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"Sau mấy chục năm được nhà trường xã hội chủ nghĩa trau dồi bao nhiêu tri thức về khoa học tự nhiên, về triết học Mác-Lê, về chính trị ... thì bây giờ các chi bộ lại không còn coi chúng tôi là thành phần công nông gần đảng nữa mà chuyển thành tầng lớp trí thức tiểu tư sản bấp bênh ! Trở thành kỹ sư, tiến sĩ, giáo sư ... thì lại xa đảng hơn lúc chưa đi học !. Nghĩa là trên thực tế thì chất Đảng ngược chiều với chất trí thức ! Đó là điều nghịch lý".....Dắt Tay Nhau, Đi Dưới Tấm Biển Chỉ Đường của Trí Tuệ - Hà Sĩ Phu 1988

"Khẳng định vai trò quyết định của tự do và phát triển không có nghĩa là khi có hai điều kiện ấy thì tự khắc sẽ có Bình đẳng và Bác ái mà không cần đến hoạt động khuyến thiện và nỗ lực tranh đấu của con người. Không thể lấy khát vọng thay cho qui luật, nhưng khát vọng đúng sẽ xúc tiến nhanh qui luật...." Đôi Điều Suy Nghĩ của Một Công Dân - Hà Sĩ Phu 1993

"Mọi hoạt động Tranh đấu của con người từ cổ chí kim , không có gì ra ngoài ý nghĩa của chữ QUYỀN CON NGƯỜI. "Quyền Con người" ngày nay đã trở thành vấn đề toàn cầu không nước nào có thể lẩn tránh, điều ấy đánh dấu một bước trưởng thành khổng lồ của văn minh nhân loại. Ở đâu có áp bức bất công, ở đâu con người bị đối xử phi lý đều có thể tìm nơi "Quyền Con Người" một điểm tựa để tranh đấu, ít nhất cũng là điểm tựa tinh thần. Mặt khác. từ ánh sáng chung nhất về "Quyền Con Người", con người có thể nhìn lại những trào lưu Tranh đấu của mình một cách có cơ sở khách quan, khoa học và sáng suốt hơn..." Chia Tay Ý Thức Hệ - Hà Sĩ Phu 1995

NHỮNG VỤ ÁN

Update on Human H.W Violation in VN(L.Thu Van)


Update on Human Rights

Violations in Vietnam

(INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR VIETNAM)

19 February 2001

by Dr. Lam thu Van  

 

Introduction: On July 13rd, 2000, Vietnam signed the landmark Trade Agreement with U.SA. This event could be seen as a step toward the liberalization of the Vietnamese economy which may impact on the Vietnamese civil society. In reality, the Vietnam's human rights record remains appalling, and restrictions of freedom still prevents the country to comply with international standards.  

 Since 1975, the communist regime from North Vietnam has extended to the South , therefore placing the whole country under the control of the Vietnamese Communist Party.  Vietnam's Constitution, which was revised in 1992, recognizes in principle its citizens' basic rights such as freedom of expression and opinion (article 69), freedom of worship (art. 70), freedom of association and assembly (art. 69)......  In reality, however, these freedoms have been repressed systematically for about 50 years, even though Vietnam is a signatory of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as well as that on Civil and Political Rights.  In October 1994, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Vietnam and made recommendations for amendements to the judicial system and for reforms to prisoners' detention conditions. But no implementation of these recommendations has been made. Instead, the situation of human rights abuses has got worse as shown by new decrees and directives issued by the Prime Minister of Vietnam to legalize arbitrary detention and the repression of religious groups.  In October 1998, the UN Special Rapporteur, Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, visited Vietnam for 10 days. In his report, Mr. Amor confirmed the repression of religious freedom in Vietnam.  In April 2000, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights stated that it would be examining complaints against Vietnam for human rights violations under the «1503 Procedure». In May 2000, Vietnam was elected to the U.N. Commission for three-year term. Therefore, Vietnam is expected to demonstrate better compliance to international standards of human rights. That expectation is far from being met in reality.  Before providing details on rights abuses in Vietnam, we wish to emphasize that unrest has been growing from North to Central and South Vietnam for the last 4 months. At the beginning, the Vietnamese authorities tried to deny the serious conflict between government policy and the more aggressive demands for freedom from its citizens. As a result, pervasive unrest and manifestations have occurred and in turn prompted severe repression from the government, which prefers to maintain political and social stability through persecution, such as in the imprisonment of religious leaders and human rights advocates, the intimidation and humiliation of believers and supporters, the harassment of dissidents and their families.  Overview of the human rights situation in Vietnam. 

