[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 11, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2761-H2765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CALLING ON THE GOVERNMENT OF SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM TO RELEASE
FATHER THADDEUS NGUYEN VAN LY
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 378) calling on the
Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to immediately and
unconditionally release Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 378
Whereas in February 2001, Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, a
Roman Catholic priest was formally invited to testify before
the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom but was denied permission to leave the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam and thus, instead, submitted written
testimony critical of Vietnam which was read into the
Commission record on February 13, 2001;
Whereas Father Ly's testimony before the Commission
documents numerous specific actions of the Government of
Vietnam against religious freedom which he classified as
collectively being ``extremely cruel'' and requiring a ``non-
violent and persistent campaign'' to achieve full religious
freedom for all people in Vietnam;
Whereas Father Ly has been detained by the Government of
Vietnam since February 2001, when it placed Father Ly under
administrative detention--as a direct response to his
testimony, branding him a traitor for ``slandering'' the
Communist party and ``distorting'' the religious policy of
the Government of Vietnam;
Whereas the Government of Vietnam issued a second decree
suspending Father Ly's ability to ``carry on any religious
responsibility and functions'' and later formally removed
Father Ly from his church, detained him, and denied him
access to adequate legal counsel;
Whereas on October 19, 2001, the Thua Thien Hue Provincial
People's Court convicted Father Ly of all charges after a one
day, closed trial, without the benefit of counsel and
sentenced him to two years in prison for violating the terms
of his administrative detention, thirteen years in prison for
``damaging the Government's unity policy'', and 5 years of
administrative probation upon release from prison;
Whereas after pleas from United States Government officials
and the world community Father Ly's sentence was reduced by 5
years;
Whereas in June 2001, Father Ly's nephews Nguygen Vu Viet,
age 27, and Nguyen Truc Cuong, age 36, and his niece Nguyen
Thi Hoa, age 44, were arrested for allegedly being in contact
and receiving support from organizations in the United States
concerning the religious situation in Vietnam and
disseminating information concerning the detention of Father
Ly;
Whereas after their cases generated much concern in
Congress, Nguyen Thi Hoa, Nguyen Vu Viet and Nguyen Truc
Cuong all have been or are expected to be released shortly;
Whereas on November 27, 2003, the United Nations Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention issued Opinion No. 20/2003
stating ``the Group is convinced that [Father Ly] has been
arrested and detained only for his opinions . . . [and] the
deprivation of the liberty of Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly
is arbitrary, as being in contravention of Article 19 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of Article 19 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights'';
Whereas Father Ly has been deprived of his basic human
rights by being denied his ability to exercise freedom of
opinion and expression; and
Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment and the violation of the
human rights of citizens of Vietnam are sources of
continuing, grave concern to Congress;
Whereas continuing concerns regarding human rights in
Vietnam were recently highlighted by large demonstrations in
the Central Highlands on April 10 and 11, 2004, in which
thousands of Montagnards gathered on Easter weekend to
protest their treatment by the Government of Vietnam,
including the confiscation of tribal lands and ongoing
restrictions on religious activities; and
Whereas although the Government of Vietnam has attempted to
control information about the April 2004 protests and access
to the Central Highlands, reputable human rights
organizations have reported that the protests were met with a
violent response and that many demonstrators were arrested,
injured, or are in hiding, and that others were killed: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That--
(1) Congress--
(A) condemns and deplores the arbitrary detention of Father
Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly by the Government of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam and calls for his immediate and
unconditional release;
(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 the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, including the impact on trade relations;
(D) urges the Government of Vietnam to allow unfettered
access to the Central Highlands by foreign diplomats, the
international press, and nongovernmental organizations; and
(E) condemns the extent of the violence used against
Montagnard protesters on April 10 and 11, 2004, and the use
of any violence against peaceful protests and demonstrations;
and
(2) it is the sense of Congress that the United States--
(A) should make the immediate release of Father Ly a top
concern;
(B) should continue to urge the Government of Vietnam to
comply with internationally recognized standards for basic
freedoms and human rights;
(C) should make it clear to the Government of Vietnam that
the detention of Father Ly 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
(D) should reiterate the deep concern of the United States
regarding the continued imprisonment of Father Ly, and other
persons whose human rights are being violated, and discuss
their legal status and immediate humanitarian needs with the
Government of Vietnam.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Vietnam likes to say that Vietnam is a
country, not a war. It is a catchy little self-evident phrase that some
Members of Congress picked up during the bilateral trade agreement
debate, as if to suggest that the debate was somehow about the Vietnam
War, which it was not, instead of Vietnam's shameful present-day human
rights record, which it was.
