Text: House Resolution on Vietnam's Human Rights Abuses
(H. Con. Res. 295 cites record of oppression since 1975)The House of Representatives overwhelming passed a resolution May 3 condemning Vietnam's human rights abuses and calling on the communist government there to commit to a timetable for free and open elections.
By a vote of 415 to 3, the House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 295, which calls on the U.S. President to "restate and make clear to the leadership of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that the American people are firmly committed to political, religious, and economic freedom for the citizens of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."
The resolution also says the United States "fully expects equal protection under law with all Vietnamese citizens, regardless of religious belief, political philosophy, or socio-political association."
The resolution calls on Hanoi to "formally commit to a framework and a set timetable for open and fair elections that will facilitate the ability of Vietnamese citizens to peacefully choose their own local and national leaders, free from fear and intimidation."
During the debate on the resolution, lawmakers from both parties criticized political oppression by the Hanoi government 25 years after it had captured Saigon.
Following is the text of the resolution and excerpts of the debate from the Congressional Record:
(begin text)
RELATING TO CONTINUING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND POLITICAL OPPRESSION IN SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
(House of Representatives - May 03, 2000)
H. Con. Res. 295
Whereas April 30, 2000, marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to Communist forces of North Vietnam;
Whereas 25 years after the Vietnam War ended, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a one-party state ruled and controlled by the Vietnamese Communist Party;
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to violate the liberties and civil rights of its own citizens through arbitrary arrests, detentions without trial, and the censorship of peaceful expressions of political and religious beliefs;
Whereas the Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999 notes that the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam `continued to repress basic political and some religious freedoms and to commit numerous abuses';
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam still retains Article 4 in its Constitution that ensures the supremacy of the Vietnamese Communist Party as the only political party in the country while continuing to enforce an extra-legal administrative decree to detain or place under house arrest any dissidents or civilians for up to two years, without trial, under the pretext of `endangering national security';
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is one of the most politically repressive and poorest countries in the world, with an average annual per capita income of $330;
Whereas, according to the Department of State and international human rights organizations, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to restrict unregistered religious activities and persecutes citizens on the basis of their religious affiliation through arbitrary arrests and detention, harassment, physical abuse, censorship, and the denial of the rights of free association and religious worship;
Whereas the Department of State Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999 on Vietnam estimates that `there are from 30 to 50 religious prisoners' but `the number is difficult to verify with any precision because of the secrecy surrounding the arrest, detention, and release process';
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to prevent human rights organizations from unfettered and open investigations of allegations of state-sponsored oppression of the right to worship by its citizens, and has prevented the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor, from meeting with various religious leaders during his visit to Vietnam in October 1998;
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam systematically violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in contravention of its status as a member of the United Nations;
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam systematically violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in contravention of its status as a signatory to that agreement; and
Whereas it is in the interest of the United States to promote political, religious, and economic freedom throughout the world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress--
(1) requests the President to restate and make clear to the leadership of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that--
(A) the American people are firmly committed to political, religious, and economic freedom for the citizens of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and
(B) the United States fully expects equal protection under law with all Vietnamese citizens, regardless of religious belief, political philosophy, or socio-political association;
(2) urges the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam--
(A) to cease violations of religious freedom as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998;
(B) to release all religious prisoners, political prisoners, and prisoners of conscience, and immediately cease the harassment, detention, physical abuse, and imprisonment of Vietnamese citizens who have exercised their legitimate rights to freedom of belief, expression, and association;
(C) to allow all Vietnamese citizens the right to free expression, freedom of association, freedom of the press, and religious worship; and
(D) to formally commit to a framework and a set timetable for open and fair elections that will facilitate the ability of Vietnamese citizens to peacefully choose their own local and national leaders, free from fear and intimidation; and
(3) commends the Vietnamese-American community for initiating a memorial to American and South Vietnamese soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom during the Vietnam War, which is under development and will be located in Westminster, California.