A - Workers have been denied the right to association; there is no independent trade union and the only workers' association in Vietnam is state controlled. For Vietnam, the state owned enterprises receive official support while condoning corruption and always report low profit. 

B - Women's rights are not protected as shown in the blooming of sex exploitation and women trafficking from Vietnam into other Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, China.... The "network of sex exploitation" cannot be eradicated because so many state officials reportedly are involved in the organization of prostitution and sex tourism. 

C - The rights of the child are not of concern to the government. UNICEF's statistics revealed that 47% of children under 5 in rural areas are suffering from malnutrition. Most children in rural areas cannot go to school because their parents are not able to pay school fees, even for primary public schools. In the city, most teenagers have to contribute to the family income by working or begging in the street. According to a report from the anti-social evils ministry in Ho Chi Minh City, 30% of "sex workers" in Vietnam are under the age of 16.

D - Indigenous rights. The problem of indigenous rights in Vietnam includes 2 components : - Confiscation of ancestral lands of ethnic minorities by the communist authorities - Official policy to stop the spread of religion, particularly Christianity in highland provinces,through persecution of evangelist priests and believers. Since 1954, in North-Vietnam (Lao Cai province, Lai Chau province ), ethnic tribes Hmong, Koho, Jeh, Jerai.... have been suffering persecution from the communist Vietnamese authorities. After 1975, the ethnic minorities of Central highlands Jarai, Ede, Bahnar.... have been victim of the same abuses from the local authorities of Daklak province, Gia-lai province, Lam Dong province.  From February 2-2001, the huge two-week manifestations of several thousand protesters in the provinces of Daklak, Gia-lai were the result of long standing abuses of indigenous rights in Southern-Vietnam. The vietnamese government has used its army and security police to control this biggest protest from ethnic minorities. Protesters were arrested, among them pastors of Evangelical church. Tourists and international press reporters were prevented from going to the area of unrest.  Since November 2000, the accurate picture of repressing nature of current Vietnamese government policy has been disclosed by the Freedom House Report on Religion in Vietnam. This report provided the «top secret directives» from the Vietnamese authorities on how to arrest the spread of Christianity, specially Evangelism. 

E - Judicial system and democratic development. 

1 - The Vietnamese people has never enjoyed the right of self-determination. The Vietnamese Communist Party has imposed its rule by force over North-Vietnam in 1954 and South-Vietnam in 1975. 

2 - Vietnam has never had free elections, because article 4 of the Constitution guarantees the VCP the leadership of the country. The high ranking Communist Party members (Politburo) are the decision makers for all domestic and external affairs. 

3 - Candidates for members of the National Assembly have to be selected by the Fatherland Front prior to the general election. The Fatherland Front is an organization controlled by the VCP. 

4 - The judiciary is not independent as it works under the directive of the Politburo. Sentences are dictated to judges by the VCP leaders and have to comply with political needs. Political prisoners have no right to choose private advocates. Usually trials are closed, the media is not admitted when the charge is "threatening national security".  Arbitrary detention has been carried out in many forms to control dissidence. In particular, the 31/CP Administrative Preventive Detainment Directive issued on 14 April 1997 has legalized detention and surveillance by the police of individuals suspected of "threatening national security". The detention may be up to 2 years without trial. Prisoners released from jail are automatically submitted to that regime of surveillance withhouse arrest and police harassment.  Court sentences are usually disproportionally severe because the ambiguity in the application of the Penal Code, particularly article 73 with regard to the offences to the national security. This article does not make a distinction betwen persons who use violence and those who are involved in peaceful activities in order to advocate fundamental human rights. The number of sentences and executions for death penalty disclosed by Amnesty International is growing every year in Vietnam (53 death sentences, 18 executions for year 1999). 

F- Freedom of worship has been denied to Vietnamese citizens and repression does not spare any religious groups : buddhist, catholic, cao dai, hoa hao, evangelist.... Their churches have to submit themselves to the control of the state or disappear. Two documents issued by the governemnt showed the official policy of religious repression :

--The “Directions for stopping Religion” disclosed by Freedom House in November 2000, are the “top secret” governement’s guide for the remote provinces authorities on how to arrest the spread of Christianity in Vietnam (1998, 1999). Targets of persecution have been believers of Evangelist Religion, members of ethnic minorities.