Of course Vietnam is a country, to which I respond: behave like an
honorable country. Live up to their word as a signatory to numerous
human rights covenants, including the international covenant on
political and civil rights. Stop bringing dishonor and shame to their
government by abusing their own people.
Mr. Speaker, according to the U.S. State Department report, the
``Report on Human Rights Practices for 2003'': ``The Government's human
rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit serious
abuses.'' Rather than repress and jail, harass, intimidate, and
torture, the government should recognize and reflect the innate
goodness of the Vietnamese people, a kind, gentle, compassionate people
who deserve better, much better.
Take the case of Father Ly. In February 2001, Father Thaddeus Nguyen
Van Ly submitted written testimony to the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom for a hearing at which he was invited
to testify. He was not able to testify in person, but submitted written
testimony which I will include in its entirety in the Record.
Because this brave Catholic priest told the truth, spoke the truth to
power, the Government of Vietnam persecuted and cruelly mistreated him;
[[Page H2762]]
and he is now serving a 10-year prison sentence, and he has been in
prison for 3 of those years. Amnesty International calls Father Ly a
prisoner of conscience, and even the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention has condemned his detention.
I think it is worth focusing just for a moment on his testimony,
which was incisive and compelling; and I quote it in part: ``Since
their victory of April 30, 1975,'' Father Ly wrote, ``the Vietnamese
Communists have extended its oppressive policy toward the different
religions of South Vietnam. Laws and decrees have been promulgated to
confine, restrict, or ban religious activities. The government has
falsely accused clergy members and lay people as a pretext to detain
and imprison those who protest its oppressive policy, or those who
teach catechism, lead a church choir, or join a seminary. They have
been banished to concentration camps for years. This policy has been
ongoing,'' he writes, ``for nearly 50 years.
``The government has used many ruses,'' he continues to write, ``to
divide and politicize the Cao Dai, Catholic and Protestant Churches; to
split the Buddhist Church in two, the Unified Buddhist Church of
Vietnam and the Buddhist Church of Vietnam; and to set up the puppet
Hoa Hao Buddhist Committee of Representatives, which consists of mainly
Communist cadres, to claim leadership over 5 million Hoa Hao Buddhists.
The government has requisitioned for its arbitrary use numerous
facilities and properties belonging to different Churches.''
Father Ly continues to write: ``With regard to the Catholic Church,
the Communists have severely restricted her fundamental rights,'' and
he points out and lays out some 10 different instances, including the
fact that the government still keeps many priests, clergy members, and
lay people in prison or under house arrest.
Father Ly continues to say: ``Faced with this extremely cruel policy
of the Vietnamese Communist Government to strangle religions, the
Churches in Vietnam have unceasingly demanded religious freedom. Their
nonviolent and persistent campaign will continue until the Vietnamese
people have full religious freedom, which anyone else in the civilized
world has.''
{time} 1630
This campaign has, as he points out, the following objectives. This
is number one. This is Father Ly's testimony:
``Number one: the government must fully respect the right of all
citizens to true religious freedom and the right of churches to select,
train and appoint their own priests, clergy members and dignitaries.
The government must stop its practice of listing the religious
affiliation of citizens on their identity cards and personal documents
so that no citizen be discriminated against and be able to freely
practice his or her faith.
``Number two,'' Father Ly writes: ``The government must return all
facilities and properties it has confiscated or requisitioned from the
churches, even when the documentary evidence of ownership was lost in
the war if local people can confirm the rightful ownership of these
facilities.
