[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 320 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 320
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 6, 2006
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Calling on the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to
immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Pham Hong Son and other
political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and other purposes.
Whereas in March 2002, Dr. Pham Hong Son was arrested after he had translated an
article entitled ``What is Democracy?'' from the Web site of the United
States Embassy in Vietnam and sent it to both friends and senior party
officials;
Whereas Dr. Son has written and published on the Internet articles entitled
``The Promotion of Democracy: A Key Focus in a New World Order'',
``Sovereignty and Human Rights: The Search for Reconciliation'', and
``Hopeful Signs for Democracy in Viet Nam'';
Whereas in none of his activities did Dr. Son advocate violence in his
opposition to the Vietnamese Government or its policies;
Whereas Dr. Son has been arrested for the peaceful exercise of his fundamental
rights to freedom of expression and association in violation of Article
69 of the Vietnamese Constitution which states: ``The citizen shall
enjoy freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of the press, the right to
be informed and the right to assemble, form associations and hold
demonstrations in accordance with the provisions of the law'';
Whereas Dr. Son has been arrested, tried, convicted, and imprisoned in
contravention of the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a state party,
specifically Article 19 (freedom of expression) and Article 22 (freedom
of association);
Whereas Dr. Son did not have a trial that would be considered fair and that met
even the most basic standards of internationally accepted justice, in
contravention of Article 14 (right to a fair trial) of the ICCPR;
Whereas Dr. Son was sentenced in June 2003, after a half-day closed trial in
Hanoi, to 13 years of imprisonment and three years of house arrest on
spurious espionage charges;
Whereas such spurious charges are routinely used to suppress peaceful democracy
activists, as in the notorious cases of Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly,
his two nephews and niece, and in the cases of Pham Que Duong, Tran
Khue, and Tran Dung Tien;
Whereas Dr. Son's appeal was held on August 26, 2003, in a closed trial before
Vietnam's Supreme Court, from which international observers and Western
journalists were barred, although diplomats from more than eight
countries gathered outside the courthouse during the trial to register
their concern;
Whereas, although the Vietnamese Supreme Court upheld Dr. Son's sentence, it
reduced the sentence of imprisonment from 13 to five years;
Whereas Dr. Son remains imprisoned in harsh conditions, including imprisonment
for more than a year in solitary confinement, which have endangered his
health;
Whereas Vietnam has imprisoned, detained, placed under house arrest, or
otherwise restricted numerous other peaceful democratic and religious
activists for reasons related to their political or religious views,
such as Do Van My, Mai Thi Dung, Nguyen Thanh Phong, Nguyen Thi Ha,
Nguyen Van Dien, Nguyen Vu Binh, Phan Van Ban, To Van Manh, Vo Van Buu,
Vo Van Thanh Liem (Nam Liem), Bui Thien Hue, Nguyen Lap Ma, Nguyen Nhat
Thong, Nguyen Van Ly, Phan Van Loi, Thich Dong Tho, Thich Huyen Quang,
Thich Nguyen Ly, Thich Nguyen Vuong, Thich Phuoc An, Thich Quang Do,
Thich Tam Lien, Thich Thai Hoa, Thich Thanh Huyen, Thich Tien Hanh,
Thich Tue Sy, Thich Vien Dinh, Ngo Van Ninh, Le Van Chuong, Le Van Tinh,
Phuong Van Kiem, Nguyen Van Si, Tran Van Thien, Thich Thien Tam, Hoang
Chinh Minh, and Do Nam Hai (Phuong Nam);
Whereas Dr. Son and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience have
been deprived of their basic human rights by being denied their ability
to exercise freedom of opinion and expression;
Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment and the violation of the human rights of
citizens of Vietnam are sources of continuing, grave concern to
Congress;
Whereas Vietnam continues to restrict access to Western diplomats, journalists,
and humanitarian organizations to the Central Highlands and the
Northwest Highlands, where there are credible reports that ethnic
minorities suffer serious violations of their human and civil rights,
including property rights, and ongoing restrictions on religious
activities, including forced conversions;
Whereas there are continuing and well-founded concerns about forcibly
repatriated Montagnard refugees, access to whom is restricted;
Whereas on December 1, 2005, the European Parliament adopted a resolution
calling on the Vietnamese authorities, among other measures, to
undertake political and institutional reforms leading to democracy and
the rule of law, starting by allowing a multi-party system and
guaranteeing the right of all currents of opinion to express their
views;
Whereas the resolution further calls on Vietnamese authorities to end all forms
of repression against members of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam
and officially recognize its existence and that of other non-recognized
Churches in the country;
Whereas the resolution further calls on Vietnamese authorities to release all
Vietnamese political prisoners and prisoners of conscience detained for
having legitimately and peacefully exercised their rights to freedom of
opinion, expression, the press, and religion;
Whereas the resolution further calls on Vietnamese authorities to guarantee full
enjoyment of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Vietnamese
Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, in particular by allowing the creation of a genuinely free
press; and
Whereas the resolution further calls on Vietnamese authorities to ensure the
safe repatriation, under the Cambodia-Vietnam-UNHCR Agreement, of the
Montagnards who fled Vietnam, and allow proper monitoring of the
situation of the returnees by the UNHCR and international
nongovernmental organizations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That--
(1) Congress--
(A) condemns and deplores the arbitrary detention
of Dr. Pham Hong Son by the Government of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam and calls for his immediate and
unconditional release, and for the immediate and
unconditional release of all other political prisoners;
(B) condemns and deplores the violations of freedom
of speech, religion, movement, association, and the
lack of due process afforded to individuals in Vietnam;
(C) strongly urges the Government of Vietnam to
consider the implications of its actions for the
broader relationship between the United States and
Vietnam;
(D) urges the Government of Vietnam to allow
unfettered access to the Central Highlands and to the
Northwest Highlands by foreign diplomats, the
international press, and nongovernmental organizations;
and
(E) applauds the European Parliament for its
resolution of December 1, 2005, regarding human rights
in Vietnam, and urges the Government of Vietnam to
comply with the terms of the resolution; and
(2) it is the sense of Congress that the United States
should--
(A) make the immediate release of Dr. Pham Hong Son
a top concern;
(B) continue to urge the Government of Vietnam to
comply with internationally recognized standards for
basic freedoms and human rights;
(C) make clear to the Government of Vietnam that it
must adhere to the rule of law and respect the freedom
of the press in order to broaden its relations with the
United States;
(D) make clear to the Government of Vietnam that
the detention of Dr. Son and other persons and the
infliction of human rights violations on these
individuals are not in the interest of Vietnam because
they create obstacles to improved bilateral relations
and cooperation with the United States; and
(E) reiterate the deep concern of the United States
regarding the continued imprisonment of Dr. Son and
other persons whose human rights are being violated and
discuss the legal status and immediate humanitarian
needs of such individuals with the Government of
Vietnam.
Passed the House of Representatives April 6, 2006.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.