European Parliament resolution on Vietnam
Date: 2000-11-16
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Viet Nam, freedom of the press, human rights, penalty, political reform, religious discrimination

8.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 223/337

Thursday 16 November 2000

10. Human rights: Vietnam

B5-0848, 0858 and 0865/2000

European Parliament resolution on Vietnam

The European Parliament,

A.

B.

C.

recalling that cooperation between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as
provided for in the 1995 agreement, is based on respect for human rights and democratic principles,
which are an essential part of that agreement,

alarmed at the deplorable conditions in which prisoners are held, in particular prisoners of conscience
in re-education camps,

concerned at the manifest iniquity of trials in Vietnam, illustrated recently by the execution of a Cana-
dian citizen whose guilt remains questionable,

D. noting the concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance, Professor Abdelfattah

Amor, regarding the religious persecutions in Vietnam,

E.

F.

shocked, in this connection, by the confiscation this year of a large part of the lands belonging to the
Benedictine Catholic monastery of Thien An (Heavenly Peace) near Hue for the construction of a
leisure centre and by the harassment of, and pressure brought to bear on, Protestants (destruction of
a church in Ho Chi Minh City in June 2000, forced renunciation of the Christian faith by the Hmong
people),

concerned also about the fate of the bonzes of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, Thich Thien
Minh, who is serving a double life prison sentence for asserting in a non-violent manner his right to
religious freedom, and Thich Hue Dang, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for writing a
pamphlet on Buddhism’s humanism, and of the five members of the Hoa Hao community who were
sentenced in September 2000, one of whom, Nguyen Chau Lang, has since reportedly been the victim
of ill-treatment,

G. noting that the entire Vietnamese legislative machine is geared to keeping the population under tight
control (residence permits, or ‘ho khau’, neighbourhood police, curriculum vitae for the whole popu-
lation, especially members of religious orders), and to controlling opinions under the pretext of ensur-
ing ‘national security’, an ill-defined concept that is very broadly interpreted by the Vietnamese autho-
rities,

H.

I.

concerned by the continued growth in sentences of capital punishment, despite the reduction in the
number of crimes punishable by this ultimate sanction,

extremely worried by the continuing and growing restrictions on freedom of the press which forbid all
independent press reporting, subject all information to censure and pose intolerable obstacles to jour-
nalists’ investigations, including those by foreign journalists,

1.
Points out that only a policy of radical political reform, especially in the field of human rights, which
fully guarantees the establishment of the rule of law, can help to gradually resolve the serious situation in
which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam finds itself;

2.
Calls on the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to initiate a process of political reform
geared to instituting the genuine rule of law and, in particular, a judicial system that is independent of the
political authorities, from which all Vietnamese citizens may benefit;

Reminds the Vietnamese authorities that freedom of opinion and of the press are necessary condi-
independent press bodies must be

3.
tions for Vietnam’s economic and social development and that
authorised;

Calls for the abolition of offences of opinion, the abolition of the death penalty and the closure of re-

4.
education camps;

5.
Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, in particular the
Very Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, Thich Thien
Minh and Thich Hue Dang, for the restoration of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam’s right to exist,
for the return of property confiscated from religious denominations after 1945 in the North and after

C 223/338

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.8.2001

Thursday 16 November 2000

1975 in the South, in particular the land requisitioned from the Thien An Catholic monastery, and for an
end to the persecution against Protestant ethnic minorities;

Strongly urges the Vietnamese government, in the interests of the victims of the current flooding in
6.
the Mekong delta, to allow the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and other religious and non-denomi-
national organisations to help provide them with aid;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the government

7.
of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

11. Floods in Europe

B5-0851, 0852, 0866 and 0867/2000

European Parliament resolution on the floods in Europe

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the abnormal meteorological conditions and the exceptionally violent storms which

recently assailed various parts of Europe, resulting in many tragedies,

B. having regard to the widespread destruction caused by violent storms in the United Kingdom and
Ireland, especially in Yorkshire, south-east England, East Anglia, Wales, south-west England and in
particular Gloucestershire, and the West Midlands, and along the south-east coast of Ireland and
parts of Leinster and Munster,

C. whereas in Italy, not only the Alpine valleys but also Liguria, Lombardy and Emilia have been hit by

flooding, and Spain and France have suffered from violent storms,

D. having regard to the destruction of homes, energy, communication and transport networks and many
means of production, the damage caused to the environment, to the agricultural and industrial pro-
duction process and to SMEs, the loss of jobs and the resulting social and economic implications,

E. whereas an increase in the levels of greenhouse gas emissions in most of the Member States runs
counter to the commitments made by the European Union at Kyoto and whereas, according to a
report by the European Environment Agency, it is likely that EU emissions of such gases will increase
by 6 % by 2010,

F. whereas the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reviewed its forecasts of an average
temperature increase of 1,5 to 6° C by 2100 (instead of 1,5 to 3,5° C) and confirmed that human-
induced climate change is actually occurring in view of the catastrophes of this type across the
world (for example in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Laos, West Bengal, Japan, Mozambique),

1.

Expresses its sympathy concerning the distress and damage caused to victims in all the affected areas;

2.
Calls on the Commission and all the Member States to waste no time in expressing their support in
practical ways, by marshalling workers and equipment under the five-year plan establishing a Community
action programme in the field of civil protection, which was adopted by the Council on 9 December 1999
(Decision 1999/847/EC);

3.
Calls on the Commission to make use of all existing funds (for example the ERDF, EAGGF Guarantee
Section, etc.) which have already been assigned for dealing with disasters of this nature, to provide finan-
cial aid to SMEs, farmers, households, the elderly and others affected H particularly those living in exposed
areas who have limited protection H as compensation and as assistance towards a speedy recovery;