Dr. Nguyen Dan Que and U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius
Ambassador Osius pledged to put his efforts to request Hanoi to respect its international obligations on human rights. The U.S. will enhance bilateral cooperation with the Vietnamese parliament to help it conduct legal reforms and partner with Vietnam’s government to improve the country’s education and healthcare.
By Vu Quoc Ngu, July 02, 2016
On June 30, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a prominent Vietnamese political dissident, hosted U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius in his private residence in Saigon, the activist said.
During the meeting which lasted about an hour in the afternoon of Thursday, Dr. Que, who spent over 20 years in prison due to his pro-democracy and human rights activities, raised his concerns on Vietnam’s human rights records.
The Vietnamese endocrinologist and pro-democracy activist urged the U.S. to support Vietnamese independent social organizations such as the Vietnamese Women for Human Rights (VNWHR) and the Vietnam Independent Civil Society Organizations Network (VICSON).
Dr. Que, who is co-president of the Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience, asked the U.S. to pressure Vietnam’s communist government to request it to ensure freedom of press, freedom of Internet and freedom of information access. Vietnam has suppressed the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) and its members, the former prisoner of conscience said.
Washington should ask Hanoi to respect universal human rights, including the right of freedom of expression and freedom of religions and belief, Dr. Que said. Vietnam has applied a number of controversial articles in the Penal Code to suppress government critics, and persecuted unregistered religious groups, said Dr. Que, who has been placed under de factor house arrest since 2011.
Authorities in many Vietnamese localities have seized land belonging to Catholic churches and Buddhist pagodas, noted Que, who was given the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Right in 1995.
Victims of religious suppression include Mrs. Tran Thi Hong, wife of imprisoned Protestant pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, clerks and followers of Protestant, Buddhist Cao Dai sect, Buddhist Hoa Hao sect, and the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, said the Hanoi-born activist but has not been allowed to return to his home city despite the country’s reunification in 1975.
Dr. Que, who was recently honored with 2016 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the South Korean May 18 Memorial Foundation, raised his concern about imprisoned prisoners of conscience. He urged the U.S. to ask the Vietnamese government to unconditionally release all political prisoners, including Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Ngo Hao, Nguyen Van Dai and Nguyen Huu Vinh.
Accompanied by political officer Charles Sellers of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Ambassador Osius pledged to put his efforts to request Hanoi to respect its international obligations on human rights. The U.S. will enhance bilateral cooperation with the Vietnamese parliament to help it conduct legal reforms and partner with Vietnam’s government to improve the country’s education and healthcare, the diplomat said.
Sharing Dr. Que’s concerns, Ambassador Osius said if Vietnam’s parliament and the U.S. Congress approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, Vietnam must allow the establishment of independent labor unions which will truly protect the rights of Vietnamese workers.
The visit of U.S.’s diplomats took place few days ahead of America’s Independence Day [July 4]. It was not interfered by the local security forces which had often blocked meetings between Vietnamese political dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders and foreign diplomats.
Dr. Que, who left Hanoi in 1954 and received a medical doctor degree from Saigon University in 1964, was a finalist for the U.S.-based Civil Courage Prize, which “honors civil courage — steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk — rather than military valor” in 2004. He ultimately won a “Certificate of Distinction in Civil Courage” and a $1,000 cash prize.
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July 2, 2016
Vietnam Prominent Dissident Hosts U.S. Ambassador in His Private Residence
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], Nguyen Dan Que
Dr. Nguyen Dan Que and U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius
By Vu Quoc Ngu, July 02, 2016
On June 30, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a prominent Vietnamese political dissident, hosted U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius in his private residence in Saigon, the activist said.
During the meeting which lasted about an hour in the afternoon of Thursday, Dr. Que, who spent over 20 years in prison due to his pro-democracy and human rights activities, raised his concerns on Vietnam’s human rights records.
The Vietnamese endocrinologist and pro-democracy activist urged the U.S. to support Vietnamese independent social organizations such as the Vietnamese Women for Human Rights (VNWHR) and the Vietnam Independent Civil Society Organizations Network (VICSON).
Dr. Que, who is co-president of the Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience, asked the U.S. to pressure Vietnam’s communist government to request it to ensure freedom of press, freedom of Internet and freedom of information access. Vietnam has suppressed the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) and its members, the former prisoner of conscience said.
Washington should ask Hanoi to respect universal human rights, including the right of freedom of expression and freedom of religions and belief, Dr. Que said. Vietnam has applied a number of controversial articles in the Penal Code to suppress government critics, and persecuted unregistered religious groups, said Dr. Que, who has been placed under de factor house arrest since 2011.
Authorities in many Vietnamese localities have seized land belonging to Catholic churches and Buddhist pagodas, noted Que, who was given the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Right in 1995.
Victims of religious suppression include Mrs. Tran Thi Hong, wife of imprisoned Protestant pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, clerks and followers of Protestant, Buddhist Cao Dai sect, Buddhist Hoa Hao sect, and the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, said the Hanoi-born activist but has not been allowed to return to his home city despite the country’s reunification in 1975.
Dr. Que, who was recently honored with 2016 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the South Korean May 18 Memorial Foundation, raised his concern about imprisoned prisoners of conscience. He urged the U.S. to ask the Vietnamese government to unconditionally release all political prisoners, including Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Ngo Hao, Nguyen Van Dai and Nguyen Huu Vinh.
Accompanied by political officer Charles Sellers of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Ambassador Osius pledged to put his efforts to request Hanoi to respect its international obligations on human rights. The U.S. will enhance bilateral cooperation with the Vietnamese parliament to help it conduct legal reforms and partner with Vietnam’s government to improve the country’s education and healthcare, the diplomat said.
Sharing Dr. Que’s concerns, Ambassador Osius said if Vietnam’s parliament and the U.S. Congress approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, Vietnam must allow the establishment of independent labor unions which will truly protect the rights of Vietnamese workers.
The visit of U.S.’s diplomats took place few days ahead of America’s Independence Day [July 4]. It was not interfered by the local security forces which had often blocked meetings between Vietnamese political dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders and foreign diplomats.
Dr. Que, who left Hanoi in 1954 and received a medical doctor degree from Saigon University in 1964, was a finalist for the U.S.-based Civil Courage Prize, which “honors civil courage — steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk — rather than military valor” in 2004. He ultimately won a “Certificate of Distinction in Civil Courage” and a $1,000 cash prize.