Members of the U.S. Senate - Please Support the H.R 1897 Vietnam Human Rights Act

On behalf of the people who support a democracy and freedom of Vietnam, we are asking you to support the Human Rights in Vietnam by voting YES on the H.R. 1897. On August 1, 2013, The H.R. 1897 was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives with 405 Yeas and 3 Nays.

Since Vietnam joined the WTO, the Vietnamese authorities have broken their promise to improve the country’s human rights situation. However, the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), ignoring international criticism, carried out a large-scale brutal campaign of arrests against the nascent movement for democracy in Vietnam. Several prominent Vietnamese dissidents were arrested and imprisoned for their peaceful advocacy including:

Father Nguyen Van Ly.
Human rights lawyers: Le Quoc Quan, Nguyen Van Dai, Cu Huy Ha Vu, and Le Cong Dinh.
Bloggers: Dieu Cay, Ta Phong Tan, Dinh Nguyen Kha, and Dinh Nhat Uy.
Musicians/Songwriters: Viet Khang and Tran Vu Anh Binh.
Labor rights activists: Do Thi Minh Hanh, Doan Huy Chuong, and Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung.

The Vietnamese government continues to brutally suppress dissent, arresting and arbitrarily detaining political and human rights activists and then denying them a fair and speedy trial. They have been interrogated, tortured during pre-trial investigations, and often forced to admit crimes they did not commit. Many of them have been jailed for years without trial, while others may be tried in closed trials. Early this year, the government has arrested more than 50 human rights activists. Many innocent people have been wrongly convicted and sentenced to long prison terms.

On September 4, 2013, Vietnamese government mobilized hundreds of armed Vietnamese police and paramilitary forces to crack down on a group of parishioners who peacefully gathered in front of their Catholic church to protest against the unlawful detention of their two other members. Gunshots were fired, tear gas was used. Parishioners were beaten with electric batons. A large number of people were injured. Some are in very serious and critical conditions. Even worse, at the nearby hospital, police denied people of medical treatments by blocking the hospital entrance.

The Communist Party still remains the only one party to rule the country and continues to deny the Vietnamese citizens the right to participate in the government or to use their voting rights to change the government. The government controls and censors all news media and Internet. Many people have been arrested for posting pro-democracy materials online.