Vietnam Committee welcomes the announced release of prisoners, but condemns “piecemeal amnesty” of religious and political dissidents in Vietnam

PARIS, 28 August 2006 – Vietnam’s Vice-Minister of Public Security has announced that 5,313 prisoners will be released on 2 September, Vietnam’s National Day, including two prisoners convicted of “national security” offences, one of “espionage” and one of “undermining the policy of national unity”. These prisoners reportedly include cyber-dissident Pham Hong Son, Ma Van Bay, a leader of the H’mong Protestant community, and Y’ Oal Nie, a Montagnard from the Ede ethnic minority. Mr Vo Van Ai, President of the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights and Vice-President of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) welcomed their release, especially that of Pham Hong Son “whose health deteriorated seriously from lack of medical treatment and harsh conditions in prison”. He nevertheless regretted that “Pham Hong Son and his colleagues will be freed – but they won’t be free. They must serve sentences of house arrest (3 years for Pham Hong Son) after their release”.

Mr. Vo Van Ai also expressed regrets that “so few prisoners of conscience – just 2 out of 5,313 – will be released. This piecemeal amnesty is merely a propaganda exercise. In reality, Vietnam is increasing controls and legislation against dissidents every day, and hundreds of political and religious prisoners still languish in Vietnam’s prisons and camps”. Mr. Ai stated that in June 2006, the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights informed the United Nation’s new Human Rights Council in Geneva of reports by cyber-dissident Nguyen Khac Toan (released in 2006) and Buddhist monk Thich Thien Minh (released in 2005) who listed respectively 241 political prisoners in Ba Sao Prison (Nam Ha, northern Vietnam) and 66 in Z30A Camp in Xuan Loc (Dong Nai province, southern Vietnam) where they were detained. There are more than 800 prisons and labour camps in Vietnam.

“Alongside these hundreds of prisons, we must add all the homes and pagodas where Hanoi detains its critics and so-called “national security offenders”. Some are sentenced under Decree 31/CP on “administrative detention”. Others are held under house arrest without any due process of law. Every home is potentially a prison in Vietnam. I am thinking of Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang and Venerable Thich Quang Do of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam who have spent years imprisoned in their monks’-prison cells. Vietnam does not even admit detaining them, so how can they ever hope to be released ?”

In the coming months, Vietnam hopes to obtain the US Congress’ approval of Permanent Normal Trade Relations status, and win membership of the World Trade Organization, and also expects to host the visit of US President George W. Bush for the APEC Summit in November 2006. In this climate, “the release of these prisoners is by no means a sign of political opening”, said Mr. Vo Van Ai. “On the contrary, there is no religious or political freedom in Vietnam. Don’t forget that Pham Hong Son was released just seven months before the end of his sentence, and he was imprisoned simply for translating a text on democracy !”

In recent years, Vietnam has routinely held amnesties on its National Day (2 September) and the Lunar New Year (Tet, February-March). Whilst the government announces the number of prisoners released, the full list of names is never made public because statistics on prisons and prisoners are classified as “State secrets” in Vietnam. Pressure from the international community has increasingly induced Vietnam to extend amnesties to certain political and religious dissidents. Specifically, a number of religious prisoners have been released following Vietnam’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for religious freedom violations by the US State Department for two consecutive years (2004-2005). The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act authorises the United States to impose a range of sanctions on countries blacklisted as CPCs.