Calling on Vietnam to Immediately and Unconditionally Release Dr. Pham Hong Son and Other Political Prisioners and Prisioners of Conscience

CALLING ON VIETNAM TO IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY RELEASE DR. PHAM HONG SON AND OTHER POLITICAL PRISONERS AND PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE -- (House of Representatives - April 05, 2006)

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Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 320, a resolution that calls for the release of Dr. Pham Hong Son and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Vietnam.

Dr. Pham was imprisoned in 2002 for the simple act of translating a document posted on the U.S. Embassy's website entitled, ``What is Democracy?'' He has tirelessly worked in non-violent ways to promote democracy and freedom of speech, expression, and association in Vietnam.

But Dr. Pham is not alone. Thousands of peaceful activists have been harassed, imprisoned, or been placed under house arrest for calling for basic human rights in Vietnam. The State Department, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and various Vietnamese-American groups have documented egregious violations of religious freedom, human rights, and free speech in the country.

For the past two years, the State Department has designated Vietnam a ``country of particular concern'' which means Vietnam has been engaged in systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom. In company with Vietnam are such human rights violators as Sudan, Burma, China, Iran, and North Korea.

In its 2005 report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom states, ``the government of Vietnam continues to commit systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom by harassing, detaining, imprisoning, and discriminating against leaders and practitioners from all of Vietnam's religious communities. Religious freedom conditions in Vietnam remain poor, and the overall human rights situation has deteriorated in the past two years.''

The Committee to Protect Journalists says, ``Press conditions in Vietnam largely stagnated in 2005, despite efforts by the country's leaders to project an image of greater openness. Three writers remained imprisoned on antistate charges for material distributed online; print and broadcast media continued to work under the supervision of the government; and attacks on journalists were common.''

For the past year, Vietnam has sought a new relationship with the United States. Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and several other high-level members of the Vietnamese government visited the U.S. in 2005. But if the Vietnamese government expects to cultivate this new relationship, it must start by respecting basic human rights of all citizens of Vietnam.

I hope this Congress will show strong support for change in Vietnam by unanimously passing House Concurrent Resolution 320 today.

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