EU lawmakers condemn Vietnam over human rights crackdown
By James
Pearson (Reuters) | 2021-01-22
HANOI (Reuters) - The European parliament has chastised Vietnam over a
government crackdown on activists in the Southeast Asian country and called on
EU member states to condemn the campaign ahead of a major ruling Communist Party
congress next week.
EU lawmakers
voted 592 to 32 with 58 abstentions on Thursday in favour of a resolution
calling for a tougher stance against the Vietnamese government and highlighting
the link between human rights and the trade deal the bloc has with Vietnam.
In a media
release, the European Parliament said lawmakers were “appalled by and condemn
the intensifying crackdown on dissent and the increasing violations of human
rights in Vietnam.”
“Respect for
human rights constitutes a key foundation of the bilateral relations between
Vietnam and the EU and is an essential element of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade
Agreement,” it said.
Vietnam’s
foreign ministry said that the European parliament resolution was not objective
and that no-one in Vietnam had been arrested in violation of their human rights
or right to free speech under the constitution.
The
Communist Party of Vietnam is due to hold its 13th National Congress on Monday,
a major political meeting to set out policy objectives for the next five years
and select a new leadership.
Rights
groups have accused the party of presiding over a crackdown on activists that
has intensified under its current leadership.
A Reuters
tally based on state media reports found 280 people were arrested for
“anti-state” activities in the five years since the last congress in 2016: 260
were convicted, many being sentenced to more than 10 years in jail.
In the five
years leading up to the 2016 congress, there were 68 arrests and 58 convictions.
The European
parliament resolution, which is non-binding on member states, said the terms of
the trade deal allowed for “appropriate action to be taken in the event of
serious breaches of human rights”.
It also
called on EU member states to “strongly voice their concerns regarding the
worsening human rights situation in Vietnam” ahead of the congress.
Reporting by
James Pearson; Editing by Martin Petty
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