Vietnam confirms secret arrest of Thai activist
HANOI - Vietnam on Thursday confirmed the "urgent arrest" of a Thai and two foreign pro-democracy activists who had been reported missing in the communist country, but refused to say what law the foreigners are accused of breaking.
Government spokesman Le Dung also refused to speak of a fourth missing activist - reportedly a US citizen - who had been arrested while passing out booklets on democracy
"On November 17, the Vietnamese Public Security Agency conducted an urgent arrest and temporary detainment of three people, Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, French passport holder; Truong Leon, US passport holder; and Khunmi Somsak, Thai passport holder; for their violations of Vietnamese law," Dung said at a briefing Thursday.
He said he had no information about the fourth activist, Nguyen Quoc Quan, who the pro-democracy group Viet Tan also claims was arrested over the weekend. Viet Tan identifies Quan as a US citizen.
Dung also refused to discuss what crime the activists are accused of committing.
"Now the people were arrested and detained, and their crimes will be defined later after the investigation," he said.
The detained activists are members of the overseas-Vietnamese group Viet Tan (Reform), which works to end one-party communist rule.
They were arrested while meeting with Vietnamese citizens to discuss "peaceful democratic change" in Vietnam, according to Viet Tan.
Police surrounded the house where the meeting was taking place and then raided the home with more than a dozen officers, seizing materials, Viet Tan said citing a witness to the raid.
Among other things, the activists were passing out copies of a book called From Dictatorship to Democracy in a Vietnamese translation, according to a Viet Tan spokeswoman.
Communist-run Vietnam bans any political opposition and "propaganda against the Socialist Republic" is a crime that carries prison terms of up to 20 years.
In the past year, about a dozen prominent Vietnamese dissidents have been arrested and sentenced to lengthy jail terms, often accused by authorities of colluding with "hostile forces" based overseas.
The French and US embassies in Hanoi said Tuesday they had not been informed by the Vietnamese government of the arrests but were looking into the matter.
Vietnam has in recent years arrested several US citizens working for an end to the Communist Party's monopoly on power.
Deutsche Presse Agentur - November 22, 2007.
US Congressional reps take up case of U.S. citizens arrested in Vietnam
SANTA ANA - Three U.S. Congressional representatives have written a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking for her help in gaining the release of two political activists arrested in Vietnam.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, and Rep. Neil Abercrombie wrote on behalf of the U.S. citizens who were arrested Saturday while holding a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City.
"We are disappointed to hear that the government of Vietnam has arrested United States citizens in Vietnam for reportedly having a peaceful discussion," the letter read.
"Not only do we ask you to work to return these United States citizens to the United States, but we ask you to convey to the government of Vietnam that the arbitrary detention of United States citizens is unacceptable."
Vietnamese security police detained six pro-democracy activists, including the two U.S. citizens, a French citizen and a Thai citizen, over the weekend, according to the U.S.-based pro-democracy group called Viet Tan.
The two U.S. citizens arrested were Nguyen Quoc Quan, a co-founder of the Vietnamese Professional Society and mathematician who lives in Sacramento, and Truong Van Ba, a community activist who lives in Honolulu.
Viet Tan said Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, a journalist from Paris, France, and Somsak Khunmi, from Ubon, Thailand, were also detained, along with two Vietnamese citizens.
The detainees were having a discussion with other activists about promoting peaceful democratic change before security police arrested them at a private residence in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Viet Tan.
U.S. Embassy officials confirmed that a U.S. citizen was arrested over the weekend but released no further details. They are requesting an interview with him and investigating the reasons for his arrest.
The Associated Press - November 22, 2007.
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