Texas Friends For A Free Vietnam Committee
P.O. Box 262323, Houston, Texas 77207 - USA
Tel: (713) 640-4268 - Fax: (713) 991-1721 - Email: TexasFriends@pdq.net
Press Release
June 10, 2000
Recently, we learned from Human Rights Watch and Free Vietnam Alliance that the Hanoi Government has put Mr. Ha Sy Phu (pen name of Nguyen Xuan Tu) under house arrest on May 12, 2000 and threatened to charge him with treason under Article 72 of Vietnam's Criminal Code. If put on trial and convicted, Mr. Ha could face a sentence, ranging from 7 years imprisonment up to the death penalty.
On April 28, Security Police searched Mr. Ha's house in Lam Dong Province and confiscated his personal property including computer, printer and diskettes. On May 12, Security Police notified Mr. Ha with two written decisions, both signed on May 10 by Police Chief of Lam Dong Province (Col. Nguyen Van Do). Decision 01/QD orders the house arrest of Mr. Ha and requires him to report to Police headquarter on daily basis for interrogation. Decision 07/QD calls for Mr. Ha to be tried for treason against the nation under Article 72 of the Criminal Code.
On May 19, a group of five prominent democracy activists in Vietnam wrote a petition letter to the Vietnam National Assembly to protest the government's persecution of writer Ha Sy Phu and called for true democracy. The five authors of the joint appeal are Messrs. Hoang Minh Chinh (writer), Pham Que Duong (historian), Nguyen Thanh Giang (scientist), Hoang Tien (writer), and Tran Dung Tien (writer). All five dissidents currently face varying degrees of state persecution; from heavy police surveillance to virtual house arrest. The Vietnamese Government uses the "Administrative Detention Directive 31/CP", which authorizes Public Security officials to arrest and detain dissidents/activists without trial for between six months and two years.
The seizure of the personal property and the persecution as well as the house arrest of Mr. Ha seriously constitute violations of human rights, as guaranteed by the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Also, the "Administrative Detention Directive 31/CP" are clearly in violation of the United Nation International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam has ratified in 1982.
We, Texas Friends for A Free Vietnam Committee, represent the freedom-loving people in the State of Texas:
1. Strongly protest the Vietnamese Government for serious violations = of basic human rights and strongly condemn the oppressive actions = against Mr. Ha Sy Phu and his family. The Vietnamese Government must = withdraw the two Decisions 01/QD and 07/QD immediately and = unconditionally, and return to Mr. Ha his personal property.=20
2. Strongly applaud and support the Joint Appeal to the Vietnam National Assembly of five intellectual dissidents on May 19, 2000: Messrs. Hoang Minh Chinh, Pham Que Duong, Nguyen Thanh Giang, Hoang Tien and Tran Dung Tien.
3. Urgently call on the United States to hold the Trade Agreement with Vietnam, until the Vietnamese Government rescinds the unlawful "Administrative Detention Directive 31/CP". The Hanoi government must respect freedom of opinion and expression, including press freedom, as well as the rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of association, and other fundamental human rights.
4. Urgently call on all freedom-loving countries, international organizations and the media in the world to use their influence to stop the prosecution of Mr. Ha, and to stop the harassment and terrorism of intellectual dissidents, religious leaders, and released political prisoners by Vietnamese authorities.
David Stockman, Executive Director