22 October 2024 – Remarks at the Canadian Parliament by Michel Tran Duc, Advocacy Director of Viet Tan.
Members of Parliament,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It’s an honor for me to be at the Canadian Parliament today to discuss crucial issues: human rights in Vietnam, the rule of law, and perspectives for Canada and Vietnam.
Transnational repression is a new scourge affecting many countries, and sadly, Canada has also witnessed an unprecedented case with the assassination of Sikh activist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.
This assassination, most likely attributed to Indian secret services, was a flagrant violation of Canadian sovereignty. I commend the government’s firm response, particularly through actions by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the expulsion of Indian diplomats. The application of the Magnitsky Law must follow to sanction those responsible for this grave violation.
India is being courted by several Western democracies to counter the Chinese threat in the Indo-Pacific. However, this engagement must not come at any cost, especially not at the expense of the rule of law and the values held dear by civilized nations.
I say this because I also observe that Vietnam is being courted by several Western countries to pull it out of Beijing’s sphere of influence. But again, this rapprochement must not be unconditional. Vietnam remains a communist regime where, in the absence of free and fair elections, the ruling minority does not reflect the deep aspirations of the population. This regime blatantly violates its international commitments, particularly in the area of human rights.
The Government of Vietnam has also committed violations on foreign soil through the abduction and forced repatriation of at least three dissidents.
The first of these is businessman Trinh Xuan Thanh, abducted in broad daylight in Berlin in 2017. The German police established that Vietnamese intelligence agents took Trinh Xuan Thanh across the border to Slovakia, and then repatriated him to Vietnam on a state-owned aircraft. Waiting inside the aircraft in Bratislava was General Tô Lâm, the Minister of Public Security. It is worth noting that Mr. Tô Lâm has recently combined for a few months the positions of President of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Communist Party.
More recently, two Vietnamese journalists — Truong Duy Nhat and Thai Van Duong — were kidnapped by Vietnamese intelligence and brought back to Vietnam. These abductions, unfortunately, demonstrate that Thailand is not a safe place for many Vietnamese activists.
At present, a well known Vietnamese activist, Mr. Y Quynh Bdap, is under the threat of extradition to Vietnam even though he has been granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Mr. Y Quynh Bdap, a Christian and ethnic minority from Vietnam’s Central Highlands, fled to Thailand in 2018 to escape persecution. In Vietnam, ethnic minorities, particularly those who have converted to Christianity, face mistreatment and discrimination by the authorities.
Mr. Y Quynh Bdap was detained in June of this year by Thai immigration police, hours after his interview at the Canadian embassy in Bangkok. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Rapporteurs, international human rights organizations, and Thai civil society have all urged the Thai government not to deport him to Vietnam, where he would undoubtedly face torture and arbitrary detention.
Just last week, OHCHR experts stated: “Several Montagnards are awaiting resettlement or have an asylum case pending in a third country”. These experts strongly encourage these countries to process the applications with urgency.
By promptly granting asylum to Mr. Y Quynh Bdap, Canada has the opportunity to save a life and reaffirm its unwavering commitment to protecting human rights. This is the message behind a joint letter sent by several Vietnamese-Canadian organizations to Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly.
As a nation committed to defending human rights, Canada should take decisive action. I invite this assembly to join us in urging the federal government to grant asylum to Mr. Y Quynh Bdap and stand against transnational repression.
Earlier, I spoke of the need to sanction individuals responsible for serious human rights violations in India. The same applies to Vietnam. Sanctions can and must be imposed on officials, police officers, and prison guards. However, it is essential to go up the chain of command and target the decision-makers. At the top of this pyramid is General Tô Lâm, who served as Minister of Public Security from 2016 to May 2024. He is no longer the President and no longer protected by his immunity. Now, he will have to answer for the grave human rights violations that occurred under his watch.
As you can see, Vietnam is still far from a democracy. If Canada has the strategic goal of promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, it is essential that it forges strategic partnerships with nations that are also free and democratic, so that these partners can be reliable in the long term.
Vietnam, repressive today, must become a free and democratic nation tomorrow. With your support, Canada can be at the forefront of this change by supporting Vietnamese civil society and the many brave human rights defenders.
Thank you for your attention and support.