Calls on the government of Vietnam to release from prison, end the detention without trial, and cease the harassment and house arrest of the people who signed the Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam.
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the members of the Bloc 8406 should be commended for their efforts to bring democracy and human rights to the Vietnamese people; and (2) the President should encourage Vietnam to release such people from prison, including U.S. citizen Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, and direct the Secretary of State to establish a Countries of Particular Concern list to condemn countries like Vietnam, which engage in "particularly severe violations" of human rights.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H. Res. 1089 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1089
Calling on the government of Vietnam to release from prison, end the
detention without trial, and cease the harassment and house arrest of
the people who signed the Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for
Vietnam, and expressing the sense of Congress that the President should
encourage Vietnam to release such people from prison and to direct the
Secretary of State to establish a Countries of Particular Concern list
to condemn countries like Vietnam, which engage in ``particularly
severe violations'' of human rights.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 8, 2008
Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California (for herself and Ms. Zoe Lofgren of
California) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling on the government of Vietnam to release from prison, end the
detention without trial, and cease the harassment and house arrest of
the people who signed the Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for
Vietnam, and expressing the sense of Congress that the President should
encourage Vietnam to release such people from prison and to direct the
Secretary of State to establish a Countries of Particular Concern list
to condemn countries like Vietnam, which engage in ``particularly
severe violations'' of human rights.
Whereas on April 8, 2006, 118 Vietnamese citizens signed a Manifesto on Freedom
and Democracy for Vietnam, with the objective ``to reestablish
fundamental rights of the people'' of Vietnam, ``sacred rights of the
Vietnamese nation [which] have been brutally trampled upon the moment
the communist government was installed in Vietnam'';
Whereas these 118 Vietnamese citizens and the thousands who have subsequently
signed the Manifesto are referred to as the Bloc 8406, based on date the
Manifesto was signed, on the eighth day of April in the year 2006;
Whereas the Manifesto calls on those inside and outside Vietnam to support
peaceful, non-violent action to bring democracy and basic human rights
to the Vietnamese people;
Whereas 13 of these brave supporters of democracy have since been sentenced to a
total of 68 years in prison for signing the Manifesto;
Whereas at least 10 of these democracy advocates have since been detained by the
Government of Vietnam for 18 months or more, for signing their names to
the Manifesto;
Whereas at least five other signers of the peaceful, non-violent Manifesto have
been harassed and placed under house arrest by the Government of
Vietnam; and
Whereas in addition to the signers of the Manifesto, the Government of Vietnam
has continued to harass, arrest, and detain peaceful, non-violent
supporters of democracy, including United States citizens Cong Thanh Do,
Truong Van Ba, Nguyen Quoc Quan, and to unlawfully arrest United States
citizens traveling to Vietnam, including Le Van Phan, and Nguyen Thi
Thinh: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That
(1) the House of Representatives--
(A) calls on the government of Vietnam to release
those imprisoned for signing the Manifesto on Freedom
and Democracy for Vietnam, including--
(i) Father Nguyen Van Ly, sentenced to 8
years;
(ii) Nguyen Phong, sentenced to 6 years;
(iii) Nguyen Binh Thanh, sentenced to 5
years;
(iv) Nguyen Bac Truyen, jurist, sentenced
to 4 years;
(v) Le Nguyen Sang, medical doctor,
sentenced to 5 years;
(vi) Huynh Nguyen Dao, journalist,
sentenced to 3 years;
(vii) Nguyen Van Dai, lawyer, sentenced to
5 years;
(viii) Le Thi Cong Nhan, lawyer, sentenced
to 4 years;
(ix) Tran Quoc Hien, jurist, sentenced to 5
years;
(x) Le Van Soc, Hoa Hao Buddhist, sentenced
to 6 years;
(xi) Hang Tan Phat, sentenced to 6 years;
(xii) Truong Quoc Huy, freelance
journalist, sentenced to 6 years; and
(xiii) Truong Minh Duc, sentenced to 5
years;
(B) urges the Government of Vietnam to end its
detention of those who are being held without a trial,
for their signature to the Manifesto, including--
(i) Vu Hoang Hai;
(ii) Nguyen Ngoc Quang;
(iii) Pham Ba Hai;
(iv) Nguyen Tan Hoanh (aka Doan Huu
Chuong);
(v) Tran Thi Le Hang;
(vi) Doan Van Dien;
(vii) Le Ba Triet;
(viii) Ho Thi Bich Khuong;
(ix) Vu Van Hung; and
(x) Dang Hung; and
(C) insists that the Government of Vietnam cease
harassment and house arrest of those non-violent
democracy advocates who signed the Manifesto,
including--
(i) Bui Kim Thanh, jurist;
(ii) Do Nam Hai, co-founder of Bloc 8406;
(iii) Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, novelist;
(iv) Hong Trung, Seventh-day Adventist
pastor;
(v) Nguyen Hong Quang, Mennonite pastor;
and
(vi) Pham Ngoc Thach, Mennonite evangelist;
and
(2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
(A) the members of the Bloc 8406 should be
commended for their selfless, peaceful efforts, to
bring democracy and human rights to the Vietnamese
people;
(B) the President should request that the
Government of Vietnam release all of these non-violent,
peaceful supporters of Democracy, including United
States citizen Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, who has been held
without charges in Vietnam since November 17, 2007; and
(C) the President should direct the Secretary of
State to establish a Countries of Particular Concern
list to condemn countries like Vietnam, which engage in
``particularly severe violations'' of human rights,
parallel in structure to the Countries of Particular
Concern list for countries with ``particularly severe
violations of religious freedom,'' as mandated under
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6401 et seq.).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H2167)
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