Vietnam protests US congress resoulution HANOI - Angered by a U.S. Congressional resolution condemning Hanoi's communist government, Vietnam summoned U.S. Ambassador Pete Peterson and protested the United States' "brazen interference into internal affairs," the official Vietnam News Agency reported Friday. Phan Quang, vice-chairman of the National Assembly's External Relations Commission, told Peterson Thursday that Vietnam strongly condemned Congress's action as "groundless and arrogant ... hindering the normalization process with Vietnam," VNA reported. Peterson was quoted as expressing regret at the nonbinding resolution, passed to mark the recent 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. He said it reflected the view of a minority, not the official position of the U.S. "We are working tirelessly to promote bilateral relations," Peterson was quoted as saying. "(We) cannot allow a minority group to take the opportunity to spoil the achieved results and divide our countries." Quang was speaking on behalf of Vietnam's legislators, who are currently holding their biannual parliamentary session. He asked Peterson to convey their anger to U.S. lawmakers. The Congressional resolution criticized the Vietnamese Communist Party's monopoly on power and its human rights record and called for democratic general elections. Authored by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., the resolution also urged Vietnam to release all religious and political prisoners. Calling for free and fair elections was "an interference which is beyond the imagination of Vietnamese voters, deeply insulting Vietnamese people's choices in previous elections," Quang said. He repeated Vietnam's long-standing contention that the country doesn't hold political or religious prisoners, only lawbreakers. Human rights groups maintain that Vietnam routinely clamps down on its critics. The resolution was the latest stumbling block for fragile but improving relations between the U.S. and Vietnam. The two nations re-established diplomatic relations five years ago. Associated Press - May 20, 2000.