``Number three: the government must abandon the ruses and schemes it
has used to oppress and destroy religions. Its interference in church
affairs must cease. Committees created by the government but dressed up
as religious institutions in order to serve the government's anti-
religion policy must be disbanded.
``Number four: the government must unconditionally release all clergy
members, priests, officials and dignitaries of the churches and lay
people who are currently in prison or under administrative detention
because of their faith.
``Number five: the government must fully respect every and each
article of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of
which the Vietnamese Communist Government became a signatory on
September 24, 1982.''
Finally, Father Ly writes, ``However, for as long as the Vietnamese
Communists keep their dogmatic and totalitarian rule and disregard the
fundamental freedoms of the people as I have presented above,'' he goes
on to say, ``by trading with Vietnam the U.S. and other countries only
strengthen the Communists' grips on power.''
Again, I would like his full statement read by Members, because it is
a very strong and compelling bit of testimony.
These are the words of Father Ly. He is now in prison 3 years of a
10-year prison term.
The resolution we are considering today, Mr. Speaker, has over 100
cosponsors and I believe, we believe, will send a strong message to the
leaders of Hanoi to free Father Ly and that the ongoing systematic
abuses of human rights must cease and that they will not be tolerated.
H. Con. Res. 378 also condemns, and this amendment we are offering
with the language today, the brutal crackdown against the Montagnard.
Largely ignored by the American press, Vietnam crushed thousands of
Montagnard in the Central Highlands on April 10 and 11. In classic
dictatorship style and brutality, many Montagnard, who were protesting
the confiscation of tribal lands and ongoing restrictions on religious
activities, were beaten and there are reports that some were killed.
This comes on the heels of another brutal crackdown against the
Montagnard in December of 2001 that has resulted in the closing of over
400 churches.
I would just point out to my colleagues that there are also attempts
to coerce people to renounce their faith, renunciation of faith.
According to Ambassador John Hanford, our Ambassador At Large For
Religious Freedom, there are approximately 100,000 Montagnards who were
pressured to renounce their faith. I am happy to say that most
resisted, but 100,000 within the last few months and years have been
pressured to say ``no'' to their faith in Christ.
H. Con. Res. 378 also urges the government of Vietnam to allow
unfettered access to the Central Highlands, where all of this is going
on, by foreign diplomats, the international press and nongovernmental
organizations, and condemns the extent of the violence used against, as
I said, the Montagnard protestors.
Mr. Speaker, finally, human rights have gotten worse, not better,
since the Bilateral Trade Agreement with Vietnam of 2001. We must not
remain silent while the government of Vietnam continues to persecute
religious and political dissidents and ethnic minorities. As a matter
of fact, I believe strongly that Vietnam should be branded a Country of
Particular Concern, a CPC country, pursuant to the provisions of the
International Religious Freedom Act.
We care deeply, Democrats and Republicans, Mr. Speaker. We care
deeply about the people of Vietnam and respect and honor their
legitimate aspirations to be free. Why does not Hanoi?
Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the written testimony of
Reverend Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly before the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom.
Testimony of Rev. Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor to be perhaps the
first Vietnamese Roman Catholic priest living under a
communist regime to testify before your Commission at a
location that represents the ideals of democracy. I would
like to send my greetings of the New Millennium to you and to
the people of the United States.
In the opening statement of the Declaration of Independence
of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945,
Ho Chi Minh tried to win your nation's support by solemnly
quoting the second paragraph of Declaration of Independence
of the United States: ``All men are created equal. They are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.''
In less than 250 years since her independence, your country
has become the shining example of freedom and independence--
anyone who wants to know what freedom and independence are
only needs to visit your country and her people.
As an eyewitness living in Communist Vietnam for more than
25 years, I would like to boldly and frankly present my ideas
on three issues as your invitation letter has suggested.
i. the realities of the religions in vietnam in the new millennium
In order to achieve independence, liberty and happiness for
the Vietnamese people, Ho Chi Minh chose Communism. This is a
fundamental contradiction because Communism calls for a
dictatorial regime that does not tolerate the concept of true
liberty. Freedom of religion will be absent for as long as
the Vietnamese government hangs on to its Communist ideology.
