States that the Senate: (1) condemns the detention of Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and calls for his immediate and unconditional release; (2) condemns the violations of freedom of speech, religion, movement, association, and the lack of due process afforded to individuals in Vietnam; and (3) urges the Government of Vietnam to consider the implications of its actions for the broader relationship with the United States, including the United States-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement.
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should: (1) make the immediate release of Father Ly a top concern; (2) reiterate its deep concern regarding the violation of Father Ly's and other prisoners' human rights; and (3) make it clear to the Government of Vietnam that the religious or political detention and human rights violations of Father Ly and other persons create obstacles to improved bilateral relations with the United States.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 311 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 311
Calling on the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to
immediately and unconditionally release Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 4, 2004
Mr. Brownback submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling on the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to
immediately and unconditionally release Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly,
and for other purposes.
Whereas, in February 2001, Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, a Roman Catholic
priest, was formally invited to testify before the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom but was denied permission
to leave the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and thus, instead, submitted
written testimony critical of the Government of Vietnam, which was read
into the Commission record on February 13, 2001;
Whereas Father Ly's testimony before the Commission documents numerous specific
actions of the Government of Vietnam against religious freedom that he
classified as collectively being ``extremely cruel'' and requiring a
``non-violent and persistent campaign'' to achieve full religious
freedom for all people in Vietnam;
Whereas Father Ly has been detained by the Government of Vietnam since February
2001, when the Government placed him under administrative detention,
and, as a direct response to his testimony, branded him a traitor for
``slandering'' the Communist party and ``distorting'' the religious
policy of the government;
Whereas the Government of Vietnam issued a second decree suspending Father Ly's
ability to ``carry on any religious responsibility and functions'' and
later formally removed Father Ly from his church, detained him, and
denied him access to legal counsel;
Whereas, on October 19 2001, the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Court
convicted Father Ly of all charges after a one-day, closed trial without
the benefit of counsel and sentenced him to 2 years in prison for
violating the terms of his administrative detention, 13 years in prison
for, ``damaging the Government's unity policy,'' and 5 years of
administrative probation upon release from prison;
Whereas, after pleas from United States Government officials and the world
community, Father Ly's sentence was reduced by 5 years;
Whereas, in June 2001, Father Ly's nephews Nguyen Vu Viet, age 27, and Nguyen
Truc Cuong, age 36, and his niece Nguyen Thi Hoa, age 44, were arrested
for allegedly being in contact and receiving support from
``reactionary'' organizations in the United States concerning the
religious situation in Vietnam and disseminating information concerning
the detention of Father Ly;
Whereas after their cases generated much concern in Congress, Nguyen Thi Hoa,
Nguyen Vu Viet, and Nguyen Truc Cuong all have been released;
Whereas, on November 27, 2003, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention issued Opinion No. 20/2003 stating that ``the Group is
convinced that [Father Ly] has been arrested and detained only for his
opinions . . . [and] the deprivation of the liberty of Father Thadeus
Nguyen Van Ly is arbitrary, as being in contravention of Article 19 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights'';
Whereas Father Ly has been deprived of his basic human rights by being denied
his ability to exercise freedom of opinion and expression; and
Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment and the violation of the human rights of
citizens of Vietnam are sources of continuing, grave concern to the
Congress: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the Senate--
(A) condemns and deplores the arbitrary detention
of Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly by the Government of
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and calls for his
immediate and unconditional release;
(B) condemns and deplores the violations of freedom
of speech, religion, movement, association, and the
lack of due process afforded to individuals in the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
(C) strongly urges the Government of Vietnam to
consider the implications of its actions for the
broader relationship between the United States and
Vietnam; and
(D) strongly urges the Government of Vietnam to
consider the implications of its actions in the context
of the United States-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement,
under which Vietnam currently receives Normal Trade
Relations (NTR) status subject to chapter 1 of title IV
of the Trade Act of 1974 (commonly known as the
``Jackson-Vanik Amendment''); and
(2) it is the sense of the Senate that the United States
should--
(A) make the immediate release of Father Thadeus
Nguyen Van Ly a top concern;
(B) make it clear to the Government of Vietnam that
it is not in the Government's interest to detain Father
Ly and others like him for political or religious
reasons or to inflict human rights violations on such
people or groups because such actions create obstacles
to improved bilateral relations and cooperation with
the United States; and
(C) reiterate the deep concern of the United States
regarding the continued imprisonment of Father Ly and
other persons whose human rights are being violated and
discuss the legal status and immediate humanitarian
needs of such people with the Government of Vietnam.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2235)
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