--The decree 26/ND-CP for regulation of religious activities issued in April 1999 legalized the religious repression in a subtle way : authorization from the government is required for nomination of the cadres, education of adepts, organization of religious activities, social and humanitarian activities, administration of properties of the church. Religious leaders' mail, communications and religious sermons....are subjected to censure. 

-- Imprisonment and harassment of religious leaders are well documented by international human rights organizations and by UN Special Rapporteur Abdelfattah Amor.(please find details in documents enclosed) Most of the time, they are charged with the crime of "threatening national security" and given lengthy sentences (20 years or life sentence), sent to hard labour camps together with common criminals, prevented from practicing religion, often forced to deny their religion. Because 80% of vietnamese people are buddhist, the vietnamese authorities focus their persecution on the leaders of Vietnamese Unified Buddhist Church. Just a few examples :

- Venerable Thich Quang Do, head of the Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma, under administrative detention in Thanh Minh Zen monastery, Ho Chi Minh City, since his release from hard labour camp in August 1998. 

- Venerable Thich Tue Sy, Vietnamese Unified Buddhist Church secretary general, under administrative detention in Gia Lam pagoda, Ho Chi Minh city, since his release from prison in September 1998. 

-          Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Patriarch of the V.U.B.C., has been in exile in Quang Ngai province for the last 18 years. 

 

Other religious groups leaders are also the target of official persecution.  It's worth noting the imprisonment of evangelist adepts in rural areas of North Vietnam (ethnic Hmong), as part of the official policy to stop religions, especially to arrest the spread of Christianity (top secret directives issuedby the Vietnamese communist government in 1998 and disclosed by Freedom House in November 2000.)  The Hoa Hao religious faith, for the last 2 years, in South-Vietnam (Long Xuyen province) have been outlawed by the government. Hoa Hao adepts are prevented from celebrating religious commemoration activities. Imprisonment and harassment of Hoa Hao believers and church cadres in An Giang province have happened with every celebration of Hoa Hao religious events. 

Interference of the state in catholic religious affairs has created conflicts between Vatican and the Vietnamese Communist government. Pope Jean Paul II has been denied the visa to go to Vietnam for the last 3 years. On November 24, 2000, the catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly in Hue city (Central Vietnam) issued a 10 point declaration to denounce the repressive policy towards the Catholic Congregation in Hue and demand religious freedom in Vietnam. At the same time, Father Nguyen Van Ly also supported the protest of catholic believers in Nguyet Bieu diocese (Hue) against the confiscation of farmland belonging to the Nguyet Bieu Catholic Church. In response to Father Nguyen Van Ly's appeal for religious freedom, clergies and lay people from other faiths have voiced their support and protest against the government's oppressive policy on religions. On December 27, 2000, a joint statement was signed by 4 religious leaders : Le Quang Liem (Hoa Hao), Nguyen Van Ly (Catholic), Thich thien Hanh (Unified Buddhist Church), Chan Tin ( Co-redemtrix Church). Since December 11, 2000, Father Nguyen Van Ly's email and telephone were cut. He was invited to speak at the U.S. Congress hearing on religous freedom on February 13, 2001, but the Vietnamese government refused the authorization for the trip and put him under police surveillance in his church.  Please find in the enclosed documents the list of other victims of repression of religious freedom. 

G- Freedom of Expression and Opinion has been systematically repressed in Vietnam. The government uses arbitrary detention as a tool to silence dissident voices.  Four ways of repression have been used to keep the civil society away from participating in the decision making process : 

1 - Imprisonment and harassment of individuals who defend human rights or advocate democracy, even peacefully, only with their writings. 

2 - Tight control of the media. The ministry of Culture and Information amended Vietnamese press law in May 1999 : "The role of journalists is to propagate the official line of the Communist Party and government" (Reuters). There is no private newspaper in Vietnam. 

3 - Impeding access to information for civil society. Television is state controlled; TV5 is subjected to censure. Foreign broacasting are scrambled ( BBC, VOA, RFI, Radio Free Asia).  Access to internet is restricted by a government imposed "firewall" which prevents entry to "subversive" websites. 

