June 24, 2007
For the first time since the government of South Vietnam fell, a Vietnamese president visited the White House.
Invited by President Bush during his trip to Saigon last November, President Nguyen Minh Triet touted the recent economic progress his country has made, and pushed for further cooperation between our two countries.
http://johnib.wordpress.com/2007/06/24/stop-the-abuses-in-vietnam/
Showing posts with label Crackdown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crackdown. Show all posts
Monday, June 25, 2007
AntiWar.com June 23: Visit by Vietnamese President Signals Normalization
June 23, 2007
Friday's unprecedented – albeit relatively low-profile – visit to the White House by a Vietnamese head of state marks the culmination of a lengthy normalization process between two countries that ended their war 32 years ago.
But while President Nguyen Minh Triet wants to talk mainly about how Washington can spur more US investment his fast-growing economy, his luncheon host, George W. Bush, is being pressed to steer the conversation more towards Vietnam's human rights record and an ongoing crackdown in which dozens of dissidents are believed to have been arrested around the country since the end of last year.
http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=11183
Friday's unprecedented – albeit relatively low-profile – visit to the White House by a Vietnamese head of state marks the culmination of a lengthy normalization process between two countries that ended their war 32 years ago.
But while President Nguyen Minh Triet wants to talk mainly about how Washington can spur more US investment his fast-growing economy, his luncheon host, George W. Bush, is being pressed to steer the conversation more towards Vietnam's human rights record and an ongoing crackdown in which dozens of dissidents are believed to have been arrested around the country since the end of last year.
http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=11183
Friday, June 22, 2007
AFP June 22: Bush Set to Meet Vietnamese Leader Amid Rights Concerns
Washington, D.C., June 22, 2007
US President George W. Bush is to meet his Vietnam counterpart for talks on Friday amid pressure from US lawmakers and activist groups to address human rights abuses in the southeast Asian state.
Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, on a landmark visit to the United States, directly faced a barrage of complaints on the alleged abuses when he visited Capitol Hill on Thursday for closed-door talks with lawmakers.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/070622/world/us_vietnam_diplomacy_trade_rights
US President George W. Bush is to meet his Vietnam counterpart for talks on Friday amid pressure from US lawmakers and activist groups to address human rights abuses in the southeast Asian state.
Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, on a landmark visit to the United States, directly faced a barrage of complaints on the alleged abuses when he visited Capitol Hill on Thursday for closed-door talks with lawmakers.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/070622/world/us_vietnam_diplomacy_trade_rights
Wall Street Journal June 22: Vietnam's "Dark Years"
June 22, 2007
In March, Le Quoc Quan returned to his native Vietnam after finishing a fellowship at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington. He was promptly arrested and charged with planning to overthrow the government. The charges make sense in the communist country: His fellowship focused on how to peacefully spread democracy. Under pressure from the U.S. he was released on Saturday.
Today, President Bush will meet with the president of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Triet, at the White House. High on the agenda will be the Southeast Asian nation's record on human rights. America's military efforts to stop the communist takeover of South Vietnam ended in defeat more than 30 years ago. The result was what many Vietnamese call the "dark years," a period of oppression and economic stagnation that lasted until the mid-1980s. But now something interesting is happening. America is once again waging a campaign for freedom in Vietnam, only this time with "soft power" and bipartisan support.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118247662833644352.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
In March, Le Quoc Quan returned to his native Vietnam after finishing a fellowship at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington. He was promptly arrested and charged with planning to overthrow the government. The charges make sense in the communist country: His fellowship focused on how to peacefully spread democracy. Under pressure from the U.S. he was released on Saturday.
Today, President Bush will meet with the president of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Triet, at the White House. High on the agenda will be the Southeast Asian nation's record on human rights. America's military efforts to stop the communist takeover of South Vietnam ended in defeat more than 30 years ago. The result was what many Vietnamese call the "dark years," a period of oppression and economic stagnation that lasted until the mid-1980s. But now something interesting is happening. America is once again waging a campaign for freedom in Vietnam, only this time with "soft power" and bipartisan support.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118247662833644352.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Europe Channel June 21: Protests greet Vietnam leader in Washington
Washington, D.C., June 21, 2007
Hundreds of Vietnamese anti-communist protesters marched outside the White House Friday as Vietnam's president made a historic visit to US President George W Bush. About 1,000 demonstrators staged a noisy protest, shouting "Freedom for Vietnam" and holding up placards as they rallied at the White House fence.
http://www.eux.tv/article.aspx?articleId=10365
Hundreds of Vietnamese anti-communist protesters marched outside the White House Friday as Vietnam's president made a historic visit to US President George W Bush. About 1,000 demonstrators staged a noisy protest, shouting "Freedom for Vietnam" and holding up placards as they rallied at the White House fence.
