US envoy leaving Vietnam calls rights issue disappointing
HANOI - The outgoing US ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Marine, on Thursday said a lack of progress on human rights in the communist country was the biggest disappointment of his three-year tenure.
"I wish I could say it's improving, but I can't," he told his final media briefing in Hanoi. "Perhaps my biggest disappointment here is that we've not been able to expand the space for political dialogue in Vietnam."
Vietnam, a one-party-state, this year jailed a number of political activists who had called for non-violent political change toward a multi-party democracy, drawing protests from the United States and other countries.
Rallies dogged a June US visit by President Nguyen Minh Triet, the first to the United States by a Vietnamese state leader since the war ended in 1975.
Marine said religious freedoms had recently been expanded in Vietnam but he added: "If we are talking about the ability of people to engage in political activism, I can't be as positive, and in fact I'm a bit discouraged."
He pledged that the United States would keep up the human rights dialogue with Vietnam under his successor Michael Michalak, due to arrive this month.
"We have a long-term commitment to this, it is in Vietnam's interest for this to happen, and I believe it will happen," he said. "The question is when."
Vietnam's government says it does not punish dissidents, only people who break its laws, including the charge of spreading propaganda against the state, under which several dissidents were imprisoned this year.
Marine said: "To the extent that we are able to understand the Vietnamese legal system, there are laws on the books that allow the authorities to move against people for expressing their opinions, for organising in any way and for calling for political change.
"Those are fundamental human rights that I strongly believe are universal and should be enjoyed by the people of Vietnam."
The ambassador praised growing bilateral trade relations that were fully normalised last year, weeks before Vietnam -- an economy now growing at over 8 percent a year -- joined the World Trade Organisation in January.
"Economically, Vietnam is making major strides forward," said Marine. "The value of US-Vietnam two-way trade will exceed 10 billion dollars this year.
"The United States is Vietnam's top export market and its fourth largest foreign investor, and Vietnam expects to attract at least 15 billion dollars in foreign direct investment commitments this year."
Agence France Presse - August 9, 2007.
Vietnam humans rights 'biggest disappointment'
HANOI - The outgoing US ambassador to Vietnam said Thursday the country's poor human rights record was the biggest disappointment experienced during his three years in Hanoi.
Ambassador Michael Marine has urged Vietnamese officials to improve religious freedoms and treatment of pro-democracy activists. The country has released a number of high-profile dissidents from jail during Marine's tenure, but it has also continued to arrest and sentence others to prison terms.
"I wish I could say that it's improving, but I can't," he told reporters. "It's perhaps my biggest disappointment."
In April, Vietnamese police physically blocked a group of dissidents' wives from attending a tea at Marine's home. He had also invited visiting Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., who also witnessed the incident and accused police of manhandling the women.
Vietnam's government does not tolerate any form of dissent. Hanoi maintains that only lawbreakers are jailed and that no one is punished for their political or religious beliefs.
"There are laws on the books that allow the authorities to move against people for expressing their opinions, organizing in any way or calling for political change," Marine said. "Those are fundamental human rights that I strongly believe are universal and should be enjoyed by the people of Vietnam."
But Marine praised the former foes' growing relationship in other areas. Two-way trade continues to boom, and he said the two sides are preparing to move forward soon to address environmental issues near an old Agent Orange storage site at a former US air base in Danang.
US forces sprayed the defoliant during the Vietnam War to destroy Vietnamese troops' jungle cover. It contains highly toxic dioxin, which has been linked to a number of serious health issues. Vietnam says 3 million of its citizens have suffered health problems due to exposure to the herbicide. Washington insists there is not enough scientific evidence to link Agent Orange to health problems.
Marine, who will retire after leaving his post in Vietnam, said the two sides' military ties continue to grow, including work to recover American soldiers still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. He said US Navy vessels may soon be involved in underwater searches for remains offshore.
The Associated Press - August 9, 2007.
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