U.S. Congressmen Urge President Obama to Pressure Vietnam on Human Rights

nguyễn phú trọng

They have also listed ten prisoners of conscience, including Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, blogger Ta Phong Tan, entrepreneur Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, labor rights activist Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung that President Obama should urge Mr. Trong to release immediately.

President Obama should raise the critical role of independent political and social organizations in a modern society and raise troubling religious freedom of violation, the legislators said, adding Mr. Trong should be encouraged to listen to the Vietnamese people and show respect for a civil society, religious groups and political freedom in Vietnam.

By Vu Quoc Ngu | Jul 07, 2015

A group of nine members of the U.S. Congress has sent a joint letter to urge President Barack Obama to pressure Vietnam on human rights during his landmark meeting by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam.

In their letter, the U.S. lawmakers including Loretta Sanchez, Alan Lowenthal and Christopher Smith said the communist-ruled Vietnam is a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the UN Convention against Torture, and committed to the principles of universal human rights, however, Vietnam has repeatedly violated human rights.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has determined that the communist-ruled Vietnam continues to systemically arrest and detain local social and political activists, violating its clear obligations under international law, the U.S. legislators said in their letter.

The petitioned members of the Congress recommend President Obama to pay attention to the mistreatment of political and religious prisoners in Vietnam, especially those serving long prison sentences for their peaceful expression and political advocacy.

They have also listed ten prisoners of conscience, including Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, blogger Ta Phong Tan, entrepreneur Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, labor rights activist Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung that President Obama should urge Mr. Trong to release immediately.

President Obama should raise the critical role of independent political and social organizations in a modern society and raise troubling religious freedom of violation, the legislators said, adding Mr. Trong should be encouraged to listen to the Vietnamese people and show respect for a civil society, religious groups and political freedom in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese American activists plan to gather in the front of the White House on July 7 to protest Mr. Trong and his entourage, according to social network.

The Vietnamese authoritarian one-party system is the root cause of the deplorable human rights situation in the Southeast Asian nation, they said.

Vietnam and the U.S. have big differences in human rights issues. The U.S. and international community said Vietnam systemically suppresses local political dissidents and human rights activists.

International human rights bodies said Vietnam is holding between 150 and 200 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi always denies, saying it imprisons only law violators.