4 - Preventing the formation of NGO or private professional associations. For the government, human rights NGO are "a threat to national security".  The number of human rights defenders detained in 150 prisons and hard labour camps cannot be known, as there is no transparency in official reports,and the vietnamese government always denies having any political or religious prisoners.  After release from jail, human rights defenders are put under house arrest. We highlight the cases of intellectuals actually subjected to intensive harassment and daily threat for imprisonment.  List of human rights defenders under house arrest and subject to harassment.  The following list is not exhaustive, and individuals listed are but tips of the iceberg as victims of repression of freedom of expression in Vietnam. 

1 - Professor Doan Viet Hoat, exiled after released from prison in September 1998. Ph.D. in education, journalist, writer, he was imprisoned, the first time, for 12 years without trial. He was arrested again the second time in 1990 when he founded the "Freedom Forum" which advocated democracy and respect for human rights. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 1993. He is recipient of many awards, among them 1998 Golden Pen of World Association of Newspaper, 1995 Human Rights Watch Award, 1995 Robert Kennedy H.R. Award, 1994 Pen Freedom to Write Award, 1993 Press Freedom Award and Honorary Member of Pen International, Poland, USA, Switzerland, France, Canada. 

2 - Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a medical doctor who had spent more than 18 years in vietnamese prisons for his demands for free election and multiparty rule. Founder of the Non Violent Human Rights Movement, Dr Que was arrested in 1990 and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Under international pressure, the vietnamese communist government released Dr Que from prison in August 1998, and put him under close police surveillance. On May 1999, Dr Que sent a communique calling for freedom, democracy and an end to human rights abuses in Vietnam. Since then his telephone has been cut, his mail intercepted and his family harassed by the police. But such tight control cannot keep Dr Que quiet and he has smuggled overseas his denounciation of human rights abuses in Vietnam, calling for liberalization of human rights defenders, his comments on the benefits that the US-Vietnam trade agreement may bring to the Vietnamese economic and social development....  On April 12, 2000, Ms Sylvaine Pasquier, a reporter to the french magazine L'Express, was arrested by the vietnamese authorities while she was trying to meet with Dr.Que for an interview at his house. Sylvaine Pasquier was expelled from Vietnam after 24 hours detention and interrogation at a police station in Ho Chi Minh city. Dr Que smuggled overseas a communique protesting this repression of press freedom. Since then, no commucation could be established with Dr Que, even by telephone, post or email.  On November 13th 2000, prior to U.S. President Clinton's visit to Vietnam, Dr Que proclaimed the foundation of his new organization named "Get-together for Democracy" in order to "rally in a common front struggling for free and fair election, to set up democratic government". By the same time, Dr Que have issued a clandestine monthly magazine entitled "Tuong Lai" (The Future) to express his ideas on the future of Vietnam and campaign for democracy.  On January 15th 2001, Dr Nguyen Dan Que and his wife were summoned to a "popular denunciation session" orchestrated by the Public Security in the 5th district of HochiMinh city. Because of health problems, Dr Que declined and did not attend this session, but his wife was subjected to 2 hours of public denunciation and condemnation by people gathered in a school yard, intimidation by Security officials (from 7pm to 9pm). Dr Que and his wife were apparently accused of treason.  Dr Nguyen Dan Que is the only member in Vietnam of Amnesty International, and recipient of 1995 Robert Kennedy H.R.Award and 1994 Raoul Wallenberg H.R. Award. 

3 - Venerable Thich Quang Do, 73 years old, buddhist monk, writer and scholar, head of the Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma, was released from prison on August 31, 1998. Thich Quang Do has spent most of the last 20 years in detention or under house arrest because of his campaign for religious freedom and freedom of opinion. First, he was imprisonned from April 1972 to December 1978. In 1992, he was arrested again for protesting against the ban of the Unified Buddhist Church by the government. From 1982 to 1992, he was detained under house arrest in Thai Binh province. In 1994, Thich Quang Do sent a 44 page document addressed to the Vietnamese Communist Party leaders, detailing all mistakes and crimes committed by the VCP's members and leaders. On January 4, 1995, he was arrested again and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.  Just 6 weeks before the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur A.Amor to Vietnam in October 1998, Thich Quang Do was released with other prisoners of conscience. Since then, he has been under house arrest in Ho Chi Minh city, but he has continued to smuggle overseas letters and documents asking for help and support for his campaign for Human Rights. Like other advocates for freedom of worship under house arrest (Thich Khong Tanh, Thich Tue Sy), Thich Quang Do has been subjected to harassment (night identity check, police interrogations, arrestation for travelling without police permission....) The most recent arrest happened while he was going to Quang Ngai for a Vietnamese New Year visit to the UBCV Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang on January 30, 2001.  Thich Quang Do was adopted by Amnesty International as prisoner of conscience, and made honorary member of Pen Club in Germany, France, Sweden. Nominee for year 2000 and year 2001 Peace Nobel Prize, he is one of the renowned human rights defenders in Vietnam. 

