October 26, 2010
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton,
We welcome your public comments on human rights at the ASEAN Regional Forum held in Hanoi in July 2010. Like you, we believe that increased political freedom in Vietnam is in the interest of the Vietnamese people as well as the bilateral relationship.
As you return to Vietnam for the East Asia Summit on October 31, 2010, we encourage you to follow-up on your previous statements on human rights and encourage the Vietnamese government to make concrete improvements. Given the ongoing crackdown against political dissent by the Vietnamese government, we believe it is important that you raise specific cases and demand actual progress.
We would like to raise three pressing examples:
The continued imprisonment of celebrated writer and activist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy. Ms. Thuy was attacked outside her home and arrested by plain-clothes police, yet ironically, she was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment for “physical assault” in February 2010. According to human rights groups, she was recently beaten in prison in an incident in which the Vietnamese authorities dismissed as a fight with another inmate. We recommend that you call on the Vietnamese government to immediately and unconditionally release Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, as well as all other prisoners detained for peaceful advocacy of their beliefs.
The use of the legal code to criminalize peaceful political activities. We refer to the recent arrests of four members of Viet Tan, a pro-democracy party. You should urge the Vietnamese government to release professor Pham Minh Hoang, pastor Duong Kim Khai, Ms. Tran Thi Thuy and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam. The Vietnamese government should be called on to repeal statutes such as Article 79 (which treats democracy promotion as subversion) and Article 88 (which bans so-called anti-state propaganda).
The continued restrictions on internet freedom including blocks against Facebook and other social networking sites and reported hacker attacks orchestrated by the Vietnamese authorities. We ask that you press the Vietnamese government to permit Vietnamese citizens to access the websites of their choosing without the intrusion and intimidation of the online police.
By undertaking two visits to Vietnam this year, you have the unique opportunity to advance the bilateral relationship and promote international standards on human rights. We encourage you to take the opportunity to make human rights a cornerstone of US-Vietnam policy and to demonstrate America’s support for the basic freedoms of the Vietnamese people.
Sincerely,
Loretta Sanchez
Member of Congress
Daniel E. Lungren
Member of Congress
Zoe Lofgren
Member of Congress
Dan Burton
Member of Congress
