[Vnbiz] U.S. drops Vietnam from religious intolerance list

[Phan, Tai]

U.S. drops Vietnam from religious intolerance list 
 


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vietnam has been dropped from the U.S. list of nations that severely violate religious freedom ahead of a visit there this week by        President George W. Bush, U.S. officials said on Monday. 

 
  
 
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, also said Uzbekistan had been added to the State Department's annual list of "countries of particular concern" for violating religious freedom.

The list, to be unveiled by the State Department at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday, will also include China, Eritrea,        Iran, Myanmar,        North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, the officials said.

The U.S. decisions were to be announced shortly after Vietnam on Monday deported a U.S. citizen convicted of plotting against the communist-run government, a move that resolved a long-running irritant between Washington and Hanoi.

Bush and U.S. Secretary of State        Condoleezza Rice are scheduled to travel to Hanoi this week for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

Asked about the State Department possibly removing Vietnam from its list of "countries of particular concern" for their religious practices, a Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said: "I think there is something in her hand."