4 - Ha Sy Phu, biologist, journalist and poet of the group "Langbian Magazine" in Dalat, has been the target of persecution for the last 10 years, because in his essays, he showed the fundamental errors of the communist ideology and tried to convince the VCP leaders to deny communist ideology and build a democratic society.  In 1995, Ha Sy Phu was imprisoned for 12 months and put under house arrest after released from prison. From April 1999 to April 2000, he has been repeatedly subjected to interrogations and search by security officials, his telephone cut, his mail censured, his computers confiscated.  On May 12th 2000, Ha Sy Phu was required to report to the Dalat police headquarter on a daily basis for interrogations, and threatened to be imprisoned again.  Human Rights Watch on May 31, 2000 issued an urgent appeal to the vietnamese government to stop persecuting Ha Sy Phu and other peaceful political dissidents.  On June 20th 2000, the International for Human Rights and Democratic Development, represented by Mr. Warren Allmand, has sent a letter of protest to the Vietnamese government urging the President of the Republic of Vietnam to stop the persecution of Ha Sy Phu for expressing his peaceful political views.  On November 29, 2000, Ha Sy Phu sent a letter of protest to the government asking for a fair trial or release him from the "preventive detention". On January 4, 2001, a official decree put an end to his house arrest, but soon, on February 12, 2001, the local Security office issued house arrest orders again Ha Sy Phu and his friend Mai Thai Linh, apparently for «making contact with reactionaries living abroad to sabotage Vietnam». 

5 - Professor Nguyen Thanh Giang , biologist and writer, was arrested on March 4,1999 and imprisonned for 2 months for reportedly possessing "anti-socialist propaganda". Giang, 63 years old, has openly advocated human rights and multiparty democracy since 1989. Released after he went on hunger strike in prison, he has been victim of harassment with confiscation of his computer after 2 days of interrogations. 

6 - Mr Nguyen Ngoc Tan, pen name Pham Thai, 79 years old, writer, journalist, vice chair of the Movement to Unite People and Build Democracy. His health has been deteriorating from poor nutrition and hard labour. Arrested in 1993, he was sentenced in 1995 to 11 years of imprisonment. He was serving his sentence in Xuan Loc detention camp when he was released on 30 April 2000 as part of a special amnesty.  Honorary member of the Poland, England and Canada PEN centres. 

7 - Thich Tue Sy, buddhist writer, monk, honorary member of Pen International and Pen Canada, was released in September 1998 after 17 years of imprisonment and hard labour. Since then, he was submitted to police surveillance, interrogations and threats. On September 14, 1999, Rev. Thich Tue Sy was interrogated at the local police station, his computer hard disk was confiscated for his alleged attempt to overthrow the government. His writings ask for freedom of belief and opinion. 

8 - Bui Ngoc Tan, 67 years old, journalist, author of many books and novels in Hanoi, was forbidden to publish his recent book " Chuyen ke nam 2000" ( A tale of Year 2000). The Culture and Information Ministry issued an order on March16, 2000 to destroy his book and the local security subjected him to interrogation. All people implicated in the publication and distribution of the book have been heavily punished. In his 600 page book, Bui Ngoc Tan described the condition of vietnamese gulags and also the slavery in which vietnamese people have to live under the communist regime. Bui Ngoc Tan has been adopted by PEN Canada as honorary member since July 2000. His banned book “ A Tale of Year 2000” was published on internet in French and English language on February 2001 by Reporters sans Frontieres (website : www.rsf.fr). 

