New York-Brussels, 21 January 2003. On Monday 20 January, the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations discussed the Special Report produced by the Transnational Radical Party, requested last May by Vietnam, on its decision to give a platform to Kok Ksor at the 58th session of the Commission on Human Rights. In November 2002, Kok Ksor, Chairman of the Montagnard Foundation, was also elected to the General Council of the TRP. In April 2002 he spoke at the Commission on Human Rights, on behalf of the TRP, to denounce the systematic repression of the fundamental liberties of the Montagnards by the Vietnamese Communist regime.
Hanoi accuses Kok Ksor of being a terrorist sponsored by the CIA, and of attacking the territorial sovereignty of Vietnam. In reality, since the beginning of the 1990s Kok Ksor and the Montagnard Foundation have been conducting a courageous and non-violent political battle in numerous national and international forums in defence of the fundamental rights of the native Montagnard peoples: he has, moreover, been recognised as the legitimate representative of the Montagnards by the United Nations itself.
During the debate in the NGO Committee, Vietnam repeated its claim that Kok Ksor is a terrorist and asked the TRP to present a formal apology, as well as to guarantee that neither Kok Ksor nor any other member of the Montagnard Foundation will ever be given the floor during the proceedings of the United Nations. During the debate China, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan and Russia backed Vietnam's request, while Germany and France opposed it firmly on the grounds that the charge of terrorism directed at Kok Ksor is unfounded. France and Germany also reiterated the importance of the principle of the presumption of innocence, adding that as long as there is no proof for charges NGOs cannot be held either to apologise or to suspend their activities. The NGO Committee subsequently asked the TRP to present a further Special Report for the next session; the official communication will be formulated in the next few hours.
The alliance of countries which want to call into question the freedom of expression within the organs of the United Nations is growing and becoming organised. The request for sanctions against the TRP will be one of the battle-grounds of this conflict in the coming months. A fundamental factor in this battle will be the support of the democratic governments, beginning with those of Europe, for the principles of the freedom of expression and the defence of human rights at the United Nations.