[Vacets-local-dc] Fwd: Vietnam Hearing Media Advisory

[Hai Tran]

FYI






MEDIA ADVISORY

 

Official Visit of Prime Minister to occur June 21

Smith Convenes Vietnam Human Rights and Religious Freedom Hearing on Eve of Prime Minister's Visit 

 

When:       2:00 pm; Monday June 20, 2005    

          Where:      2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC

Who:         Human Rights and Religious Freedom Experts 

                   US Commission on International Religious Freedom Commissioner, Nina                                                       Shea; Human Rights Watch;Boat People SOS; Committee for Religious                                                                      Freedom in Vietnam;Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam 

 

Washington, D.C. --- Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations subcommittee, will convene a hearing June 20, to examine the government of Vietnam's respect for human rights and religious freedom.  

 

The hearing comes in advance of an official visit to the White House by Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and is the highest-level visit since the end of the Vietnam War.  The meeting is designed to mark 10 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam.  However, there remain serious concerns over Vietnam's human rights record, which should be addressed prior to and during the visit.

 

"Last year the Department of State designated Vietnam a 'Country of Particular Concern' for its gross violations of religious freedom," said Smith who sponsored the "Vietnam Human Rights Act," which has cleared the House twice but stalled in the Senate. "While Vietnam has showcased its release of some prominent political prisoners, we can not lose sight of the fact that the government  has failed to make systematic changes such as allowing the freedom of worship, legalizing banned religious groups, and reopening churches.

 

            Smith said, "Vietnam earned its CPC status by imprisoning religious leaders and restricting the activities of Protestants, Catholics, Buddhists and members of Vietnam's indigenous faiths.  Organized religious institutions which refuse to allow their leadership to be hand-picked by Hanoi are systematically harassed.  These religious freedom violations, along with the swift imprisonment of anyone who criticizes the state, shed light on the government's continued pattern of abuse in Vietnam."

 

            Smith said Vietnam also prohibits the formation of independent political, labor, and social organizations and has repeatedly denied passports to victims of religious or political persecution being considered or accepted for refugee admission by the United States. 

 

For Immediate Release: June 17, 2005   Contact: David Kush (202-225-3765

 

 

 





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