03/23/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09778

HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM

Human rights abuses have increased in Vietnam.

Vietnam is a one-party state ruled by the Communist party. Opposition parties are banned and citizens are denied the right to change their government. The Vietnamese government imprisons citizens for the peaceful expression of their religious and political beliefs.

The Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang [tick wen KWANG] is the eighty-one-year-old Supreme Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church. He has been detained in Quang Ngai [kwang NYE] province since 1982. He is reported to be in poor health. The Unified Buddhist Church has been resisting the Vietnamese government's efforts to bring it -- and all Buddhist clergy -- under Communist party control. The church's religious activities are prohibited.

In Vietnam’s Central Highlands, there were reports that vigilantes beat Protestant worshipers. There were unconfirmed reports that authorities demolished churches in some areas. Several reports describe a systematic campaign on the part of local officials in the Central Highlands to force ethnic minority Protestants to renounce their faith. Similar campaigns continue to be reported in other provinces of Vietnam.

Religious and political dissidents face arbitrary arrest. Prison conditions are harsh. Detainees are subject to beatings and forced labor.

Freedom of speech and the press are severely restricted in Vietnam. Dr. Nguyen Dan Que [nwen dahn kweh], a leading dissident and former political prisoner, continues to speak out against political repression. In an effort to silence him, the Vietnamese government has cut his telephone and fax line and blocked his access to the Internet. He is kept under constant surveillance.

The Vietnamese government does not permit independent human rights organizations to operate. Those who cooperate with international human rights monitors face severe reprisals. Father Nguyen Van Ly [nwen van lee], a dissident Roman Catholic priest, was imprisoned in part for sending written testimony to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

By detaining those who speak out against human rights abuses, the Vietnamese government confirms the truth of their testimony. It's time for the repression to stop.