9 - Former vietnamese communist army General Tran Do, writer, journalist, was expelled from VCP in 1999 because, in his writings, he has advocated democracy to eradicate corruption in the government. In July 1999, his application to publish a newspaper in Hanoi was rejected. 

10 - Bui Minh Quoc, journalist and poet, has been subjected to house arrest, interrogations and strict surveillance by Lam Dong security officials since 1996 because he protested against the imprisonment of Ha Sy Phu (1996). He used to be a reporter for the "Langbian Magazine" in Dalat.  Bui Minh Quoc, Tieu Dao Bao Cu and Ha Sy Phu have been called "Members of Dalat group", dissident writers, victim of harassment since 1996. 

Human Rights Defenders still held in prison 

1 - Professor Nguyen Dinh Huy, writer, arrested in 1993 for organizing an international conference on economic development in Ho Chi Minh city. In 1995, he was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment and hard labour. Nguyen Dinh Huy is the founder of the Movement to Unite People and Build Democracy. Reportedly, he is suffering from Parkinson's disease, serving his sentence now in Z 30 Xuan Loc detention camp, Dong Nai province . 

2 - Reverend Thich Hue Dang (other name Nguyen Ngoc Dai), buddhist intellectual, writer and humanist scholar, now held in Xuan Loc hard labour camp, Dong Nai province. Arrested for writing forbidden work as "Essay on Humanism" and sentenced on May 27, 1992 to 20 years imprisonment. Pen International in June 1999 appealed to the vietnamese authorities for the release of Rev. Thich Hue Dang, as his "crime" was just to peacefully exercise the right of freedom of expression.  Please find in enclosed documents the list of other victims of repression of opinion in Vietnam. 

Recommendations 

In conclusion, in regard to the rule of law, democratic development and respect for human rights, Vietnam stays far behind other Asian countries. Actually its civil society has been kept in complete deprivation of fundamental conditions for a genuine and complete development. In this era of globalization, it is unfair to leave the Vietnamese people on the margin of civilization.  The notions of national sovereignty and social stability invoked by dictatorial governments are not appropriate when they interfere with the duty of accountability of a government who kills, tortures and deprives its own citizens of their rights.  The international community has been trying to help developing countries to eradicate poverty, achieve social justice and build up democracy. International pressure and support have been very helpful in the process of democratization for many countries in Asia such as Thailand and Indonesia.. But systematic freedom repression still prevents the development of democracy and an equal contribution of the civil society to economic, social and cultural development, as we can see in Vietnam. Vietnam's human rights violations are a huge challenge for human rights defenders because, the goal of the Vietnamese communist government is to maintain the monopoly of the Party, often at the expense of the nation. Therefore, to be effective, economic aid and humanitarian assistance have to be linked to support for human rights defenders and the creation of a network of NGO independent of the State's control. In their own country, International Human Rights organizations have an extremely important role to play, because they are able to give human rights defenders a forum to express opinions and ask for help when their voice is stifled.  We believe that, with the informatiom update on Vietnam's human rights situation, international human rights organizations may consider ways to help the civil society in Vietnam to achieve genuine development.  We would suggest that international human rights activists and organizations as well as democratic governments give support to human rights defenders in Vietnam.  The campaign for religious freedom in Vietnam also needs strong support from the international community.  We call upon the international community to make pressure on Vietnam for genuine respect of fundamental rights, particulary freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of worship, freedom of association.  We call upon the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to examine complaints against Vietnam for human rights violations under «1503 Procedure» and ask Vietnam to be accountable. We would appreciate that the UN Commission oh Human Rights send Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders and Freedom of Expression and Opinion to Vietnam for an assessment of the human rights conditions, as soon as possible. 

Montreal February 13, 2001. 

Dr Lam Thu Van Democracy for Vietnam / Montreal Vietnamese Canadian Federation 6420, Victoria Ave., suite 4.Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3W 2S7 Tel, Fax : 514 - 343 4390 Email : thuvan@total.net 

List of documents consulted : - Human Rights Watch 2001 report, website : www.hrw.org/wr2k/asia/vietnam2.html - Freedom House, website : www. freedomhouse.org/religion/vietnam - Administrative Detainment Policy 31/CP of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - Decree No 26/1999/ND-CP on religions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - Report submitted by Mr Abdelfattah Amor, Special Rapporteur on Religions, to the Commission on Human Rights 55th session.

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