Since their victory of April 30, 1975, the Vietnamese
Communists have extended its oppressive policy toward the
different religions
[[Page H2763]]
to South Vietnam. Laws and decrees have been promulgated to
confine, restrict, or ban religious activities. The
government has falsely accused clergy members and lay people
as a pretext to detain and imprison those who protest its
oppressive policy, or those who teach catechism, lead a
church choir, or join a seminary. They are banished to
concentration camps for years. This policy has been on-going
for nearly 50 years (from 1954 to 2001).
The government has used many ruses to divide and politicize
the Cao Dai, Catholic and Protestant Churches; to split the
Buddhist Church in two--the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam
(UBCV) and the Buddhist Church of Vietnam (BCV); and to set
up the puppet Hoa Hao Buddhist Committee of Representatives,
which consists of mainly Communist cadres, to claim
leadership over five million Hoa Hoa Buddhists. The
government has requisitioned for its arbitrary use numerous
facilities and properties belonging to the different
Churches.
With regard to the Catholic Church, the communists have
severely restricted her fundamental rights. The many
petitions issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of
Vietnam (CBCV) since 1980 have unmasked the Government's
policy. This I have analyzed in my Ten-Point Proclamation
released on November 24, 1994 and the follow-up proclamation
dated November 24, 2000, which I have sent to your
Commission. Following is the summary of the points made in
those two statements.
1. The Vietnamese Communists have brutally interfered with
CBCV's authority to organize its annual Pastoral Assembly:
the Bishops must apply for permission to organize and the
Assembly's agenda must be pre-examined by the Government.
After the Assembly, the minutes must be submitted to the
Government. All reports from the Assembly must be vetted by
the Government before they can be released to the Catholic
community and the public.
2. The Vietnamese communists have brutally interfered with
CBCV's authority to appoint bishops and ordain of priests.
The Holy See had to negotiate with the Vietnamese Government
for years on each bishop appointment. The Government often
rejects candidates selected by the Church and only accepts
those they are pleased with. The Government counts on The
Vatican having to yield eventually so as to prevent excessive
harm to dioceses facing extended absence of a bishop. The
dioceses of Hung Hoa, Hai Phong, and Bui Chu . . . have not
had a bishop for more than eight years and The Vatican is not
allowed to appoint any.
Anyone intending to join a seminary of any candidate for
priesthood elected by the Church must have the approval of
and their background examined by the Public Security Police.
These candidates must prove their docility and show no sign
of resisting the regime. The police give special preference
to those agreeing to serve as informants for the Government
within the seminary. An applicant's chance would increase if
he can afford to bribe the authorities. Applicants having
family members who worked for defunct Republic of Vietnam or
holding nonconformist views stand no chance of being approved
for admission into a seminary or priesthood regardless of
their qualifications and moral virtues and regardless of the
Church's support. I know many young men who have repeatedly
passed the Church-administered entrance exam with top scores
but have not been approved for admission into any seminary.
Any bishop intending to ordain a seminarian into priesthood
or to assign a priest to a mission must ask for permission
and negotiate with the Government in a protracted process,
which in some cases has taken nearly 20 years without
results. The approval criteria imposed by the Government has
nothing to do with the moral quality that the Church requires
of candidates for priesthood. As a result, the number of
newly ordained priests has drastically decreased and is
currently insufficient to meet the Church's pastoral needs.
Aging priests die or retire without successors. Many priests
in rural regions have to minister more than ten parishes, all
distant from each other. There is hardly normal religious
life in these parishes. It is very difficult for priests to
change their residence for new assignments.
3. Groups of faithful in new economic zones or in remote
areas are anxious to have mass for Christmas and Easter each
year but their most basic spiritual need is rarely met. The
atheist Government wants these people not to think of
religion, which it considers harmful and dangerous.
4. A Mass that brings together the faithful from different
places and priests desiring to say mass in places other than
their usual assigned location must have prior government
permission.
5. The Government still keeps many priests, clergy members,
and lay people in prison or under house arrest. (Committee
for Religious Freedom in Vietnam has made this list available
to your Commission.)
