December 2, 2009
Lawrence Cannon
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa,ON
K1AOA6
Dear Minister,
Last week, I had the privilege of meeting with members of the Vietnamese Canadian community, who raised the deeply disturbing conviction of nine democracy activists in Vietnam.
In particular, they raised the subsequent arrest of Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, who was beaten and arrested after she publicly expressed her support for the nine activists.. Mr. Minister, no individual should be beaten, arrested, or jailed for exercising their right of freedom of speech.
The US Embassy in Hanoi issued a press release on October 14, 2009, urging the Government of Vietnam “to honor its international human rights commitments.-And immediately and unconditionally release these and other prisoners who are in detention for peacefully expressing their views.”
Members of the US Congress, English PEN, an Australian Senator and many others have added their voices to this campaign. Unfortunately, to date, the Canadian government has been silent.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs, I would ask you to add Canada’s voice to the call by urging the Government of Vietnam to respect the standards of human rights and the rule of law. As Martin Luther King Ir. would remind us:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
Thank you for giving this matter your urgent personal attention.
Sincerely,
Chris Charlton, MP
Hamilton Mountain