(end text of resolution)
(begin excerpts of debate)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is truly unfortunate that 25 years after the end of the Vietnam War the Socialist Republic Vietnam is still a one-party state ruled and controlled by the Vietnamese Communist party. Regrettably, the government in Hanoi continues to repress basic political and some religious freedoms, and to commit numerous human rights abuses.
This resolution rightfully requests the President to make clear to the government of Vietnam the firm commitment of the American people to fundamental human rights and equal treatment for all people of Vietnam still persist.
It further urges Vietnam to cease its violations of human rights and to undertake the long overdue liberalization of its antiquated political system.
And, finally, it appropriately commends the Vietnamese American community for a memorial to fallen American and South Vietnamese soldiers being developed in Westminster, California. In that regard, I call upon the Vietnamese government to do all it can to assist in bringing our POWs and MIAs home to American soil.
Mr. Speaker, democracy and human rights are not eastern or western values, as some might contend. They are universal values and the right of people everywhere, including the 77 million people of Vietnam. I want to praise this resolution for pointing out the injustice that tragically exists in Vietnam today. Communism is a dead ideology. Somehow, and surprisingly, the government in Hanoi still has not received that news.
I sincerely hope that the bureaucrats in Hanoi are listening today and, as a result, will undertake the necessary reforms to release minds and spirits of the Vietnamese people. The people of Vietnam clearly deserve much better.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, Vietnam continues to be--25 years after the conclusion of that tragic war--one of the most repressive societies on the face of this planet. Similarly to China, Vietnam has opened up its economy to some extent, but its political system is as rigid, unbending, and repressive as it has ever been.
I call, therefore, on the government of Vietnam to release all religious and political prisoners, all prisoners of conscience; and to immediately cease the harassment, detention, physical abuse and imprisonment of Vietnamese citizens who are exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of belief, expression, and association.
I call on the government of Vietnam, Mr. Speaker, to abolish article four of the Vietnamese constitution and repeal all regulations and codes and decrees prohibiting citizens the rights to free expression, freedom of association, freedom of the press and religious worship.
I also think it is critical that we as a body call on the government of Vietnam to set an early timetable for open and fair elections that at long last will facilitate the inclusion of Vietnam in the community of civilized nations and allow its citizens to peacefully choose their own local and national leaders, free from fear and intimidation.
I think it is particularly significant, Mr. Speaker, that the government of Vietnam has prevented the United Nations special rapporteur on religious intolerance from meeting with the various religious leaders during his visit to Vietnam. Vietnam has an obligation, as a signatory of the appropriate treaties, to allow access by United Nations' officials to all religious practitioners.
We are indeed pleased that a quarter century has gone by since the conclusion of that tragic war, but we are appalled at the continued suppression of the Vietnamese people. I earnestly hope and trust that this move by the Congress of the United States, which I trust will be approved unanimously, will begin the process of opening up the political situation in that country.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. This is one of those measures, Mr. Speaker, that goes through Congress that has bipartisan support because it reflects fundamental values which I believe that this body is supposed to be all about. This is a body that represents the greatest democracy in the world, and all of us who meet here share these values of democracy and freedom. And when we are talking about issues that go to the heart of our country, we stand united.
This resolution commemorates the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and expresses a tribute to the Americans and South Vietnamese who gave their lives in the cause of freedom in that conflict. The international press reports from Vietnam this past weekend unanimously emphasized the ongoing repression that the people of Vietnam have had to suffer under the Communist regime in Hanoi.
The violation of human rights and the denial of democracy for the people of Vietnam has been just a horrific experience over these last 25 years and has caused a firsthand observer, Senator John McCain, to state that regardless of America's shortcomings in conducting that war, that the wrong side won.
Singapore's senior statesman and ASEAN founding member, Lee Kuan Yew, commented recently that the sacrifices by the Americans in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s gave the rest of the region, which also faced Communist-backed guerilla movements, time to stabilize and even prosper. So, yes, there were some good things that came out of Vietnam, yet the people of Vietnam still suffer.
And there was great sacrifice during that war: 58,000 Americans perished and more than 300,000 were wounded. In addition, 270,000 South Vietnamese military personnel perished, and over 570,000 were wounded. And that was before, of course, the final offensive by the Communist forces 25 years ago today.
