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Washington, D.C., May 19, 2000 -- Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, Vietnam's most prominent dissident, praised the Voice of America's reporting of the May 11 Vietnam Human Rights Day on Capitol Hill. After hearing a report by VOA Vietnamese correspondent Phuong Lan, he telephoned his brother in Washington, D.C., and told him that VOA had done and "excellent job of reporting."

Dr. Que's brother, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, is an organizer of the annual Vietnam Human Rights Day in Congress. This year, the event attracted eight Senators and 18 Representatives as well as representatives from the AFL-CIO and Amnesty International.

"Thanks to VOA, the people of Vietnam know about the international community's support for human rights, democracy, and true freedom in Vietnam," said Dr. Nguyen Dan Que (May 11, 2000)

Dr. Nguyen Dan Que is the author of the "Manifesto of the Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam," the document commemorated in 1994 by both Houses of Congress and signed into law by President Clinton as Joint Resolution designating May 11 as "Vietnam Human Rights Day."

The Vietnamese released Dr. Nguyen Dan Que in a general amnesty in 1999 on the condition that he leave the country. Since then he has refused to leave and has been regularly harassed by the authorities.

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