Following is the letter from the CPJ to President Tran Duc Luong of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam protesting the arrest of Mr. NguyenThanh Giang.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA
Phone: (212) 465-1004 - Fax: (212) 465-9568
Web: www.cpj.org - E\-Mail: info@cpj.org
March 10, 1999
Sent by fax to: 84-4-823-1872
President Tran Duc Luong
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi, Vietnam
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly alarmed by the arrest and detention of dissident writer Nguyen Thanh Giang, reportedly for possessing documents critical of the Communist Party.
Giang, a prominent geologist whose articles on corruption within the Communist Party have frequently been published on the Internet and in newspapers published by Vietnamese living in exile, was arrested by police on March 4 in Hanoi, according to news reports. Communist Party sources were quoted by the news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur saying that Giang is likely to be sentenced to prison following his arrest. He has not been seen since his arrest, and no formal charges against him have been made public.
Vietnamese authorities have frequently harassed Giang for his writing on political issues. His arrest follows a series of statements from Communist Party officials regarding alleged threats posed by dissidents. Senior Communist Party security officials have warned in recent days that "hostile forces" - both inside and outside the country - have stepped up efforts to sabotage Communist Party rule in Vietnam.
As a nonpartisan organization dedicated to the defense of our colleagues around the world, the Committee to Protect Journalists has also noted a deterioration in press freedom conditions in Vietnam in the past year as the Communist Party has tightened its control over the media. Despite official constitutional guarantees of free speech and the press, the reality in Vietnam is that almost all aspects of the media are under heavy state and party control. It is particularly alarming that Giang, a scientist with an international reputation whose thoughtful political essays have been banned in his homeland and widely praised outside of Vietnam, now faces prison for exercising his right of free expression.
Your Excellency, we strongly urge that Giang be released from detention immediately and that any charges against him be made public. As a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Vietnam has an obligation, under Article 19 of that document, to respect the right of free expression and a free press. If Giang has been arrested as a result of his writing or for disseminating information critical of the Communist Party, we ask that you use your good offices to see that all charges against him are dropped.
We appreciate your consideration and await your response.
Sincerely yours,
(Signed)
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
cc:
- H.E. Le Kha Phieu, Secretary General, Communist Party of Vietnam
- H.E. Douglas, Peterson, US Ambassador
- American Society of Newspaper Editors
- Amnesty International
- Article 19
- Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
- Congressional Committee to Support Writers and Journalists
- Freedom House
- Human Rights Watch
- Index on Censorship
- International Association of Broadcasting
- International Federation of Journalists
- International Federation of Newspaper Publishers
- International Journalism Institute
- International PEN
- International Press Institute
- National Association of Black Journalists
- National Press Club
- Newspaper Association of America
- The Newspaper Guild
- North American National Broadcasters Association
- Reporters Sans Frontieres
- Overseas Press Club
- The Society of Professional Journalists
- World Press Freedom Committee