http://www.eux.tv/article.aspx?articleId=10365
US Congress June 21: Rep. Lofgren Introduces Resolution on Vietnamese Human Rights
Washington D.C., June 21, 2007
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) today introduced a resolution, H.RES. 506, calling for Vietnam’s re-designation as a Country of Particular Concern and for the removal of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) if Vietnam does not immediately and significantly improve its human rights record. Since Vietnam was removed as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and was extended permanent normal trade relations in 2006, it has continued a brutal crackdown on peaceful human rights activists. The series of arrests made by the Vietnamese government includes Father Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
http://lofgren.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1804
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) today introduced a resolution, H.RES. 506, calling for Vietnam’s re-designation as a Country of Particular Concern and for the removal of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) if Vietnam does not immediately and significantly improve its human rights record. Since Vietnam was removed as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and was extended permanent normal trade relations in 2006, it has continued a brutal crackdown on peaceful human rights activists. The series of arrests made by the Vietnamese government includes Father Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
http://lofgren.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1804
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Wall Street Journal June 20: Business or Pressure?
June 20, 2007
The Vietnamese President's trip to the U.S. this week marks a historic step in postwar ties between the two countries, and also an opportunity. Business will certainly be on the agenda when Nguyen Minh Triet meets George W. Bush on Friday. But Hanoi's human-rights record will also be a central topic of discussion throughout the visit, whether Mr. Triet wants it to be or not.
Vietnam's economy, which Mr. Triet hopes to promote on this visit, is increasingly dependent on trade with the U.S. Vietnam exported $6.6 billion in goods to the U.S. in 2005, the most recent year for which comprehensive data are available. Its gross domestic product that year was $52 billion, while the U.S. market accounted for 20% of Vietnam's exports. That share has been growing steadily as Vietnam weans itself off its dependence on its Asian neighbors and the former Soviet Union.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118228605988540978.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
The Vietnamese President's trip to the U.S. this week marks a historic step in postwar ties between the two countries, and also an opportunity. Business will certainly be on the agenda when Nguyen Minh Triet meets George W. Bush on Friday. But Hanoi's human-rights record will also be a central topic of discussion throughout the visit, whether Mr. Triet wants it to be or not.
Vietnam's economy, which Mr. Triet hopes to promote on this visit, is increasingly dependent on trade with the U.S. Vietnam exported $6.6 billion in goods to the U.S. in 2005, the most recent year for which comprehensive data are available. Its gross domestic product that year was $52 billion, while the U.S. market accounted for 20% of Vietnam's exports. That share has been growing steadily as Vietnam weans itself off its dependence on its Asian neighbors and the former Soviet Union.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118228605988540978.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
AFP June 17: Vietnamese Leader to Get an Earful of Rights Complaints in US
June 17, 2007
Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet is expected to get an earful of human rights complaints when he makes his maiden visit to the United States this week despite a last-minute release of a couple of imprisoned activists.
The concerns are to be conveyed to him by President George W. Bush's administration as well as leaders from the Democratic party-controlled Congress during his June 18-23 trip, officials said.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Vietnamese_leader_to_get_an_earful__06172007.html
Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet is expected to get an earful of human rights complaints when he makes his maiden visit to the United States this week despite a last-minute release of a couple of imprisoned activists.
The concerns are to be conveyed to him by President George W. Bush's administration as well as leaders from the Democratic party-controlled Congress during his June 18-23 trip, officials said.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Vietnamese_leader_to_get_an_earful__06172007.html
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
National Review Online June 5: Freedom's Prospects
Washington, D.C., June 5, 2007
Twenty-five years ago this week, President Ronald Reagan delivered one of the most significant speeches of his presidency. Standing before the British parliament in the historic Westminster Palace nearly a decade before the demise of the Soviet Union, he offered the vision of "a plan and a hope for the long-term — the march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people."
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTg0ZmJmOWI2YWM0Mjc3ZTFlMDdjODQwYTY0YjAxM2Q=
Twenty-five years ago this week, President Ronald Reagan delivered one of the most significant speeches of his presidency. Standing before the British parliament in the historic Westminster Palace nearly a decade before the demise of the Soviet Union, he offered the vision of "a plan and a hope for the long-term — the march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people."
