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DECLARATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM 2007 |
CONSIDERING THAT mankind is already in its seventh year into the 21st Century, and our respect for fundamental human rights has allowed us to live in peace and harmony, but Vietnam is still a vast jail house as exemplified by the image of the father Nguyen van Ly being brutally muzzled on March 30, 2007, in Hue, Vietnam.
CONSIDERING THAT Vietnam, as a signatory member of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, must be held accountable if it does not honor its terms and the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
CONSIDERING THAT the Communist Party of Vietnam has, for more than sixty years, subjected the Vietnamese people to a bloody struggle in the name of an utopian and failed ideology, causing immense suffering to millions of souls and resulting in a country still backward by all international standards.
CONSIDERING THAT in reaction, never has the democracy movement in Vietnam been so active as at present; despite the death sentences meted out to hundreds of democracy activists, at no point in the past has the movement gathered so many followers from all religions (Buddhists, Catholics, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Protestants..), from all ethnic groups (Montagnards, Hmong Zdao, Khmer..), and veterans, intellectuals, workers and farmers, students and women, and even veteran Communist Party members who have grown disillusioned with the regime sickened by inequity, corruption, intolerance and inefficiency.
THEREFORE,
raising our voices on behalf of the suffering millions who are living in one of
the darkest periods of our history, we, the undersigned Vietnamese organizations
would like to urgently call on:
1.
Religious leaders, Nobel laureates, human rights and humanitarian NGOs,
and all freedom, justice and democracy-loving people in the world to do
everything possible to pressure the Vietnam’s Communist regime to respect the
fundamental human rights as enjoyed by citizens of every civilized society on
this planet.
2.
The UN Secretary-General, the legislative bodies and governments of all
civilized nations to pressure Vietnam to honor its own commitments by granting
to 83 millions Vietnamese such freedoms as freedom of thought, conscience and
religion, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and
association, etc. If it fails to do so, the Vietnam’s Communist regime should be
held accountable and subject to sanctions.
3.
The U.S. State Department to reinstate Vietnam into the CPC list, and to
use its veto power to block Vietnam’s access to the UN Security Council’s
non-permanent member in 2008, unless Vietnam frees all the prisoners of
conscience and respect human rights.
4. The U.S. Senate to pass a bill on Human Rights in Vietnam, just as the House of Representatives has done so on several occasions and to demand that Vietnam immediately and unconditionally release all political and religious prisoners, start on a path of democratization to be in line with the progress of the civilized nations.
On this occasion, we would like to express our appreciation to the American people and the U .S. government, the Senators and Representatives of the U.S. Congress, members of the European Parliament, the Prime Minister of Canada, and other political leaders in the world who have spoken up on human rights in Vietnam. We would like to convey our special thanks to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, and all such organizations that, in the name of universal conscience, have spoken up for human rights in Vietnam.
Washington, D.C.
May 11, 2007
Signing Organizations:
Pham Tran Anh, Executive Director, Overseas Office
Vietnamese Political and Religious Prisoners Friendship Association
“Robert” Nguyen Le, Chairman
Vietnam Human Rights Network
Nguyen Quoc Quan, M.D., President
Nguyen Ngoc Bich, Chairman
Do Nhu Dien, Chairman