[Vacets-local-dc] [Senator Sam Brownback's visit: religious freedom stressed]

[Hai Tran]

Religious freedom stressed

Thursday, January 8, 2004

The AssociatedPress
HANOI, Vietnam -- Sen. Sam Brownback said Thursday he is worried about a lack of religious freedom in communist Vietnam and warned the situation must improve if the nation's ties with the United States are to improve. 
Brownback, R-Kan., came to Vietnam on a two-day visit to assess religious freedoms following a series of government crackdowns on religious dissidents. 
Brownback met with Nguyen Van Ly, a Roman Catholic priest who was jailed in 2001 after giving written testimony to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, urging Washington not to ratify a trade agreement until Hanoi improves its human rights record. Ly faces a 10-year prison sentence. 
Brownback, chairman of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, also met with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An. 
He said the meetings were productive, but he remained dismayed by the current conditions. 
"I continue to have concerns about religious liberty in Vietnam," Brownback said in a statement. "These issues will need to be dealt with satisfactorily for the growing relationship between our two countries to continue improving as it should." 
Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung on Thursday categorized Brownback's visit differently, saying the main purpose was to "better know the renovation process of Vietnam." 
Only a handful of state-sponsored religions are recognized and permitted to operate in Vietnam. 
The European Parliament and the U.S. Congress have both condemned crackdowns on religious freedom and dissidents. 
In its annual report on religion released last month, the U.S. State Department categorized Vietnam as a totalitarian or authoritarian country, which attempts to control religious belief or practice.



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