6. The Government brutally violates the Church's freedom of
the press. No local or national publication of the Church is
allowed. As a result, The Church cannot fulfill
its evangelical duties. Before 1975, there were more than
a dozen Catholic newspapers and magazines in South
Vietnam. Today there are only two weekly magazines, Cong
Giao & Dan Toc (The Catholics & The People) and Nguoi Cong
Giao Viet Nam (The Vietnamese Catholics), which are
created and financed by the Government. CBCV's only
publication is the newsletter Ban Tin Hiep Thong (The
Communion News), of which the first six issues were
``illegal.'' The Government gave the Church temporary
permission to publish issues 7-9 from February to
September 2000. In October 2000, the government rescinded
its permission and discontinued this only publication of
The Church. There is no freedom of speech in my country.
Churches of course have none. This kind of statement that
I am presenting to you cannot be circulated in Vietnam
because no photocopying store or printing shop would dare
to reproduce it. Nobody dares to keep it, fearing for his
own life and the safety of his family. Those who dare must
be prepared for martyrdom. In fact, on February 7 the
public security police searched two of my assistants and
found a floppy disk containing a draft of this statement.
These two brave young men were detained overnight at the
police station for extensive questioning.
7. The Government forces all students from all grades and
in college to study and love Socialism while in fact nobody
likes to teach or study it. Only the three million communist
party members and the five million members of the Communist
League of Youth should study this ideology if they still
believe in it. Forcing the entire Vietnamese nation to study
a bankrupt ideology that has caused them so much suffering is
outright unconscionable.
8. The Communist Government has, since 1954 in North
Vietnam and since 1975 in South Vietnam, seized or
requisitioned thousands upon thousands of Church facilities
used for education, charity, and medical service.
Consequently the Church has no means to train seminarians,
providing education and human services to the poor, the sick,
the handicapped and the orphans, and it is extremely
difficult for Church members to deliver service in a
government facility. For example, the Pius X Papal Institute
in Da Lat, run by the Jesuits, had been an outstanding
college for priesthood formation until its confiscation in
1976 by the Government, which turned it into a training
school for Communist cadres. The Hoan Thien Minor Seminary at
11 Dong Da, Hue, offering high school-level training to
seminarians, was taken by force by the Government in December
1979; all three priests teaching at the seminary and more
than 80 seminarians were evicted. These are but a few
examples.
Faced with this extremely cruel policy of the Vietnamese
Communist Government to strangle religions, the Churches in
Vietnam have unceasingly demanded religious freedom. Their
non-violent and persistent campaign will continue until the
Vietnamese people have full religious freedom, which anyone
else in the civilized world has. This campaign has the
following objectives.
1. The Government must fully respect the right of all
citizens to true religious freedom and the right of Churches
to select, train, and appoint their own priests, clergy
members and dignitaries. The Government must stop its
practice of listing the religious affiliation of citizens on
their identity cards and personal documents so that no
citizen will be discriminated against and be able to freely
practice his or her faith.
2. The Government must return all facilities and properties
it has confiscated or requisitioned from the Churches, even
when documentary evidence of ownership was lost in the war if
local people can confirm the rightful owner of these
facilities and properties.
3. The Government must abandon the ruses and schemes it has
used to oppress and destroy religions. Its interference in
Church affairs must cease. Committees created by the
government but dressed up as religious institutions in order
to serve the Government's antireligion policy must be
disbanded.
4. The Government must unconditionally release all clergy
members, priests, officials and dignitaries of the Churches
and lay people who are currently in prison or under
administrative detention because of their faith.
5. The Government must fully respect every and each article
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
of which the Vietnamese Communist Government became a
signatory on September 24, 1982.
ii. effects of the bilateral trade agreement on human rights and
religious freedom in vietnam
I am only a priest, not a specialist in economics and
politics. I speak as a Vietnamese citizen with a deep love
for my country and my people.
Vietnam needs the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) for her
economic development. In principle I dearly want my country
to have the trust of other countries, among them the United
States, so that my country may achieve prosperity and my
people may have a better life and fully realize their
potentials.
