As Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem arrived in Washington, DC, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) held a press conference on Capitol Hill to demand that the Government of Vietnam immediately end their ongoing, unbridled human rights abuses and free all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.

    “We are here today to tell the Vietnamese government that enough is enough. It is time for human rights to flourish in Vietnam,” Smith said at the press conference where he was joined in his call by his colleagues Reps. Ed Royce (R-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA), as well as prominent human rights activists. “Individuals targeted during the recent wave of arrests in Vietnam only want to live in peace and enjoy basic freedoms. The regime in Hanoi needs to stop playing games and start respecting the basic human rights of their people.”

    At the press conference, Smith announced that he is introducing a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to demand the immediate release of Father Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan and other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. The resolution also calls for the Government of Vietnam to comply with internationally recognized standards for basic freedoms and human rights.

    “I have been to Vietnam and met with Father Ly, Nguyen Van Dai and over 60 other dissidents. These are smart, talented and kind people—some of Vietnam’s best and brightest. They harbor no malice toward the government. They only want a better future for their country,” said Smith.

    Last month, the parish house of Father Ly—a former prisoner of conscience who spent over 13 years in prison—was raided. Father Ly was moved to a remote location and placed under house arrest. Father Ly was one of the founders of “Block 8406”—a democracy movement which started last April—and his arrested coincided with the establishment of a new political party he started, the Vietnam Progression Party.

    Earlier this month, Vietnamese police arrested another member of “Block 8406” and the principal spokesperson for the Vietnam Progression Party, Le Thi Cong Nhan. On the same day—March 6, 2007—Vietnamese police arrested one of Vietnam’s few practicing human rights lawyers, Nguyen Van Dai.

    Smith compared these political prisoners to Vaclav Havel, the author of Charter 77 and key leader in the movement to bring peaceful democratic reform to Czechoslovakia in the late 1980’s.

    “These individuals are the Vaclav Havels of Vietnam. Their incarcerations—under a bogus Soviet-era article—are meant to harass, intimidate and keep them from bringing about peaceful change. Their arrests cannot and should not stand,” Smith said.

    Smith also noted that the State Department's removal of Vietnam’s Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation is not permanent. Vietnam’s CPC designation was removed prior to the U.S. granting trade relations with Vietnam.

    “The US should consider reinstating Vietnam’s CPC designation in light of the regime’s recent actions. Nothing precludes us from putting them back on that list. We can and should put them back on tomorrow if the regime does not take immediate action to improve human rights conditions in Vietnam,” said Smith.