[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM

                                 ______


                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 8, 1994

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing House Concurrent 
Resolution 216, a resolution expressing the sense of Congress regarding 
human rights in Vietnam.
  On October 19, 1992, President Clinton promised: ``It is my firm 
belief that the issue of human rights should be a part of the 
discussion when addressing the issue of normalization with Vietnam.'' 
Unfortunately, the ``road map'' established between the United States 
Government and the Government of Vietnam prior to President Clinton's 
election, did not mention provisions for human rights or democracy as a 
precondition for lifting the embargo and normalizing relations with 
Vietnam.
  While Vietnam remains one of the last Communist countries in the 
world and maintains one of the most repressive political and social 
systems, the present and some of the past United States administrations 
in their negotiations with the Vietnamese Government have not 
emphasized the lack of human rights and democratic process in Vietnam.
  House Concurrent Resolution 216 asks the State Department to place a 
high priority on gaining the release of all nonviolent political 
prisoners and seeks reforms in Vietnam's legal procedures and practices 
to bring them into conformity with international human rights 
standards. The resolution also urges the Government of Vietnam to 
invite international humanitarian organizations, such as the Red Cross, 
into their countries prisons. In addition, House Concurrent Resolution 
216 requests the Secretary of State to submit a report to the Congress 
within 6 months on the progress it is making on the human rights 
dialogue it is having with Vietnam. Moreover, the resolution states 
that the United States should actively support a resolution at the U.N. 
Commission on Human Rights expressing concern about the imprisonment of 
nonviolent political and religious dissidents in Vietnam.
  Mr. Speaker, the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 216 would go 
a long way in framing the direction that the Congress believes the 
administration should follow when proceeding in their discussions with 
the Vietnamese. Accordingly, I ask my colleagues to support House 
Concurrent Resolution 216 and ask that the full text of the resolution 
be printed in the Record at this point.

                            H. Con. Res. 216

       Whereas President Clinton on October 19, 1992, promised to 
     the American/Vietnam community ``it is my firm belief that 
     the issue of human rights should be a part of the discussion 
     when addressing the issue of normalization with Vietnam'';
       Whereas the ``road map'' established between the United 
     States Government and the Government of Vietnam did not 
     mention provisions for human rights or democracy as a 
     precondition for lifting the embargo and normalizing 
     relations with Vietnam;
       Whereas Vietnam remains one of the last communist countries 
     in the world and maintains one of the most 
     repressive political and social systems and the Vietnamese 
     people are deprived of their basic human rights;
       Whereas Vietnam has released from labor camps large numbers 
     of persons suspected of disloyalty or having ties to the 
     South Vietnamese government, and yet has rearrested and 
     incarcerated some of these former prisoners and many other 
     individuals for nonviolent political and religious advocacy;
       Whereas one of the most repressed people in Vietnam are the 
     ethnic minorities known as the Montagnards whose traditions, 
     culture, and religious beliefs continue to be eradicated 
     through policies such as the destruction of tribal villages 
     comprised of ethnic Vietnamese migrants for the purposes of 
     forced assimilation;
       Whereas free expression is denied in Vietnam (for example, 
     independent radio and television stations, newspapers, 
     performing artists, book publishers, writers, artists, and 
     journalists are forced to conform to government approval or 
     censorship);
       Whereas the poet Nguyen Chi Thien, a recognized Amnesty 
     International Prisoner of Conscience in northern Vietnam for 
     the past 27 years, is still denied the right of expression 
     and remains under close government surveillance;
       Whereas most South Vietnamese writers and poets have been 
     denied the right to publish or compose since 1975;
       Whereas the 1992 Vietnamese Constitution still designates 
     the Communist Party as the ``force leading the state and 
     society'';
       Whereas Vietnam's criminal law is used to punish nonviolent 
     advocates of political pluralism, through charges such as 
     ``attempting to overthrow the people's government'' or 
     ``antisocialist propaganda'';
       Whereas participants in independent democratic parties and 
     movements have been subjected to harsh repression (for 
     example, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, the leader of the Non-Violent 
     Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam; Professor Doan Viet 
     Hoat of the Freedom Forum; and Nguyen Dinh Huy of the 
     Movement to Unite the People and Build Democracy);
       Whereas even nonviolent political movements for democracy 
     consisting of former National Liberation Front members such 
     as the League of Former Revolutionaries have been repressed 
     and its leaders, Nguyen Ho and Ta Ba Tong, remain under house 
     arrest;
       Whereas prominent leaders from the Buddhist, Catholic, Cao 
     Dai, Hoa Hao, and Protestant faiths are in prison or under 
     house arrest for expressing their religious beliefs;
       Whereas 4 monks of the Unified Buddhist Church were tried 
     and convicted on charges of instigating public disorder on 
     November 15, 1993, in relation to a massive demonstration in 
     Hue protesting police detention and harassment of major 
     church leaders;
       Whereas Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, head of the United 
     Buddhist Church, is under house arrest and under strict 
     surveillance by security police; and
       Whereas Catholic and Protestant clerics and lay people are 
     imprisoned for conducting unauthorized religious activities, 
     including religious education classes and social programs: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the Department of State, in its formal human rights 
     dialogue with Vietnam (which was announced by the United 
     States and Vietnam on January 10, 1994), should place a high 
     priority on seeking--
       (A) the release of all nonviolent political prisoners, and
       (B) reforms in Vietnam's legal procedures and practices to 
     bring them into conformity with international human rights 
     standards;
       (2) the Secretary of State should submit a progress report 
     on this dialogue to the Congress within 6 months of the date 
     on which this resolution is adopted by the Congress;
       (3) the United States should actively support resolutions 
     at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights expressing 
     concern about the imprisonment of nonviolent political and 
     religious dissidents in Vietnam;
       (4) the United States should urge the Government of Vietnam 
     to invite international humanitarian organizations to provide 
     their confidential humanitarian services to prisoners in 
     Vietnam, as a step towards improving their treatment and the 
     poor condition of imprisonment; and
       (5) the United States should consult with its allies, 
     including Japan, Australia, Canada, and the European 
     Community, to coordinate international public and private 
     appeals for improvement in human rights in Vietnam, drawing 
     attention to the statement issued by the World Bank-convened 
     donors' conference in Paris on November 10, 1993, that notes 
     that economic and social development in Vietnam require 
     ``more attention to democratization and the promotion of 
     human rights'' by the Government of Vietnam.

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