However, for as long as the Vietnamese Communists keep
their dogmatic and totalitarian rule and disregard the
fundamental freedoms of the people as I have presented above,
by trading with Vietnam the United States and other countries
would only strengthen the Communists' grips on power; the BTA
may end up benefiting only the governing minority while
prolonging the suffering of the entire people; the vast
majority of the common people like us may at best receive
small crumbs trickling down from the top but in return must
endure our fate of the exploited and disenfranchised for so
much longer.
In regard to the ratification of the BTA, I urgently warn
the US Congress not to trust
[[Page H2764]]
the Vietnamese Communists' promise of good faith. The United
States and many other countries have had bitter experiences
dealing with their broken promises in the past.
The Vietnamese Communists have signed many international
accords and agreements on human rights but have never
intended to respect them. Their intention is to deceive the
international community. For example, Vietnam became
signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights in 1982 but does not abide by Articles 18
and 19 of this covenant which call for the respect for the
freedoms of thought, speech, and religion. If international
human rights institutions allow themselves to fall victim to
such deception, they will contribute to the following dire
consequences: (1) the Vietnamese Government will exploit
their signing the document to falsely claim that there are
human rights in Vietnam; (2) these international
institutions will lose their credibility as they prove to
be so easily deceived; and (3) these institutions
unknowingly prolong the Communist oppression of the
Vietnamese people--this in fact constitutes a major crime
against my people.
Therefore, if the United States and other countries truly
sympathize with my ill-fated people and truly care about
human rights, especially the right to religious freedom, of
the Vietnamese people, you must not help the Communist
Government prolong its totalitarian rule. Instead, the United
States and other countries should suspend all agreements
harmful to the Vietnamese people and do everything in your
capacity to put pressure on the Vietnamese Government to
allow freedom and democracy to dawn on our country.
iii. what can be done to help improve freedom of religion in Vietnam in
the near term, and in the long term?
The Vietnamese Communists have idolized Ho Chi Minh,
turning him into a ``god'' and creating a new religion
revolving around him. The Communist Government wants to
suppress all other religions and replace them with this new
religion in order to unify the Vietnamese people behind it.
In fact, Ho Chi Minh had made significant contributions to
our national struggle for independence but at the same time
had committed serious crimes against the Vietnamese people.
One basic endeavor that the international community needs to
undertake is to unravel the harmful myths woven by the
Communists around this historical figure.
In the short term, the United States and other countries
should help the Churches in Vietnam achieve greater
independence from the government, should show by example how
freedom of religion is respected in the free world, and
should expose the oppression that the Vietnamese Government
has imposed on the Churches. At first, the Vietnamese
Communists may feel that such independence would clash with
its totalitarian power but with time it may realize that the
power to control and interfere with Church affairs, such as
the appointment of priests, should have never been theirs to
start with.
The Vietnamese people will not enjoy religious freedom for
as long as the Communist regime remains in place. Therefore
if the United States and other countries truly desire to see
the return of religious freedom to the Vietnamese people,
they will need to create favorable conditions for the early
demise of the Communist regime.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is a precious opportunity to speak on behalf of my
people, of the different Churches, and of the Catholic Church
in particular. I would like to extend my gratitude to you, to
the U.S. Congress, and the American people, including some
two million Vietnamese-Americans, for having given me such an
opportunity.
May God bless you, your families, your colleagues, the
American people, and your beautiful country. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, first I want to commend my good friend, the gentleman
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), for his leadership on Vietnam human rights
issues and, indeed, on being the most indefatigable and passionate
advocate of human rights in this body.
As the political security and economic relationship between the
United States and Vietnam become increasingly complex, we must never
forget the continued absence of internationally recognized human rights
in Vietnam.
Mr. Speaker, Father Ly, the subject of this resolution, is a
Vietnamese Catholic priest. Three years ago, he was invited by the
International Religious Freedom Commission to give testimony related to
religious freedom in Vietnam. Since the Vietnamese Government denied
Father Ly permission to leave his country, he submitted written
testimony for the record. In this testimony, Father Ly outlined the
lack of religious freedom in Vietnam and urged his fellow Vietnamese
citizens to continue to struggle, nonviolently, for their rights.
