Mr President, one might ask why the European Parliament is so deeply concerned with Vietnam. Some might say: surely Vietnam is a very long way away from the European Union. But I can tell you that Germany and Bavaria, for example, see Vietnam as very close. If you travel from the Bavarian border country to the neighbouring Czech Republic, you will see many Vietnamese markets, meet many Vietnamese who are playing a very active part in that border region. If you travel to the eastern part of the reunited Germany, you will find Vietnamese who made their home there in what used to be the Communist bloc. And in the western part, you will find Vietnamese who fled that same Communism and came to Germany as asylum seekers and refugees. That shows how closely our destinies have been intertwined in this Eurasian continent for many years. That also becomes very clear when you look at the parallels in the history of Europe and Germany and also of Vietnam. Germany and Europe were divided. Ten years ago they were reunited, in the name of freedom. Vietnam suffered terrible wars and was torn apart by the interests of the great powers. One day Vietnam too was reunited, not peacefully however, but by the force of arms, and it was reunited under a Communist system, a dictatorship. We now have a situation in Vietnam in which economic reforms are certainly being carried out. Many people believed that this would automatically also lead to political reforms. But we can see quite clearly in many states of Asia, including Burma which we just discussed – it is a parallel case – that economic reforms, trade and cooperation, however welcome, do not automatically bring more freedom or constitutional legality. There is a particular risk in Asia of dissociating economic and political reforms, of economic progress and economic liberalisation without political liberalisation or greater constitutional legality. I believe that without a constitutional state that is functioning properly, in the long-term Asia will lose out on trade, subsidies and investments. That is why the economy also needs the framework of constitutional legality. This explains why it is so important that we call clearly for the rule of law, for the so-called retraining camps to be dismantled, and above all for freedom of religion. In Vietnam this year, part of the land of a Catholic monastery was confiscated, small groups of Protestants were harassed, missions were closed and missionaries locked up. The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, with its wealth of tradition, was brutally persecuted, although it had played such a major part in the national rebirth of Vietnam. That is why it is our duty to stand up for these political prisoners and, regardless of any justified economic interests, to call clearly for democracy and the rule of law. Instead of turning a blind eye to violations of human rights we must say, as the largest economic power in the world, that we want to and will cooperate with Vietnam, but only provided that it adheres ever more to democracy and the rule of law and finally initiates the overdue process of political reform. Freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and freedom of the media are the crucial yardstick by which we will measure it.

Political group: PPE-DE