This resolution honors their sacrifice and calls attention to the cause of freedom in Vietnam. This resolution is entirely in support of the people of Vietnam who deserve the right and the opportunity to participate in the democratic process of a free and Democratic society.
The greatest example of the potential of Vietnam is perhaps the tremendous educational and economic success of the Vietnamese American community, such as that in Little Saigon, which is in my district. And I am very proud to represent these freedom loving people who came here in such turmoil and have made a success of their lives despite great hardship.
In fact, the fact that they came here with little more than the shirts on their back and now live in relative prosperity and have made wonderful citizens for our country indicates just how important freedom and democracy is considering that the people that they left behind still languish in poverty and still are repressed and suffer great tyranny there in Vietnam.
This resolution expresses the hope that some day the people of South Vietnam will enjoy the same kind of freedom that the people who came here after the war enjoy. The resolution urges the Vietnamese regime to commit to a framework, a set timetable for open and free elections.
Twenty-five years after the end of the war, it is time for Vietnamese leaders to make peace with their own people and to permit their citizens to peacefully choose their own local and national leaders without fear of intimidation.
This resolution also, as the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman) stated, congratulates the Vietnamese-American community in Southern California and throughout the United States for initiating and funding through private donations the first memorial to honor both American and South Vietnamese military personnel who sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War, which is now being developed in Orange County, California.
Finally, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan resolution which honors the sacrifice of American citizen soldiers who perished for the cause of freedom during the Indochina conflict by supporting the struggle for democracy in Vietnam.
Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for yielding me the time for this gracious ability to give me some time to speak a little about April 30, 1975, marking the beginning of a treacherous boat journey for many Vietnamese who sought refuge in an unknown land to them and an uncertain future. These individuals risked everything for a chance to live freely and to provide better opportunities for their children and their families.
I rise today as a proud cosponsor of the H. Con. Res. 295, legislation relating to continuing human rights violations and political oppression in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam still 25 years later since the fall of Saigon.
I also rise to pay special tribute and to recognize the efforts of those servicemen and women who served as Vietnam War veterans and also to the Vietnamese who fought for freedom and democracy in Vietnam.
As my colleagues know, I represent the largest Vietnamese-American community in the Nation in Orange County, California. As a proud member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, it was my distinct honor just last month to hold a second hearing on the human rights conditions in Vietnam. We held one a couple years ago.
We received testimony from expert witnesses who tell us still freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of collective bargaining are still sorely missed in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese Government continues to grossly violate human rights by incarcerating prisoners of conscience and placing dissidents under strict surveillance.
So as we continue to move forward with furthering relations between our two countries, it is my hope that we will address the current human rights issues in Vietnam: the violations, the religious persecution, the social injustice that many individuals still face in Vietnam.
Mr. Speaker, as we reflect on this tragic day, it is our duty as Members of Congress to honor the memories of the individuals that have fought for liberty and democracy in Vietnam.
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 295.
This Member congratulates and thanks the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) for bringing this matter to the body's attention and for recognizing that the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon was an important time to focus the American attention on what we were fighting for and to also recognize the contributions of so many men and women among our countrymen who made tremendous sacrifices in that war and I imagine with the hope that some impact might prevail in Vietnam, as well.
I also, once again, want to thank the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking minority member of the subcommittee, for his cooperation and his assistance in bringing this legislation to the floor.
Certainly it is appropriate to express concerns about the continuing human rights violations and the political repression in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Even as the United States moves forward in establishing relations with Vietnam, which this Member supports, we should be mindful that serious human rights concerns do remain. Indeed, in the 25 years since the end of the war, regretfully this Member must say flatly that there has been no discernible progress, no discernible progress, towards representative government or basic democratic freedom in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese Constitution enshrines the principle of one-party communist rule. Political dissidents are routinely harassed or arrested for attempting to exercise their fundamental human rights, such as freedom of speech and association.
