by the youth and by intellectuals.  He has been applauded by numerous human rights organizations around the world.  Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 47, is an engineer and leading successful businessman in the field of telecommunications.  Together with Le Thang Long and Le Cong Dinh, he founded the research group by the name of Chan (Restoration), whose goal was to study and propose solutions for socio-economic reforms. In 2007, he started a blog under the pen name Tran Dong Chan, where he wrote extensively on the problems facing Vietnam.  He is the author of two books on the subjects of reforms and democracy, “The Road for Vietnam” (co-author with other writers) and “Hewing Quest for Democracy and Prosperity,” in which he called on the Vietnamese government to respect human rights and on the Vietnamese people to believe in themselves and not fear the Vietnamese government. Fearing his influence on the cyber community and intellectuals, the government arrested him at his home on May 24, 2009. All key members of the Chan study group have received harsh sentences. At the court trial on January 20, 2010, he firmly declared: “I did not attempt to overthrow any government. I only fight against dictatorships and I will continue as long as I still see them.” He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and 5 years under house arrest.

During the Congress, the participants have fulfilled the following tasks:

- Reviewed VNHRN past operations and discussed projects for next two years;

- Selected VNHRN leadership for 2013-2015 term. Dr. Nguyen Ba Tung was reelected as the Chairman of the Coordinating Committee.  The three members of the Supervisory Committee were also reelected.

- The third day of the Congress was set aside for an open workshop on “Overseas Youth and the Struggle for Human Rights in Vietnam” for young leaders and activists.  The workshop was moderated by Dr. Truong Minh Tri from Canada and drew the eager participation of about 20 leaders of local groups who contributed to the discussion and suggestions of 4 panelists: Ms. Nguyen Khue-Tu, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Vietnamese Canadian Federation; Mr. Nguyen Minh Huy, Head of the San Jose Yellow Flag Youth and Students Group; Ms. Tran Lan Vy, Head of the Women for Human Rights Association; and Mr. Ly Phong, former Chairman of the Union of Vietnamese Students Association of Southern California.

- And finally, the Congress has approved the Statement below on the current human rights situation in Vietnam.

                               

 

Statement of the 11^th Congress of the Vietnam Human Rights Network

 

The 11^th Congress of VNHRN, considering that: 

- International efforts to protect and promote human rights are undergoing with significant potentials and hope for progressive activists worldwide;

- In Vietnam, despite the communist authorities’ increased oppression and brutal abuse of force to maintain their dictatorship and to use against movements for freedom, democracy, and human rights, these movements continue to remarkably develop more widely, especially with the large participation of the youth, 

Solemnly states that it:

- Accuses and denounces the Vietnamese communist authorities’ oppression against religious faithful, victims of injustice, anti-China-invasion patriots, and dissidents in defending the Vietnamese people’s human rights and human dignity;

- Warmly applauds the sacrifice and fearless fighting of the Vietnamese compatriots in the country – especially the youth – who have firmly stood up together to contribute in building the civil society to recover the Vietnamese people’s human rights;

- Calls on governments, international organizations, and world people to keep supporting the Vietnamese people in their struggle for human rights and human dignity; and

- Will continue to provide spiritual and physical assistance to the fight for human rights in the country, as well as disseminate information and promote the human rights values to all Vietnamese. 

Westminster, California, October 13, 2013

 

 

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