Open Letter
March 17, 2008
To: Elected officials of democratic nations
Human rights organizations
International and Vietnamese media
All Vietnamese
Dear Sir/Madam:
We, Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, a French citizen and Truong Van Ba, an American citizen, both Viet Tan members, would like to bring to your attention the ongoing detainment of our colleagues and friends – Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, an American citizen; Mr. Somsak Khunmi, a Thai resident; and Mr. Nguyen The Vu and Mr. Nguyen Viet Trung, two Vietnamese citizens. They were arrested at the same time as us on November 17, 2007 in Saigon while preparing leaflets on non-violent struggle for democracy.
We were released after more than 20 days in confinement, due to pressure from democratic nations, especially the United States and France, as well as from many human rights advocacy organizations around the world.
Messrs. Nguyen Quoc Quan, Somsak Khunmi, Nguyen The Vu and Nguyen Viet Trung have been held without basic rights accorded under international law; the family of Mr. Nguyen The Vu and Mr. Nguyen Viet Trung are frequently subjected to harassment by the police; Mr. Somsak Khunmi and Mr. Nguyen Quoc Quan are denied visitation rights by their wives.
Since the arrests, more than fifty elected officials from the United States, France, Switzerland, Norway, Australia as well as many human rights groups have written to the Vietnamese government requesting the release of these democracy activists. Recently Mr. Peter Gitmark, a Norwegian MP, traveled to Vietnam to visit the family of Nguyen The Vu and Nguyen Viet Trung to show support.
Earlier this year Vietnam became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, and will chair the Security Council in July. Can the government of Vietnam be expected to uphold its commitment on human rights? We respectfully ask you to remind the government of Vietnam of its role and responsibility and to release our friends who were arrested arbitrarily. If the two of us, who were arrested at the same time as them, were released without charge, why not our colleagues? We would like to ask you to act on behalf of these peaceful democracy activists who advocate for the essential and universal values of human rights.
Please accept our profound gratitude for your help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Nguyen Thi Thanh Van (France)
Leon Truong Van Ba (United States)