[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 665 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 665

        Endorsing reforms for freedom and democracy in Vietnam.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2007

    Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia (for himself, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of 
California, and Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
        Endorsing reforms for freedom and democracy in Vietnam.

Whereas the United States has a long and honorable tradition of promoting 
        freedom and human rights throughout the world;
Whereas in that spirit, on May 5, 1994, Congress passed, and subsequently the 
        President signed into law, Senate Joint Resolution 168 on May 25, 1994, 
        in which Vietnam was urged to--

    (1) release immediately and unconditionally all political prisoners 
with full restoration of their civil and human rights;

    (2) guarantee equal protection under the law to all Vietnamese, 
regardless of religious, political philosophy, or previous associations;

    (3) restore all basic human rights, such as freedom of information, 
speech, religion, movement and association;

    (4) abolish the single party system and permit the functioning of all 
political organizations without intimidation or harassment; and

    (5) announce a framework and timetable for free and fair elections 
under the sponsorship of the United Nations that will allow the Vietnamese 
people to choose their own form of government according to their will;

Whereas well-respected spiritual leaders of the Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, 
        Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, and other religions have legitimately and courageously 
        demanded religious freedom and non-violently struggled for democracy and 
        the protection of human rights in Vietnam;
Whereas because of systematic, egregious, and ongoing abuses of religious 
        freedom, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 
        recommends the addition of Vietnam to the countries of particular 
        concern list;
Whereas the Government of Vietnam continues to persecute its citizens for the 
        nonviolent practice of faith, free speech, free press, and democratic 
        values, including continuous arrests, detention, and harassment of 
        members of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the Roman Catholic 
        Church, the Protestant Church, the Hoa Hao Buddhist faith, the Cao Dai 
        faith, and many other individuals who call for democracy and freedom in 
        Vietnam;
Whereas to reach a more free and democratic state, the Government of Vietnam 
        should, among other reforms--

    (1) stop blocking all foreign broadcasts and allow the free flow of 
information into Vietnam;

    (2) allow newspapers, radio, and television broadcasts to carry 
opinions even if critical of the Vietnamese Government;

    (3) release all imprisoned religious leaders and political dissidents 
and allow the United Nations Committee on Arbitrary Detention to inspect 
the prison system in Vietnam;

    (4) implement the United Nations principles on religious freedom and 
guarantee the equal treatment to all religions in Vietnam;

    (5) dismantle Article Number 4 in the Vietnamese Constitution (which 
gives the Vietnamese Government supremacy over people) and abolish the 
Directive CP 31 (which allows imprisonment of dissidents up to two years 
without trial or judicial review);

    (6) respect human and civil rights and return to the right to own 
property to the Vietnamese people;

    (7) stop the intervention of the Communist Party at all levels of the 
government and end the Communist Party's control and manipulation of the 
National Assembly;

    (8) let the National Assembly, when no longer under the control of the 
Communist party, help orchestrate the transition period and draw up new 
election laws which promote the multiparty system and allow everyone to 
freely participate in the general elections; and

    (9) have the government, when independent of the Communist Party, 
organize free and fair elections according to the new election laws and 
under international monitoring to choose a constitutional Assembly; and

Whereas Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a leading voice for freedom in Vietnam, issued his 
        9-point road map to democracy in March 2005 encompassing many of these 
        reforms: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) endorses reforms for freedom and democracy in Vietnam, 
        including those reforms advocated by Dr. Nguyen Dan Que's 9-
        point road map to democracy; and
            (2) urges the Government of the United States to utilize 
        such reforms in an effort to bring democracy and human rights 
        to Vietnam in a peaceful manner.
                                 <all>