IV
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 295
Relating to continuing human rights violations and political oppression in
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 25 years after the fall of South Viet-
nam to Communist forces.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 29, 2000
Mr. ROHRABACHER (for himself, Mr. ROYCE, and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Relating to continuing human rights violations and political
oppression in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 25 years
after the fall of South Vietnam to Communist forces.
Whereas 25 years after the Vietnam War ended, the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam is a one-party state ruled and con-
trolled by the Vietnamese Communist Party;
Whereas the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
continues to violate the liberties and civil rights of its
own citizens through arbitrary arrests, detentions without
trial, and the censorship of peaceful expressions of polit-
ical and religious beliefs;
Whereas the Department of State Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices for 1999 notes that the Govern-
•HCON 295 IH
ment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ‘‘continued to
repress basic political and some religious freedoms and to
commit numerous abuses’’;
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam still retains Arti-
cle 4 in its Constitution that ensures the supremacy of
the Vietnamese Communist Party as the only political
party in the country while continuing to enforce an extra-
legal administrative decree to detain or place under house
arrest any dissidents or civilians for up to two years,
without trial, under the pretext of ‘‘endangering national
security’’;
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is one of the most
repressive and poorest countries in the world, with an av-
erage per capita income of $330, despite the Vietnamese
Communist party’s claims of political and economic re-
forms, or ‘‘Doi Moi’’, since 1986, and the subsequent lift-
ing of the trade embargo and the provision of economic
assistance and credits by the United States since 1995;
Whereas, according to the Department of State and inter-
national human rights organizations, the Government of
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to restrict
unregistered religious activities and persecutes its citizens
on the basis of their religious affiliation through arbitrary
arrests and detention, harassment, physical abuse, cen-
sorship, and the denial of the rights of free association
and religious worship;
Whereas the Department of State Annual Report on Inter-
national Religious Freedom for 1999 on Vietnam esti-
mates that ‘‘there are from 30 to 50 religious prisoners’’
but ‘‘the number is difficult to verify with any precision
because of the secrecy surrounding the arrest, detention,
and release process’’;
•HCON 295 IH
dom for the citizens of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam; and
(B) the United States fully expects equal
protection under law with all Vietnamese citi-
zens, regardless of religious belief, political phi-
losophy, or socio-political association;
(2) urges the Government of the Socialist Re-
public of Vietnam—
(A) to implement provisions called for
under the International Religious Freedom Act
of 1998 relating to conditions in Vietnam;
(B) to release all religious, political pris-
oners, and prisoners of conscience, and imme-
diately ceases the harassment, detention, phys-
ical abuse, and imprisonment of Vietnamese
citizens who have exercised their legitimate
rights to freedom of belief, expression, and as-
sociation;
(C) to abolish article 4 of the Vietnamese
Constitution and repeal any and all regulations,
codes, and decrees prohibiting citizens rights to
free expression, freedom of association, freedom
of the press, and religious worship; and
(D) to formally commit to a framework
and a set timetable for open and fair elections
•HCON 295 IH
that will facilitate the ability of Vietnamese citi-
zens to peacefully choose their own local and
national leaders, free from fear and intimida-
tion; and
(3) commends the Vietnamese-American com-
munity for initiating an international memorial to
American and South Vietnamese soldiers who sac-
rificed their lives for the cause of freedom during the
Vietnam War, which is under development and will
be located in Westminster, California.
Æ