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTg0ZmJmOWI2YWM0Mjc3ZTFlMDdjODQwYTY0YjAxM2Q=
Monday, June 4, 2007
Straits Times June 4: Vietnam to Release Dissidents Ahead of President's US Visit
Hanoi, June 4, 2007
An official visit to the United States by Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet, which was in doubt until a few days ago, will now go ahead in a fortnight's time after Vietnam agreed to release some political dissidents.
http://www.danchimviet.com/php/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3391
An official visit to the United States by Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet, which was in doubt until a few days ago, will now go ahead in a fortnight's time after Vietnam agreed to release some political dissidents.
http://www.danchimviet.com/php/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3391
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
International Herald Tribune, May 29: Vietnamese-American Activists Call for US to Pressure Vietnam on Human Rights
Washington D.C., May 29, 2007
Four Vietnamese-American activists urged U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday to increase pressure on Vietnam to respect human rights and said the United States should support openly democratic forces working to bring change to Hanoi.
The White House meeting was meant to send a message of disapproval to Vietnam on its increasingly harsh treatment of anti-government activists.
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/29/america/NA-GEN-US-Vietnam.php
Thursday, May 17, 2007
NPR, May 15: Vietnam Cracks Down on Activists before Elections
May 15, 2007
In Vietnam, the crackdown on dissidents continues in advance of elections May 20 for the National Assembly. Five activists were tried in the past week for exercising free speech. All these trials at one time are a clear signal to opponents of the regime to back off quickly. Under Vietnamese law the Communist Party is the only official voice.
Audio for this radio news article available here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10184032
In Vietnam, the crackdown on dissidents continues in advance of elections May 20 for the National Assembly. Five activists were tried in the past week for exercising free speech. All these trials at one time are a clear signal to opponents of the regime to back off quickly. Under Vietnamese law the Communist Party is the only official voice.
Audio for this radio news article available here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10184032
Reporters without Borders, May 15: Sixth Cyber Dissident Jailed in Worst Crackdowns since 2002
May 15, 2007
Reporters Without Borders said it was stunned by a five-year jail sentence handed down today to pro-democracy activist Tran Quoc Hien, the sixth such sentence in a week.
The 42-year-old member of the democratic movement “bloc 8406” and spokesman for the United Workers-Farmers Organization (UWFO) was sentenced for “spreading anti-government propaganda” online and “endangering state security”, at the end of a four-hour trial. He had been arrested in January 2007.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=22150
Reporters Without Borders said it was stunned by a five-year jail sentence handed down today to pro-democracy activist Tran Quoc Hien, the sixth such sentence in a week.
The 42-year-old member of the democratic movement “bloc 8406” and spokesman for the United Workers-Farmers Organization (UWFO) was sentenced for “spreading anti-government propaganda” online and “endangering state security”, at the end of a four-hour trial. He had been arrested in January 2007.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=22150
Reporters without Borders May 11: Two More Cyber Dissidents Get Long Jail Terms in Stalinist Trial
May 11, 2007
Reporters Without Borders voiced outrage at the prison sentences which a Hanoi people’s court imposed today on two human rights lawyers and cyber-dissidents at end of a trial lasting only four hours. Convicted of "defamation" and "propaganda against the regime" under article 88 of the criminal code, Nguyen Van Dai was sentenced to five years and Le Thi Cong got four.
Amnesty International May 10: Crackdown on Dissidents Must End
May 10, 2007
Yet another politically motivated trial in Viet Nam has turned citizens who have only peacefully expressed opinions into prisoners of conscience. Today, three leading members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were sentenced to prison terms of between three and five years in what the prosecutor in the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court described as a warning to other “hostile forces.”
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA410052007?open&of=ENG-2AS
Yet another politically motivated trial in Viet Nam has turned citizens who have only peacefully expressed opinions into prisoners of conscience. Today, three leading members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were sentenced to prison terms of between three and five years in what the prosecutor in the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court described as a warning to other “hostile forces.”
