(PARIS - May,2000) Vietnamese communities across Europe rallied in protest along the route of Hanoi Communist Party boss Le Kha Phieu's 4day-tour of France, starting on May 21,2000. The protesters loudly complained of President Jacques Chirac's rolling out red carpet to the de-facto leader of a police state.
"The presence of a dictator on French soil is an offence to the honor of all the victims of Hanoi's repressive regime and can only tarnish France's image as 'homeland of human rights'," the Free Vietnam Alliance said in a statement.
A report published on May 21 in Paris by a committee of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues condemned the "cynical policies of the Vietnamese Communist Party" and its "repeated attacks on the freedom of expression and the press."
The report insists: "the critical dialogue supported by the European Union is a failure... and will remain so as long as it is no more than an excuse for doing business with Vietnam without consideration for human rights or real and substantial democratic progress."
Chairman of the French Parliament Lower Chamber, Mr. Raymond Fornill, after a meeting with Le Kha Phieu on May 24, expressed his concerns for the human rights condition in Vietnam: "I am worried about the human rights and media situation in Vietnam. Journalists are still being imprisoned [for doing their jobs]. That gives us seriously doubt about democratic activities in Vietnam."
Later on the same day, a Vietnamese delegation, led by Nguyen Ngoc Duc, secretary-general of the Free Vietnam Alliance, met with the representative of the Chairman of the Senate to express the Vietnamese community's protest to the honorable reception of Phieu while his regime remains brutally oppressive. The delegation also handed over a file of Hanoi's human rights violations, and the community's letter urging for a bilateral relation that promote the interests of both peoples instead of aiding the dictatorship. In an earlier meeting with Phieu, Senate Chairman Poncelet had expressed his view on the issue of human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam.
Phieu's visit to France was also met with strong opposition from the French Democratic Party. Chairman Alain Madelin criticized President Chirac of bestowing honor on a dictator, whom he regards as "the barbaric offspring of a bloody communist party."
(Sources: Reuters and interview with Vietnamese community in France)