Vietnamese Refugees Welcome US Religious Freedom Blacklist Move
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Expatriate Vietnamese community representatives Thursday hailed Washington's decision to blacklist Vietnam for severe religious freedom violations, but one voiced concern that any future action the U.S. may consider against Hanoi would not materialize should Sen. John F. Kerry win November's election.Releasing its annual report Wednesday on religious freedom around the world, the State Department announced that communist Vietnam -- along with Saudi Arabia and Eritrea -- had been named a "country of particular concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act.
The newcomers to the list join Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan.
The report said respect for religious freedom in Vietnam remained poor or deteriorated in some cases, notably for ethnic minority Protestants and independent Buddhists.
Followers of non-recognized religions were harassed to varying degrees in different parts of the country, and there had been credible reports of officials pressuring ethnic minority Christians to recant their faith, it said.
Under the International Religious Freedom Act, CPC designation can potentially lead to sanctions or other penalties.
The general-secretary of the 200,000-plus Vietnamese community in Australia, Trung Doan, said Thursday the decision to name Vietnam as a CPC was an important one.
"It's not just symbolic. It will also bring potential pressure - if a future [U.S.] president is willing to apply pressure."
Doan said steps could include Washington's representative at the World Bank not supporting new loans to Hanoi, which would have a "significant" impact on the regime.
However, Vietnamese expatriates believed the chances of punitive action against Vietnam were much lower if Kerry becomes president, he said, pointing to the Democratic candidate's past opposition to such measures against Hanoi.
Three years ago, Kerry blocked legislation in the Senate that had passed the House of Representatives by a 410-1 vote, which tied U.S. aid to Vietnam's human rights performance.
Kerry, who was chairman of the foreign relations committee's East Asian and Pacific Affairs subcommittee, argued that denying aid to Hanoi would be counterproductive.
Another version of the legislation, the Vietnam Human Rights Act, passed the House last July, and is once again before the Senate. It calls for a freeze on any increases in non-humanitarian aid to Vietnam.
Doan praised the Vietnamese-American community for its success after years of lobbying on the CPC issue.
One of those spearheading the campaign was Helen Ngo of the Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam.
Speaking from Bethesda, Md., late Wednesday, Ngo welcomed the decision, which she said came after six years of hard work.
She hoped the designation would be "the beginning of improvement" of the situation in Vietnam, although she conceded that change would not come quickly, adding that "it is hard to work with the communist government."
Among those imprisoned for their faith in Vietnam is a member of the Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam's advisory committee, the Rev. Nguyen Van Ly.
After submitting written testimony before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in February 2001, the Catholic priest was accused of slandering the Communist Party and detained. In October of that year Ly was found guilty in a closed trial of "undermining the state policy of great unity" and jailed for 15 years.
The committee said Hanoi had increased its suppressing of religion over the past three years.
It cited the forcible closure of 400 Christian churches in the central highlands; the placing under "temple arrest" of the entire leadership of the Unified Buddhist Church; and a violent crackdown last Easter on thousands of Protestant ethnic minority Montagnards during what supporters described as peaceful prayer gathering and demonstration against religious oppression and land confiscation.
Hanoi has also promulgated a religious ordinance, to come into effect in November, which critics say effectively bans all non-sanctioned religious institution and activities.
The USCIRF, an independent statutory body that advises the administration and Congress on religious freedom issues, has been calling for CPC status for Vietnam since 2001.
"For its active repression of religious freedom in the past and for the government of Vietnam's failure to respond to the international community's repeated requests to address ongoing violations of the internationally-recognized right to freedom of religion or belief, Vietnam clearly warrants CPC designation," commission chairwoman Preeta Bansal said in a statement Wednesday.
See related stories:
Finally, Saudi Arabia Named Severe Violator of Religious Freedom (Sept. 16, 2004)
Vietnam's New Religious Ordinance Under Fire (Sept. 1, 2004)
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