Viet Nam: Catholic Priest should be unconditionally released
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
16 March 2010
For immediate release
Viet Nam: Catholic Priest should be unconditionally released
A Vietnamese human rights activist and Catholic priest who was temporarily allowed to leave detention yesterday should be unconditionally and permanently released, Amnesty International urged today.
Father Nguyen Van Ly
Father Nguyen Van Ly, who is serving an eight year jail term for spreading “propaganda” against the state in 2007, was yesterday released for a period of 12 months on humanitarian grounds to receive medical treatment.
Ly, 63, has already served three years in prison. He is one of the founders of the internet-based pro-democracy movement “Bloc 8406” and participated in banned political groups.
“Father Ly should never have been detained in the first place. His release should be unconditional and permanent and he should be allowed to receive proper medical care,” said Amnesty International’s Viet Nam researcher Brittis Edman. “This small positive step is happening against the backdrop of a deteriorating human rights situation, with 16 dissidents imprisoned in the last six months alone, and dozens more currently detained for criticism of government policies.”
Nguyen Van Ly’s health has rapidly deteriorated in prison. He suffers from partial paralysis following a stroke in November last year and doctors have also discovered a brain tumour.
He will remain under surveillance during the temporary release period while he lives at a house for retired priests in the diocese of the Archbishop of Hue, in central Viet Nam, where he has previously stayed.
The peaceful pro-democracy activist has been jailed three times since the 1970s. Amnesty International first adopted Father Ly as a prisoner of conscience in December 1983, and following subsequent arrests.
Amnesty International continues to urge the government of Viet Nam to amend or repeal national security provisions of the Penal Code which are used to silence and detain activists. These provisions are in direct breach of international treaties ratified by Viet Nam. The authorities must allow peaceful dissent, debate, freedom of speech and assembly consistent with Viet Nam’s obligations under international law, and release all prisoners of conscience.
END/
Public Document
Request to remove the label “China” of the Paracel Islands
Mr. Chris Jones, Editor in Chief
The National Geographic Society
1145 17th St, NW
Washington, DC 20036-4688
www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Re: Request to remove the label “China” of the Paracel Islands on NGS’s worldmap
Dear Mr. Jones:
We are writing this letter concerning the worldmap edition published by the National Geographic Society. (*)
The Paracel Islands is not belong to China. The sovereignty disputes over the islands still remain unresolved.
In fact, the United Nations has classified the Paracel Islands as “the disputed islands”.
Therefore, we call upon you to immediately review and change the label based on the true status of the Paracel Islands to reflect the neutral point of view policy of the National Geographic Society.
We would appreciate your consideration in the timing manner.
Respectfully Yours,
The undersigned
(*) Link to the said online world map by National Geographic Society
USEFUL INFORMATION
- The International Court of Justice of the United Nations has recorded the Paracel Islands as the disputed islands between Vietnam and China. http://www.munfw.org/archive/45th/icj.htm
- On May 6, 2009, Vietnam and Malaysia formally filed a joint submission with the United Nations’ Commissions on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to claim their territorial sea, including the Paracel Islands. http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/Perspective/RSIS0652009.pdf
- On 6 August, 1998, at the request of the Government of Viet Nam, the protest was circulated to all States Members of the United Nations. http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publicati ons/Perspective/RSIS0652009.pdf
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Imprisoned Vietnam priest in worsening health: sister
AFP - Tuesday, February 9
Imprisoned Vietnam priest in worsening health: sister
HANOI (AFP) - – An imprisoned Vietnamese Catholic priest, whose release has been sought by US legislators, is in worsening health, his sister said Tuesday.
"In general, his state of health is increasingly deteriorating," Nguyen Thi Hieu said of her brother, Nguyen Van Ly.
Ly's conviction and eight-year sentence in 2007 drew condemnation from diplomats, Vietnam watchers and human rights groups.
Vietnam, dissident Pham Thanh Nghien sentenced to 7 years
The writer, 32, was arrested in 2008. After a half-day trial, she was found guilty of "propaganda against the state". In the last three months, 14 dissidents convicted. Hanoi (AsiaNews) - The Vietnamese government yesterday sentenced Pham Thanh Nghien, a Vietnamese dissident writer to 4 years in prison plus 3 under house arrest after a half-day trial in the northern city of Haiphong. The charge, typical of such farcical trials, is of "spreading propaganda against the state." Nghien, 32, was convicted in November 2008 for protesting against the Vietnamese position – which she considered too soft – over control of the Paracel and Spratly Islands, disputed with China, and requested the authorities for permission (denied ) to hold a demonstration against a rise in inflation. The ruling came despite an appeal by three U.S. senators, who two days ago asked the Hanoi authorities to release Nghien and Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, another dissident, defining the accusations against them "seriously flawed". Last week, a court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced four activists to 5 to 16 years in prison for "subversion." With Nghien’s trial, the total number of dissidents to stand trial in Vietnam over the last three months is now 14. Analysts say the crackdown on dissent is due to a struggle between factions ahead of the next Communist Party Congress, scheduled for January 2011. This would also explain clashes with the Catholic Church, which continues to maintain the support of the population.
China and Vietnam, economic giants on the brink of change or collapse
The great Chinese dissident compares the two tigers of Asian Development and warns: the domestic opposition is increasing, and is increasingly determined. Even the West is disappointed: its policy of tolerance towards human rights violations, has not led to anything, not even greater economic benefits 
Los Angeles (AsiaNews) - Wei Jingsheng, the "father of democracy" in China, strongly attacks those who think that we can achieve economic development without human rights. And, in a speech at a symposium on human rights and democracy development in China and Vietnam, traces an interesting parallel between the two nations. Dominated by a single party regime, they are both in full swing of development, but the absence of conflicting voices brings them inexorably towards a social revolution. At the same time, the capitalist world, which has tried to absorb both in the production chain, closing its eyes to human rights violations, finds itself in the present economic crisis. Here is the full text of the intervention, delivered in Los Angeles last week.
To learn about the democratic future of China and Vietnam, we need to make an analysis of both countries, as well as to understand the international environment of both of them. Then we could learn both favourable and disadvantaged conditions for us, thus to guide our actions.
Vietnamese Migrant Workers in Malaysia
Double Standard in Malaysia
“There are 2 million documented and 1.5 million undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia. The Malaysian Employment Act of 1955, section 17, allows all employed workers, including legal migrant workers, to join a union. Furthermore, all foreign workers would be equally treated in accordance with the provisions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) convention. Trade Unions here enroll them and give them assistance and benefits. It’s public knowledge, yet, migrant workers are not allowed to join unions, so exploitation and ill-treatment occur frequently.”
Vietnam dissidents jailed up to 16 years for subversion
HO CHI MINH CITY (AFP) - – A Vietnamese court on Wednesday sentenced a group of dissidents to up to 16 years in prison for trying to overthrow the communist regime in a case which has sparked global concern.
From Left: (Upper row) Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, Le Thanh Long
(Lower row) Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen Tien Trung
After a day-long trial human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh, 41, French-trained computer expert and blogger Nguyen Tien Trung, 26, Internet entrepreneur Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 43, and Le Thang Long, 42, were convicted of "activities aimed at subverting the people's administration."
Thuc received a 16-year sentence, Trung seven years, while Dinh and Long got five years each, the court announced.