In an open letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que calls on the US government to promote the democratization of Vietnam. A former prisoner of conscience who remains under house arrest, Dr. Que is well recognized both inside and outside the country. Since 2007, Vietnam’s communist government has waged a brutal crackdown against dissidents, sending over a hundred of them to prison and placing others under house arrest. Hundreds of dissidents have fled to and are seeking asylum in neighboring countries. Vietnam has arguably replaced Burma as the most repressive regime in Southeast Asia.
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The Honorable Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, D.C.
The United States of America
Cc: President Barack Obama
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell
Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro
US Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear
July 8, 2012
Dear Madame Secretary,
The Vietnamese people are very pleased to know that you are visiting many capitals including Hanoi on July 10, to justify the U.S. strategy in Asia – Pacific, one of the most critical areas of the 21st century.
In recent weeks, before your visit to Hanoi the Vietnamese communist authorities have increasingly violated the basic human rights of the Vietnamese people. These violations range from harassing internet bloggers to dispersing peaceful gatherings. These rights are the universal values that the United States and United Nations are pursuing in order to empower individuals and communities throughout the world.
In light of your efforts, we would like to assert that:
1/ The Vietnamese people very much wish for our country to become a strategic partner of the United States because of an aggressive remilitarized China and the ongoing East Sea dispute. However, in order for the United Stats to forge a true, long-term partnership for security, peace and stability in this region, you would do well to seek a partnership with a free and democratic Vietnam.
2/ Democratization of Vietnam is not only important for the U.S. strategic security but also for the future of Vietnam as a strong and prosperous democratic country in the region.
Today, Vietnam is still under a one party system where there is no distinct separation of the executive, judiciary and legislative branches. The Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) strictly controls the government at all levels, manipulates the National Assembly, intervenes into the court procedures, monitors the mass media, and deprives the Vietnamese people of all basic human rights. There are no free and fair elections, and no independent unions to protect millions of Vietnamese workers. People who disagree and express their own opinions in a peaceful way are imprisoned.
The VCP and their merciless local cronies and relatives have driven Vietnam to the brink of bankruptcy through wasteful, inefficient investments. Incredible wealth is in the hands of a small group of corrupt apparatchiks, while the majority of people live in poverty; the cost of living is soaring; the prices of electricity, water, and gasoline are rising day by day; the Vietnamese “dong” is losing its value while wages and salaries are stagnant. People, especially workers, have to toil night and day, yet cannot make a decent living.
Many patriotic people are voicing for democratic change.
Secretary Clinton, as far as I know before leaving APEC to attend the ASEAN summit at Bali, Indonesia in November last year, President Obama solemnly declared: “As history has proven, through the long process, democracy and economic development are companions together. Prosperity without freedom and democracy is just another form of poverty”. Prior to that declaration, at the East West Center in Hawaii, you also specifically addressed Vietnam in a speech on Asia policy by saying: “We made it clear to Vietnam that if we want to develop a relationship of strategic cooperation Vietnam should do more to respect and protect the rights of its citizens”. Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell and last month the US Defense Minister Leon Panetta and Deputy Secretary Andrew Shapiro have also expressed those conditions to Hanoi.
3/ Democratization of VN is equally essential for rebalancing of U.S. strategy in Asia – Pacific and to our Vietnamese people’s long-term aspiration.
In light of the congruence of current events, we recommend the following:
a. The current political situation in Vietnam is a golden opportunity for the U.S. to express support for a more open political system. Specifically, before it is too late, the Vietnamese government should adopt a timetable for a free and fair election under the supervision of the United Nations in which the Vietnamese people will be able to express their own will regarding their country’s political system.
b. The major political impediment is Article 4 of the Constitution, which imposes the illegal primacy of the VCP. This article should be abolished in order to establish the rule of law.
c. The Vietnamese government should cease harassment, arrest, and imprisonment of citizens who peacefully express their own opinions. They should release all prisoners of conscience. The Vietnamese government should also stop threatening and harassing former imprisoned activists.
d. While our efforts should be concentrated on the release of all political prisoners, we should also thrive to achieve long-term, concrete, sustainable, verifiable progress by encouraging criminal code reform. Priority should be made to abolish provisions such as Article 79 (trying to overthrow government) and Article 88 (Propaganda against government) which are vague and ill-defined reasons to arrest and imprison people. The Vietnamese government should stop invading and searching homes, and arresting people without court orders. The U.S. government, working with international NGOs, can help the Government of Vietnam (GVN) bring its criminal code and practices into conformity with international standards so that laws are not used to punish people for exercising their human rights.
e. The GVN should implement freedom of religion, recognize private property and encourage independent labour unions and collective bargains.
I am confident that we who lost freedom when the past war ended in 1975 can finally achieve the triumph of freedom and human dignity, as well as a strong alliance for international security to overcome any emerging military threat. But first we must accomplish the required political reforms, starting with the good relationship between the U.S. and South East Asia. Not in temporary support of dictatorships, but with deep roots in new democracies. In Vietnam, our Non-Violent Movement For Human Rights is committed to achieving these democratic goals in support of a resilient Vietnam at this momentous time.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Respectfully yours,
Dr Nguyen Dan Que
Founder & Chairman of The Non-Violent Movement in Vietnam
