VIETNAM

World Report 2001 Entry

World Report 2000 Entry

World Report 1999 Entry

Vietnam: The Silencing of Dissent
Vietnam's human rights performance continues to fall far short of international standards, despite economic and socialchanges since the late 1980's.  In this 34-page report, "Vietnam: Silencing of Dissent," Human Rights Watch details how the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to harass, isolate, place under house arrest, and sometimes imprison its critics. Among those singled out are senior party leaders calling for political reforms, long-time critics from the academic community, members of the press, and religious leaders whom the government fears may be able to attract large followings. The new report takes note of positive changes in Vietnam in recent years as it has opened up to the international community, including human rights improvements. Tens of thousands of political detainees and re-education camp inmates have been released, thousands of Vietnamese who had fled abroad as refugees have returned, and the government has shown an increased willingness to cooperate with the U.N. on human rights issues.
(C1201) 5/00, 38pp, $5.00
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Rural Unrest in Vietnam
The 15-page report, "Rural Unrest in Vietnam," documents the causes and implications of continuing protests against corruption, land disputes, and compulsory labor in Thai Binh province beginning last May, as well as violent unrest in the largely Catholic district of Thong Nhat in Dong Nai province last month, initially sparked by expropriation of church land by corrupt local authorities. Despite statements by Communist Party Secretary Do Muoi and other officials that to maintain stability, citizens should be allowed to "exercise their democratic rights through the mass media," the government has clamped down on domestic and foreign media coverage of these disputes and put in place new state tools for social and political control. No new laws have been adopted since the Eighth Party Congress in 1996 strengthening the rights of Vietnamese citizens in line with the government's international obligations and its own Constitution.
(C911) 12/97, 15 pp., $3.00/£1.95
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HUMAN RIGHTS IN A SEASON OF TRANSITION
Law and Dissent in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Vietnam has entered an era of rapid economic and social transformation, heralded by the opening of its economy, its entry into ASEAN and the resumption of diplomatic relations with the U.S. At the same time, the government and the Vietnam Communist Party have sought to maintain firm political control. This stance has produced a steady stream of dissent in recent years, to which the government has responded harshly. Those who have publicly questioned the authority of the Party have been detained and imprisoned, be they proponents of multi-party democracy, advocates of civil and political rights, or religious leaders seeking greater autonomy from official control.
(C712) 8/95, 19 pp., $3.00/£1.95
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The Suppression of the Unified Buddhist Church
The Vietnamese government's recent detention of two prominent senior monks is the latest step in its campaign to suppress the Unified Buddhist Church, the main Buddhist organization in south and central Vietnam prior to unification of the country in 1975. With the detention of UBC leaders near the beginning of 1995, nearly all of the church's senior leaders are now in detention or under house arrest. These cases of detention were immediately preceded by the arrests of several others, including the arrest of 5 Buddhists for efforts to organize flood relief charity in the name of the Unified Buddhist Church.
(C704) 3/95, 16 pp., $3.00/£1.95
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Human Rights in U.S.-Vietnam Relations
On July 21, 1993, we submitted written testimony on human rights in Vietnam to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The testimony detailed five areas of concern: persons imprisoned for political dissent; state control of religious institutions; prison conditions; use of the death penalty; and efforts at legal reform. We concluded that despite some progress since the renovation policy was initiated in 1986, the Vietnamese government continues to restrict such fundamental rights as freedom of speech, association and religion.
(C512) 8/93, 12 pp., $3.00/£1.95
 

(C501) The Case of Doan Viet Hoat & Freedom Forum, 1/93, 10 pp., $3.00/£1.95
(C308) Repression of Dissent, 3/91, 17 pp., $3.00/£1.95
 

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