The House of Representatives today passed H. Con Res 320, a resolution written by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Subcommittee that oversees global human rights, calling on the government of Vietnam to immediately release Dr. Pham Hong Son and other political prisoners. 

    In March, 2002, Vietnamese government police arrested Dr. Son on charges of espionage after he translated an article from the website of the US Embassy, entitled "What is Democracy," and sent it to friends and senior Vietnamese officials. Dr. Son had also written an open letter, published on the Internet, protesting the fact that his house had been searched illegally and his computer and documents confiscated. After a closed trial and appeal – from which Western reporters and diplomats from Europe, the United States, and Canada were barred, Dr. Son was sentenced to five years in prison and an additional three years of house arrest.

    “America cannot turn our back on those who fight oppression by voicing their support of freedom and democracy like Dr. Son,” said Smith, who went to Vietnam in December and met with Dr. Son’s courageous wife, Vu Thuy Ha. “Vietnam is at a critical crossroads and is seeking to expand its trade relations with the US and join the WTO. There will be no better time to convince Vietnam of the seriousness of our human rights concerns.” 

    In December, less than a day after Smith’s resolution passed through committee, Vietnamese officers detained two well-known Internet writers, at a public Internet café. The police forced one, Do Nam Hai (also mentioned in the resolution) to open his personal e-mail account and print about 30 of his sent messages. The two writers were interrogated for six hours at the café at a police station in Hanoi. 

    Just weeks ago, another Internet-user user calling himself “Freedom for the Country” joined the discussion group called "Democracy and Freedom, the only way for Vietnam” at a Hanoi cybercafé. After discussing and identifying himself as a member of a pro-democracy working group, the freedom promoting internet user was arrested by Vietnamese police. Despite evidence to the contrary, the Vietnamese government denied the arrest and the victim’s identity remains unknown. He joins three other cyber-dissidents, who were arrested in October, and whose whereabouts remain unknown.

    “This continued persecution will obviously not go away by itself,” said Smith. “The biggest fear of tyrannical government is public exposure, and we need to keep attention focused on Vietnam’s continuing violation of the basic rights it claims to grant its people.”

    Smith, who conducted a hearing in February to examine the operating procedures of major US internet companies in China and other repressive countries, has introduced the Global Online Freedom Act of 2006 (HR 4780) which will establish US policy regarding the free flow of information on the Internet. The bill will enable the US to protect a free Internet and ensure that American companies operating in countries with repressive governments are able to respect the universal rights of freedom of speech and press. 

    “The ability to communicate openly is the key to unlocking the doors restricting freedom for those who cannot feel its touch,” said Smith. “The Global Online Freedom Act will send a clear message to repressive governments that the internet will not be used as a weapon to stifle dissent and opposing viewpoints.”