DATE=05/10/2002

TYPE=EDITORIAL

NUMBER=0-09874

TITLE=EDITORIAL: VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

INTERNET=Yes

CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES.

Anncr: Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government:

Voice: Today [May 11th] marks the twelfth anniversary of the Manifesto of the Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam, authored by Dr. Nguyen Dan Que [win dan KEH]. At ceremonies held at the U.S. Capitol, members of Congress, labor leaders, representatives of the Vietnamese community, and human rights activists reaffirmed their support for the non-violent movement for human rights in Vietnam.

Dr. Que was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment for speaking out against the repression of the Vietnamese government. He was released in September 1998 on condition that he leave the country. This he refuses to do. He and his family have been subjected to periodic harassment by Vietnamese authorities.

According to the U.S. State Department's latest report, the Vietnamese government's human rights record remains poor. Serious human rights abuses continue, including arbitrary arrest, torture, and imprisonment without a fair trial. The number of political prisoners is difficult to determine, partly because the regime treats most dissidents it detains as common criminals.

Among those detained last year for political or religious activities are Vo Tan Sau [voh tan sau], Pahn Thi Tiem [fahn tee thee-em], and Tran Thi Duyen [tran tee ZWEN]. They were sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Father Nguyen Van Ly [nwen van lee], a dissident Roman Catholic priest, was imprisoned in part for sending written testimony to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Other prisoners of conscience include the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang [tick wen KWANG], the eighty-one-year-old Supreme Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church. Subject to internal exile in Quang Ngai [kwang NYE] province since 1982, he is reportedly in poor health. The Unified Buddhist Church has been resisting the Vietnamese government's efforts to bring it -- and all Buddhist clergy -- under Communist Party control. The church's religious activities are prohibited.

Vietnamese citizens are denied the right to change their government. Vietnam is a dictatorship of the Communist Party. Opposition parties are banned. Labor unions and other associations are only permitted to exist under the sponsorship of Communist party organizations.

The U.S. calls on Vietnam's rulers to respect the human rights of the people of Vietnam.

Anncr: That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20237, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-ibb-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043.