He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison after a 1-day
closed trial in which he was denied adequate legal counsel. Father Ly
was convicted of slandering the Communist Party and distorting the
religious policy of the government of Vietnam.
Subsequently, Mr. Speaker, the United Nations Working Group stated
that Father Ly was arrested and detained only for his opinions, and the
deprivation of the liberty of Father Ly is arbitrary and contravenes
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Mr. Speaker, as we meet here today, Father Ly continues to remain in
prison because he had the courage of his convictions and he refused to
whitewash the continued lack of religious freedom in Vietnam. Our
resolution urges his immediate release from prison, a call for justice
long overdue.
It is my strong hope that the Vietnamese Government will receive this
wake-up call through the passage of our resolution. While large numbers
of Vietnamese Catholics continue to attend services each Sunday, the
Vietnamese Government prohibits the church from training enough priests
to meet the growing demand for clerics. The Vietnamese Government has
also refused to compensate the church fully for expropriated church
property, and it prohibits the church from expanding its activities to
help the poor in Vietnam.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to show their concern about
the continued unjust imprisonment of Father Ly and the lack of
religious freedom in Vietnam by supporting strongly our resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), the
chairman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security.
Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, we are here on the floor to demand of the communist
government of Vietnam that Father Ly immediately be released,
unconditionally. Father Ly's only offense is that he is a Catholic
priest who sought to minister to the spiritual needs of his countrymen
and countrywomen in Vietnam. For this offense, he has been in prison
for the last 3 years, and the communist government of Vietnam expects
that he will serve the full decade of his sentence.
This is, of course, an affront to human rights. It is also an affront
to the United States, because it was the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom that solicited Father Ly's testimony.
They asked that Father Ly testify in person. He was willing to do so;
but, of course, the communist government of Vietnam forbade him from
doing so. So Father Ly then submitted written testimony, and it is on
the basis of that written testimony that he was convicted. That is why
he is now in jail.
Never has there been a clearer path from freedom to imprisonment than
in this case. We can read the entirety of his offense. What he said, in
response to questions from the United States, is that there is not
religious freedom in Vietnam. He said that the government of Vietnam
had stripped all churches of their independence and freedom. For
speaking this truth, Father Ly is now expected to spend a decade in a
communist prison.
It was 1 month after he wrote this testimony and sent it to the
United States that he was arrested. Indeed, he was arrested while he
was saying mass. He was on the alter before a congregation. Six hundred
policemen of the Vietnamese communist government surrounded the church,
stormed it, and dragged him off. Of course, the Vietnamese Government
provided him no legal representation, no consultation whatsoever; and
not surprisingly, on October 19 of that same year, Father Thaddeus
Nguyen Van Ly was sentenced to this seemingly indefinite time in
prison, 15 years originally. He has already spent 3 years. Now he is
going to get a 10-year sentence.
Father Ly is no stranger to repression at the hands of the Vietnamese
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dictatorship. Since 1977, the government has repeatedly harassed him,
repeatedly arrested him, and repeatedly jailed him for his advocacy of
religious freedom.
So the Congress today calls for the immediate and unconditional
release of Father Ly. But we also recognize that he is not alone. He
represents the struggle of all of those citizens of Vietnam who are
fighting for freedom and for democracy.
Another piece of legislation to address that struggle is the Vietnam
Human Rights Act, H.R. 1587, which I hope the House will soon consider.
This legislation will prohibit nonhumanitarian assistance to the
government of Vietnam, it will support the efforts of human rights and
democracy advocates there, and it will help us work to overcome the
government's jamming of Radio Free Asia and their Vietnamese broadcast.
It will help resettle refugees and require an annual State Department
report on the progress towards freedom and democracy in Vietnam, or the
lack of it.
