Hanoi rebuffs U.S. over rights, religious issues
HANOI -
Vietnam on Wednesday scolded the
United States for trying to impose its
human rights values on other
countries and urged Washington to
cooperate on unresolved wartime
issues.
The Foreign Ministry, in a statement
following bilateral talks earlier this
week on human rights and religion,
also indicated communist-ruled
Vietnam would ignore a U.S. request
that certain prisoners be freed.
Vietnamese officials held talks on
Monday and Tuesday in Hanoi with
Bennett Freeman, U.S. deputy
assistant secretary in the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor along with Robert Seiple,
U.S. ambassador at large for
religious affairs.
``Vietnam repeated its principle for
dialogue based on... non-interference
in each others' internal affairs,'' the
ministry statement said.
``(Vietnam) emphasised that it's
unacceptable for America to try to
impose its law on other countries...,''
it added, referring to a U.S. law
passed last year that calls for
sanctions on countries engaged in
religious persecution.
Hanoi, which tolerates little dissent, is
regularly criticised by some Western
governments for its poor human
rights record and restrictions on
religion.
Vietnam rejects those accusations
and denies people are jailed for their
religious or political beliefs.
Freeman told Reuters on Tuesday he
had handed over a list of prisoners of
conscience whom Washington
wanted released and he urged Hanoi
to improve human rights conditions.
In a February report, the U.S. State
Department cited sources that put
the number of prisoners held for
political reasons in Vietnam at
between 100 and 150. Rights group
Amnesty International put the figure
at 40, the report said.
The Foreign Ministry statement also
referred to U.S. involvement in the
Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.
It said Washington should cooperate
in dealing with problems associated
with the chemical defoliant Agent
Orange, which was sprayed over
parts of Vietnam to stop infiltration
by communist forces using jungle
cover during operations.
Agent Orange remains a sore point in
Hanoi's ties with Washington, its
enemy during the decade-long
conflict.
It was unclear why Vietnam raised
the issue in the ministry statement,
but last week an American physician
left Hanoi with blood samples from
people suspected of having been
exposed to Agent Orange.
The transfer of those samples -- the
first batch ever to leave Vietnam and
which will be studied in Germany --
could open the way for annual U.S.
government funding of between $2
million and $6 million towards Agent
Orange research in the country.
Attempts by Hanoi to get
compensation from the U.S. for
people believed to have suffered
from exposure to Agent Orange have
stalled. Washington has said the issue
needed more study.
Reuters - July 14, 1999.
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