Vietnam: Obama’s Visit Should Advance Human Rights
Visit Coincides with Staged Elections and Crackdown on Peaceful Protests
Human Rights Watch
May 20, 2016
(New York) – United States President Barack Obama should press Vietnam to
end its crackdown on peaceful activists and move towards free and fair
elections, Human Rights Watch said today. Obama’s visit from May 23-25, will be
the first in his two-term administration. The trip follows parliamentary
elections on May 22 that will be controlled by the Vietnam Communist Party,
which chooses who can and cannot stand for election, and how many non-Party
members can have seats in the National Assembly.
The ruling Communist Party has run a repressive one-party state since 1954 in
the north of the country and since 1975 in the south.
“President Obama is making this trip to deepen relations with Vietnam, but this
must be based on a foundation of respect for basic rights,” said Brad
Adams,
Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “He
should start by calling for the right of all people to stand for election, voice
critical views of government, associate with others, and freely choose
candidates – something Vietnam's current rulers have yet to allow. Obama
should make it clear that the United States does not accept the idea that the
Vietnamese people are not ready, willing, and able to choose their own leaders.”
In a letter sent
to President Obama in April, Human Rights Watch highlighted key human rights
issues including the problems of political
prisoners, beatings
and harassment of activists, legal
reform, labor
rights, and
democratic governance.
The letter states, “Basic freedoms of expression, association, and assembly are
extremely limited. The media and Internet are controlled and censored. The
Vietnamese Communist Party controls all public institutions and uses them to
maintain its hold on power. Genuine elections do not take place; those being
held in May for the National Assembly are a form of political theater. The
courts are party organs and lack independence. Similarly, independent trade
unions are not permitted.”
Recent weeks have seen worrying ongoing examples of human rights violations,
Human Rights Watch said. Following an environmental disaster, police have
beaten, choked, and detained protesters worried about the health effects of
contaminated fish. State media has persecuted protesters and their supporters
further by denouncing them by name and accusing them of taking money and orders
from foreign “reactionary” forces. The government has also used pre-emptive
house arrest to prevent potential protesters from attending demonstrations. This
tactic has long been deployed against government critics when important foreign
dignitaries visit the country. Human Rights Watch expressed concern that rights
activists and bloggers risk similar mistreatment during Obama’s visit.
Obama’s visit will likely coincide with a hunger strike carried out by the
political prisoner Tran
Huynh Duy Thuc after
authorities pressured him to accept overseas exile in the United States or
remain in prison. Tran Huynh Duy Thuc was recently transferred from Xuyen Moc
prison in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province to prison No. 6 in Nghe An province. During
the most recent visit on May 14, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc told his family that he
plans to launch a hunger strike on May 24.
“Obama should insist that Tran Huynh Duy Thuc and all other peaceful activists
are released from prison and allowed to live free from government harassment in
their own country,” said Adams. “He should say that the practice of forcing
political prisoners into exile must end.”
As he has done in countries such as China and Cuba, Obama is expected to meet
with dissidents and activists and give a public speech in which he will take
questions from the audience. Human Rights Watch welcomed these steps, but said
that he should also challenge the country’s leaders to commit to fundamental
reforms when he meets them.
“Obama should stand next to Vietnam’s leaders in public and call on them to respect
the right to freely choose government representatives, stand for office, and
peacefully advocate for democracy,” said Adams. “If this trip is
partially about legacy-building, as some suggest, there can be no more
meaningful legacy than helping the people of Vietnam achieve fundamental
reforms.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Vietnam, please visit:
https://www.hrw.org/asia/vietnam
For more information, please
contact:
In San Francisco, Brad Adams (English): +1-347-463-3531 (mobile); or adamsb@hrw.org.
Twitter: @BradMAdams
In Bangkok, Phil Robertson (English, Thai): +66-85-060-8406 (mobile); or robertp@hrw.org.
Twitter: @Reaproy
In New York, John Sifton (English): +1-646-479-2499 (mobile); or siftonj@hrw.org.
Twitter: @johnsifton