The Vietnamese Government also continues to restrict unregistered religious activities and to persecute citizens on the basis of their religious affiliations. Vietnam can be said to be an equal opportunity oppressor of religious freedoms as Buddhists, Christians, and over groups also suffer to some extent from Government harassment and repression.
The Government has also refused to allow human rights groups and the U.N. special rapporteur on religious intolerance unfettered access to investigate allegations of religious oppression.
This resolution urges the Government of Vietnam to release religious and political prisoners and cease harassment of those exercising their legitimate rights to allow basic freedoms, such as freedom of speech and association, and to commit to a framework and a timetable for open and fair elections.
It is time that the Vietnamese Government realizes that one-party communist regimes have no place in the modern world. It is time that the talented, hard-working, and energetic people of Vietnam enjoy their rights to fundamental religious, economic, and political freedom.
Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) referred to comments recently made by the senior senator from Arizona, Senator McCain, who said the wrong side won.
Well, I would also like to reference the senior senator from my home State of Nebraska, a member of the opposite party, Senator Robert Kerrey, who is a courageous, distinguished American who won the Congressional Medal of Honor in Vietnam and who lost part of his leg in the process. He came home and protested the way the war was being conducted.
But this past weekend, in the major papers of our State, he had an opinion piece; and he said, I was fighting and we were fighting on the right side. Upon reflection, upon visitation to Vietnam and to Southeast Asia, I understand what we were doing there was appropriate.
I want and will include that as a matter of the Record. It is an outstanding reflection upon his service in Vietnam and also his reflection upon service in the Congress of the United States as he prepares to retire from the other body.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution attempts to send a clear message to the Vietnam regime about the need for fundamental reforms. This Member urges his colleagues to support strongly H. Con. Res. 295.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I want to share some observations from a human rights fact-finding mission I made in December to Saigon. The principal purpose of the trip was to inspect the new refugee processing program, which, as most of my colleagues know, has recently moved from Bangkok to our new U.S. Consulate in Saigon.
As I think many of my colleagues know as well, I am very pleased to have been the sponsor, the prime author, of comprehensive foreign policy legislation, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 and 2001, which became law last November.
That bill provided for an extension of the McCain amendment on Vietnamese refugee children through fiscal year 2001, along with an expansion of the amendment to cover the so-called co-residency cases.
The new law also included very important language making clear that our refugee programs in Vietnam should be far more than a token effort. We made that clear in all kinds of cases. For example, with the Montagnards who were turned down because they kept fighting the Communists after 1975, with reeducation camp survivors whose refugee applications were denied because they were afraid to talk in front of government-hired interpreters, with former U.S. Government employees who were turned down for no good reason at all, and with people who have suffered recent persecution for their political or religious beliefs, we need to be far more generous than we have been in the past.
It is too early, Mr. Speaker, to know whether or not our Saigon refugee program will live up to those expectations, which is the clear meaning and intent of the law. But I promise, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, to keep my eye on the ball and to keep pushing hard for it.
In addition to focusing on the refugee programs, Mr. Speaker, we also focused heavily on the human rights issues, democracy, and transparency in Vietnam, which we have also done in our subcommittee over the last several years.
I met with Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, who--like the great Professor Hoat, who is now in this country--is a courageous and brilliant former prisoner of conscience. He is now under virtual house arrest, however, in Saigon. His phone is tapped. His Internet connections have been cut off. He and members of his family are followed wherever they go.
Notwithstanding the fact that I had a Government thug following me wherever I went, Dr. Que invited us into his home and gave us a fascinating lecture on the future prospects for reform and democracy in Vietnam.
He explained, for example, that the principal contradiction in Vietnamese society is not between North and South, not between traditionalism and modernity, but between the Politburo and everybody else in the country.
We also met with religious leaders, including Archbishop Man, Father Chan Tin, and members of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church. And we met with Montagnard students, some of whom are Protestants who have been forbidden to have prayer meetings in their country.
