Activists meet with President Bush to talk about fight for democracy, crackdown on dissidents in Vietnam.
Orange County democracy activists this week wrote an important chapter in the saga of their fight for democracy against the communist government in Vietnam. Four activists – Diem Do, Cong Do, Robert Le and Quan Nguyen – sat down in the Oval Office with President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and others to talk about ways to facilitate democracy.
Diem Do, chairman of the Vietnam Reform Party or Viet Tan, said the 45-minute meeting was significant because it sent a message to Vietnamese Americans that the Bush administration is concerned about the recent crackdown on political dissidents in Vietnam.
Do’s group has operatives from all over the world as well as thousands within Vietnam. He says Viet Tan’s policy is to achieve its goal through non-violent means and by awakening the global community to the seriousness of political, social and economic issues in Vietnam.
Do talked to The Orange County Register about his conversation with the president and what it means for the democracy movement.
Q: How did this meeting come about?
A: This meeting came as a surprise. It was initiated by the White House. We received a call last week that there was going to be a meeting. But I was very surprised to learn that the President himself was going to be present. I was even more surprised to see all the top officials during the actual meeting on Tuesday.
Q: What were some of the issues you discussed during this meeting?
A: The President was most interested to find out what the United States can do to help the cause of democracy in Vietnam. We identified three key areas during our conversation, which include increasing pressure on Hanoi to tolerate freedom of expression and association; openly encouraging democratic reform and working with groups in the United States and overseas to take up this issue with the Vietnamese government and building a stable society in Vietnam.
Q: How did President Bush react to what you had to say?
A: He had a lot of questions. He was very open and relaxed and seemed genuinely concerned. I was very much impressed by the direction and depth of our conversation.
Q: What made this meeting so significant?
A: This is the first time this issue has received attention at the very top level. The administration is very concerned and that is a really encouraging sign to me. I think we will see some concrete action from the United States government on this matter.
Contact the writer: 714-445-6685 or dbharath@ocregister.com