This resolution that is before us today, of which I am an initial
cosponsor, is, therefore, a call to action. It is a call, of course,
upon the Vietnamese Government to act; but it is also our call to
action. The Vietnamese Government and other dictatorships around the
globe must come to realize that oppression does not go unnoticed, that
the Congress and the President will continue to fight for those like
Father Ly who seek meaningful change in their country.
Mr. Speaker, I am very, very proud to join the gentleman from New
Jersey (Chairman Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
in supporting this resolution, and I am very proud of the stands for
human rights that this Congress will soon take.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my
good friend and distinguished colleague, the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez), a champion of human rights.
Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in
strong support of H. Con. Res. 378, a resolution which calls for the
immediate and unconditional release of Catholic Father and human rights
champion Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly. I thank my colleague, the gentleman
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), for bringing this resolution to the floor.
I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the bill, and I am proud to
work with him on the bipartisan Vietnam Caucus.
On this day, the 10th anniversary of Vietnam Human Rights Day and the
14th anniversary of the Vietnamese Manifesto of Nonviolent Movement For
Human Rights, there can be nothing more appropriate action for this
Congress than to pass this resolution about Father Ly. Why would that
be? Well, we as Members of the United States Congress have a special
responsibility, for, you see, it was testimony to this Congress, to
this Nation, that Father Ly gave us that put him behind bars.
{time} 1645
In fact, we brought forward that testimony in a human rights caucus
hearing on religious freedoms in Vietnam, or, should I say, the lack of
religious freedom in Vietnam. So we have a particular responsibility to
let the world know and to put pressure on the Vietnamese Government
with respect to Father Ly's incarceration.
In reaction to Father Ly's defense of human rights and his
pronouncements on the need for religious freedom and nonviolent
resistance, the Government of Vietnam branded him a traitor, a traitor,
and prohibited him from carrying out his religious duties as a priest
and sentenced him to 10 years of prison for ``damaging the government's
unit policy.''
The imprisonment of Father Ly is not only a violation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, it is a direct attack on each and every
one of us who value human rights.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey, and I thank the
gentleman from California for being such a strong supporter of human
rights in the world, and I urge my colleagues to support this important
resolution.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin), and I thank him for
his support on human rights in general and human rights in Vietnam in
particular.
Mr. AKIN. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be able to join my
colleagues today and to add my support for House Concurrent Resolution
378 calling for the immediate and unconditional release of father
Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly.
Father Ly has peacefully campaigned for more than 30 years for
religious freedom in his country, and he has called on the officials of
that nation of Vietnam to allow churches to appoint their own
leadership and to stop listing people's religious affiliation on their
I.D. card, and to return property that was confiscated from the
churches to those particular denominations and faiths.
Now, recently, Father Ly, as we have heard, has been sentenced to 15
years of solitary confinement, a very serious sentence, for merely
advocating people having the right for free religious expression. That
sentence has been mitigated by 5 years, still a 10-year sentence. In
the brief time that he had to speak to his own family, he made the
following statement: ``My duty and my conscience required me to fight
for the freedom of our church. If I had realized those terrifying
situations for our church and had not done anything, I would have been
guilty before God. Now I think I have accomplished my duty, I do not
feel sorry for myself.''
Father Ly, though he lives on the other side of the world, is in a
sense a brother of each of ours. This is a personal affront that the
Government of Vietnam has stood against those people who have the
courage to allow people to express their own personal consciences.
It is particularly appropriate in this Chamber and at this time for
us to recall the words of Madison on the subject of property. When
property was discussed by our founders, they did not think so much of a
piece of land or even of possession, but they thought of the property
first and foremost and closest to the heart of all true lovers of
freedom: It was the property of our own convictions, the property of
our own soul, the property to be able to express our opinion and our
devotion to whichever God it is that we would worship. And it is this
fundamental, fundamental, heartfelt core of American belief which binds
us to freedom-fighters all over the world and which calls us to strong
condemnation of the Government of Vietnam, that they would trample
people's right to worship and freedom under their feet with total
disregard, and would lock a champion of freedom like this away for 10
years, away from his family, and harassing his family.
So I strongly add my support to the gentleman and his resolution, H.
Con. Res. 378.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, we have no additional requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of our time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hayes). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
378, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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