National Endowment for Democracy April 12: Letter to President of Vietnam

Washington, D.C., April 12, 2007

Your Excellency:

We are the Chairs of, respectively, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), three organizations based in Washington, D.C., whose directors include prominent businessmen, current and former members of Congress, independent scholars, and other distinguished Americans.

We are shocked and outraged to learn of the March 8 arrest of lawyer Le Quoc Quan very shortly after his return to Vietnam following completion of a five-month fellowship in residence at NED. The fellowship is part of an exchange program funded by the U.S. Congress and the Department of State that has brought to the Endowment outstanding scholars and practitioners from over 50 countries since its inception six years ago.

http://www.ned.org/press/quanLetter-41207.pdf