Unfortunately, on the advice of Ambassador Peterson, we were unable to meet with the leaders of the Unified Buddhist Church, who have come in for some of the most brutal treatment of all. The ambassador felt the time was not right. The next trip, I can assure my colleagues, we will meet with them. But we have continued to raise their issues, as well.
One thing that was very clear from all of our conversations with human rights advocates, religious figures, and ordinary Vietnamese was that international pressure does indeed work.
For example, Dr. Que pointed out that while trade may bring some reforms to Vietnam, these reforms will come quicker if the United States strongly uses each economic concession, especially the prospect of a bilateral trade agreement, as leverage to require immediate progress on human rights.
If anyone doubts that economic leverage works to change the behavior of the Vietnamese Government, these doubts should be resolved by the experience of the ROVR program.
In mid-1996, the Vietnamese Government promised that if the 20,000 or so people who were eligible for ROVR would return to Vietnam, the U.S. would be able to interview them for refugee resettlement in the U.S.
Eighteen months after making this promise, the Vietnamese Government had let us interview only a few hundred of the 20,000 people. But when it was made clear to them that they would not get a waiver of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which would be necessary to allow subsidized loans under the U.S. Export-Import and OPIC programs, they allowed us to start interviewing people almost immediately.
We eventually got 18,000 people to freedom under the ROVR program. So linkage to economic issues does work.
Let me also focus on a couple of human rights issues. As the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) said so eloquently, the Vietnamese Government must stop imprisoning people for their political or religious beliefs. They must release all prisoners of conscience that they currently hold.
Hanoi insists that it has no political or religious prisoners, only ordinary law breakers. When visiting, American delegations like my own point out that these law breakers include Catholic priests and Buddhist monks. When we raise these issues, they say that these people have been imprisoned for such crimes as activities to overthrow the government, which is utter nonsense, or using freedom and democracy to injure the national unity, whatever that means.
Vietnamese officials cheerfully remind visitors that they have a `different system.' They need to be persuaded that if they are going to do business with us they have to abide by internationally recognized norms regarding human rights.
The Vietnamese government must eliminate other gross human rights violations such as its two-child-per-couple policy, which deprives the parents of unauthorized children of employment and other government benefits.
It must grant workers the right to organize independent trade unions and stop the practice of forced labor. It has to stop jamming Radio Free Asia, which tries to bring the Vietnamese people the kind of broadcasting they would provide for themselves if their government would allow freedom of expression.
Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H. Con. Res. 295 relating to continuing human rights violations and political oppression in the socialist Republic of Vietnam, 25 years after the fall of South Vietnam to Communist forces.
This past weekend, April 30, marked the fall of Saigon, which ended the Vietnam war 25 years ago. There were a series of events held across America, including in my district in Northern Virginia, to commemorate this tragic event in history.
Vietnamese Americans from the Washington, DC, metropolitan area gathered this past weekend to honor the fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom. In addition, they staged an all-night candlelight vigil, a flag ceremony, and a peaceful demonstration to keep the hope and flame of democracy alive for those still living in the socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The Vietnam war took its toll on American families sending fathers, brothers, husbands, and uncles thousands of miles away to the jungles of Vietnam to fight the enemy they could never face. We must never forget that over 58,000 Americans and over 300,000 South Vietnamese soldiers lost their lives defending and protecting fundamental ideals, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and free and open elections.
Their noble sacrifices should serve as a reminder that the Vietnam war was fought on the principles and values of democracy.
H. Con. Res. 295 is a timely resolution which reiterates America's commitment to political, religious, and economic freedom for the citizens of the socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Furthermore, this resolution urges the government to release all political and religious prisoners and prisoners of conscience, to allow their citizens the right to freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of the press and freedom of religious worship, and more importantly to formally commit to a framework and timetable for open and fair elections.
Finally, H. Con. Res. 295 recognizes and commends the Vietnamese American community for initiating an international memorial to American and South Vietnamese soldiers who gave their lives for the cause of freedom during the Vietnam war, which will be located in Westminster, California.
I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 295 to honor all those who valiantly fought during the Vietnam war and to commemorate the fall of Saigon.
(end excerpts)
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