February 5, 2010
Dear compatriots at home and abroad,
Dear supporters of human rights and democracy,
The ruling regime in Vietnam today reaffirmed its anti-democratic and un-patriotic nature with the harsh convictions of writer Tran Khai Thanh Thuy and Mr. Do Ba Tan. The entire legal proceedings were staged to persecute these Vietnamese patriots.
In its 65 years in power, the regime has used violence to control the people and relied on foreign forces to consolidate its monopoly power. It has persecuted countless citizens who have stood up for democracy and freedom. Since 1990, to seek out a new pillar of support with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party has kowtowed to Beijing and ceded to China land and maritime territories through treaties and diplomatic notes which have betrayed the nation. Most recently, they have co-operated with China to exploit bauxite in the Central Highlands, with potentially disastrous effects on the environment and the lives of Vietnamese people.
Many patriotic Vietnamese have bravely stood up in many ways. These efforts have created a wave of dissent openly challenging the political power of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
Since 2007, even though the Hanoi regime has increased the repression—making mass arrests and using many charges to prosecute democracy activists—more activists have stepped up in the struggle for democracy and for the nation. The fact that the Hanoi authorities have organized continuous trials, handing out heavy sentences recently to over 15 democracy activists, shows it is confronting a growing democracy movement.
All the democracy activists publicly criticized Hanoi’s weakness before China’s encroachment and called for pluralism and democracy. But authorities avoided these issues at the trials and instead leveled vague charges of “propaganda against the state” or “conspiracy to overthrow the regime.”
Among the democracy activists in prison are a number of heroines. Attorney Le Thi Cong Nhan, Pham Thanh Nghien and writer Tran Khai Thanh Thuy are shining examples of courage and persistence. They symbolize the struggle for freedom, democracy and territorial integrity.
Viet Tan respectfully calls on all Vietnamese to continue rising up, using all forms of non-violent action against the Hanoi dictatorship. Viet Tan calls on democratic nations around the world to stand with the Vietnamese people in overcoming the dictatorial conditions.
Viet Tan will mobilize our members in Vietnam and abroad to campaign for the freedom of all patriots in prison, as exemplified by the three heroines Le Thi Cong Nhan, Pham Thanh Nghien and Tran Khai Thanh Thuy. Viet Tan will always be side by side with our compatriots and the democracy movement in the struggle for liberty, democracy, and territorial integrity.
Do Hoang Diem
Chairman, Viet Tan
