OPEN LETTER FROM THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY IN AUSTRALIA TO
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’S PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS

To:

The President of the United States of America
Members of the United States Congress

We, the Representatives of the Vietnamese Community in Australia (VCA), in conjunction and unity with the Vietnamese Community in the USA, welcome and encouraged by the meeting between the White House Officials and the Representatives of the Vietnamese-American Community on the Viet-Nam human rights issues today.

Thirty seven years on after the fall of the Republic of Vietnam, Vietnam has been ruled by a ruthless and gross human rights violation Communist Party and regime. For a few years between 2002-2006, under intense pressure from the international communities and Western countries such as the United States of America together with the wish to join the WTO, the Vietnamese Communist government did slow down its human rights oppression and released some jailed human rights campaigners.

However, soon after joining the WTO and taken off the U.S list of the ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ (CPC) in 2007 based on an assumption that trade and economic development between the United States and Viet-Nam would lead to an improved human rights record by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), the human rights situation in VN was not improved, but if anything, has become worse. HR violations in VN today have occurred regularly, almost on a daily basis, with prohibition of peaceful political opposition movements, arrests and conviction of political dissents, and arbitrary detentions without trial.

In our view, the one-party regime and the monopoly of power by the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) under Section 4 of the SRV’s 1992 Constitution, is the root cause not only of this deplorable human rights record but also of the endemic, institutionalized corruptions at all levels. As the fourth estate, the media must be free to hold government authorities accountable, but in the SRV, the strictly state-controlled media is merely the mouthpiece of the CPV.

The SRV has totally ignored its responsibilities to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a member of the United Nations, and failed to comply with the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as one of its signatories.

On evidence obtained from field visits to Vietnam and discussions with victims of human rights violations as well as reports by other agencies and NGOs such as Human Rights Watch, the USCIRF 2011 Report concluded that there were ‘ongoing and severe violations of religious freedom in Vietnam, including the detention of many individuals, in prison or under administrative sentence, for their religious activity, religious freedom advocacy, or legal defense of religious communities’. Many people arrested were charged and tried under Article 79 of the Criminal Code, a national security provision reserved for “organizers, instigators, and active participants” of anti-state activities that typically carries more severe penalties, ranging from 12 to 20 years in prison to the death sentence. This report named a large number of individuals from the Catholic, Hoa Hao, Khmer Buddhists, Cao Dai, Montagnard Protestants communities and human rights defenders such as Le Cong Dinh, Cu Huy Ha Vu, the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, Father Phan Van Loi, Le Thi Cong Nhan, Nguyen Van Dai and Father Nguyen Van Ly who either are in jail or currently under house detention as concrete examples of the SRV’s on-going religious and political prosecution in VN today.

In recent times, Jurist Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu - a new face among the young intellectual generation from a privileged background – has now been sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment plus 3 years of house arrest during a trial in April 2011 which lasted less than half a day! His ‘crime’ was his professional defense for other victims of human rights breaches and his attempt to challenge a government decision through the SRV’s judicial system, which is controlled by the CPV. The U.S. Canada and the EU and other HR NGOs have also asked that he be released. His appeal against this sentence was dismissed on 2nd August 2011, as predicted.

In December 2011, Vo Minh Tri aka Viet Khang, a young and peaceful songwriter/singer was arbitrarily arrested and detained by the Vietnamese Communist regime for composing, singing and distributing on the Internet a couple of peaceful songs calling all Vietnamese to stand up for VN sovereignty and independence against China’s invasion and occupation of the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands.

Given these abysmal records and seriously ongoing violations of human rights of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam government, we, the Vietnamese Community in Australia respectfully recommends that the U.S. government press for immediate

 · Reinstate of Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern.

· Release of all prisoners of conscience and human rights campaigners such as Rev. Nguyen Van Ly, Jurist Cu Huy Ha Vu, Lawyer Le Cong Dinh, Mr. Nguyen Tien Trung etc...

· Stop to the prosecution and immediate release of Anti-China protesters such as the songwriter “Viet Khang” Vo Minh Tri, Mrs. Bui Thi Minh Hang etc...

· Return of illegally confiscated lands and properties of poor farmers and independent churches.

· Stop to all harassment and detention of internet users and bloggers, especially Blogger “Dieu Cay” Nguyen Van Hai

· Re-evaluation of the diplomatic and political resources the USA employs to advance religious freedom and related human rights in Vietnam. U.S. policy and programs should, first and foremost, protect and support those in Vietnam peacefully seeking greater freedoms and the rule of law. The U.S. government should view CPC designation as a flexible tool in spurring serious diplomatic engagement and achieving measurable improvements on HR in VN.

 The oppressed people of Vietnam are looking to you Sir, as the President of the United States of America and the Congress for an open support to their struggle for Freedom and Democracy.

We, the Vietnamese-Australian people strongly believe that the United States of America will, once again, demonstrate its strong commitment for democracy and stand side-by-side with those who are being persecuted for peacefully seeking freedom in Viet-Nam today.

Yours respectfully,

Co-signed in Australia on 1st March 2012

 · Mr. Phong Nguyen, Federal President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia (VCA)
· Mr. Thanh Nguyen, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – New South Wales Chapter (VCA-NSW)
· Mr. Bon Nguyen, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Victoria Chapter (VCA-VIC).
· Dr. Cuong Bui, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Queensland Chapter (VCA-QLD).
· Mr. Doan Cong Chanh Phu Loc, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – South Australia Chapter (VCA-SA).
· Dr. Anh Dung Nguyen, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Western Australia Chapter (VCA-WA)
· Mr. Cong Le, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Australian Capital Territory Chapter (VCA-ACT)
· Mr. Thien Le, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Northern Territory Chapter (VCA-NT)
· Mrs. Kim Dung Nguyen, President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Wollongong Chapter (VCA-WOLL).