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA410052007?open&of=ENG-2AS
Friday, May 11, 2007
Radio Australia, May 11: US Congress Says Vietnam Should Face Sanctions Again
Australia, May 11, 2007
Lawmakers in the United States are pressing Washington to reimpose sanctions on Vietnam.Congress has criticised Vietnam's crackdown against dissidents, which have reportedly intensified after it entered the World Trade Organisation in January. The US government has normalised trading relations with its former battlefield enemy and removed it from a dreaded human rights blacklist. But Ed Royce, a US Republican Party lawmaker, told a Congressional meeting on Hanoi's current anti-dissident campaign he is "appalled by the lack of progress in human rights reforms" in Vietnam.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1920717.htm
Lawmakers in the United States are pressing Washington to reimpose sanctions on Vietnam.Congress has criticised Vietnam's crackdown against dissidents, which have reportedly intensified after it entered the World Trade Organisation in January. The US government has normalised trading relations with its former battlefield enemy and removed it from a dreaded human rights blacklist. But Ed Royce, a US Republican Party lawmaker, told a Congressional meeting on Hanoi's current anti-dissident campaign he is "appalled by the lack of progress in human rights reforms" in Vietnam.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1920717.htm
White House May 11: Statement Condemning Sentencing of Political Prisoners and Syria and Vietnam
Washington, D.C., May 11, 2007
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
Political Prisoners in Syria and Vietnam
The United States condemns the recent sentencings of democracy activists Anwar al-Bunni and Kamal Labwani to long terms of imprisonment and is alarmed by reports that they have been subjected to inhumane prison conditions. These developments demonstrate that the Asad regime in Syria continues to suppress dissent and crack down on those who peacefully seek to defend their rights and bring democratic reform to their country. As the President stated last year, all political prisoners in Syria should be released immediately.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070511-11.html
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
Political Prisoners in Syria and Vietnam
The United States condemns the recent sentencings of democracy activists Anwar al-Bunni and Kamal Labwani to long terms of imprisonment and is alarmed by reports that they have been subjected to inhumane prison conditions. These developments demonstrate that the Asad regime in Syria continues to suppress dissent and crack down on those who peacefully seek to defend their rights and bring democratic reform to their country. As the President stated last year, all political prisoners in Syria should be released immediately.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070511-11.html
Que Me May 11: Vietnam Committee Condemns Hanoi's "Systematic Liquidation" of the Vietnamese Dissident Movement
Paris, May 11, 2007
The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights is deeply disturbed by the extremely harsh prison sentences handed down today against human rights lawyers Nguyen van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, and against other dissidents in the unfair trials of 10 and 11 May 2007. The Committee fears that other harsh convictions will follow. The Committee strongly denounces the recent vast wave of repression against dissidents whose sole “crime” is that of exercising their legitimate right to freedom of expression and association, rights enshrined in the Vietnamese Constitution and the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Vietnam acceded in September 1982.
http://www.queme.net/eng/e-news_detail.php?numb=803
The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights is deeply disturbed by the extremely harsh prison sentences handed down today against human rights lawyers Nguyen van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, and against other dissidents in the unfair trials of 10 and 11 May 2007. The Committee fears that other harsh convictions will follow. The Committee strongly denounces the recent vast wave of repression against dissidents whose sole “crime” is that of exercising their legitimate right to freedom of expression and association, rights enshrined in the Vietnamese Constitution and the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Vietnam acceded in September 1982.
http://www.queme.net/eng/e-news_detail.php?numb=803
Monday, May 7, 2007
Vietnam News Agency May 5: Vietnam Calls U.S. House Resolution Tuesday of Sovereignty
Hanoi, May 5, 2007
Viet Nam opposes the interference of foreign countries in its internal affairs, said Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung on May 3. Dung was answering correspondents’ questions regarding a US House of Representatives’ Resolution passed on May 2 that calls for the release of individuals found to be in violation of Vietnamese law.
http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/194255/Default.aspx
Friday, May 4, 2007
Wall Street Journal May 4: Memo to Hanoi
May 4, 2007
Memo to Hanoi
By CHRIS SMITH , BART STUPAK and FRANK WOLF
A Catholic priest who has already spent over 13 years in prison is rearrested and sentenced to eight more years for serving as an advisor to a democracy movement and a new political party. A woman, whose husband had recently been released from jail after serving time for spreading pro-democracy material, is hit by a car -- believed to be driven and occupied by plainclothes police officers -- in an effort to intimidate her and prevent her from meeting with the U.S. Ambassador. A lawyer who travels to the U.S. to serve as a Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy is arrested within a week of his return home, and charged with engaging in activities aimed at overthrowing the government.
While these stories sound like they were lifted from the files of the KGB, they are, in reality, all events that have recently taken place in Vietnam.
http://www.house.gov/list/press/nj04_smith/memotohanoi.html
Memo to Hanoi
By CHRIS SMITH , BART STUPAK and FRANK WOLF
A Catholic priest who has already spent over 13 years in prison is rearrested and sentenced to eight more years for serving as an advisor to a democracy movement and a new political party. A woman, whose husband had recently been released from jail after serving time for spreading pro-democracy material, is hit by a car -- believed to be driven and occupied by plainclothes police officers -- in an effort to intimidate her and prevent her from meeting with the U.S. Ambassador. A lawyer who travels to the U.S. to serve as a Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy is arrested within a week of his return home, and charged with engaging in activities aimed at overthrowing the government.
While these stories sound like they were lifted from the files of the KGB, they are, in reality, all events that have recently taken place in Vietnam.
http://www.house.gov/list/press/nj04_smith/memotohanoi.html
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