LETTER TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
ON HIS TRIP TO VIETNAM IN NOVEMBER, 2017
To:
· Donald Trump, President of the United States;
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
· The Congress of the United States,
C/c: US Department of State
US Ambassador to Vietnam.
Dear Mr. President:
We
know that you will visit Vietnam in November to attend the Summit
meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)) and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During this visit, you
will meet with the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to
discuss issues of bilateral and multilateral strategic cooperation that
the United States has pursued for many years.
We,
on behalf of all Vietnamese in and outside Vietnam, and the Vietnamese
American citizens of the United States, respectfully submit to you the
following suggestions:
1.
More than 90 million Vietnamese are currently under Communist
totalitarian rule. This began when the Communists of North Vietnam,
supported by the international communist bloc, invaded South Vietnam on
April 30. 1975, in violation of the 1954 Geneva Agreement and the 1973
Paris Accords. Nearly 3 million people in North and South Vietnam died
in a brutal, communist-instigated war in which over 58,000 American
soldiers sacrificed their lives to defend South Vietnam's freedom and
peace, and to prevent the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia.
2.
Over the past 42 years, the Communist authorities have deprived their
people of basic freedoms, including freedom of religion, speech, press,
association and the right to hold free elections. They harass,
imprison and persecute citizens who are fighting peacefully for these
freedoms and for Vietnam’s territorial integrity in accordance with the
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
3.
The Communist Party of Vietnam, given its ideological ties with the
Chinese Communist Party, its war debt, and, currently, Vietnam’s
economic situation, has always been weak on Beijing’s expansion in the
South China Sea and in Vietnam in defiance of international law.
4.
The United States maintains strategic relations with Vietnam in several
areas and has pressured the Hanoi regime to respect human rights, but
Vietnam continues to oppress its people, particularly with regard to
freedom of religion. The government has severely suppressed independent
religions and confiscated church properties. Recently, it destroyed the
Buddhist Temple Lien Tri in Thu Thiem, Saigon, after more than 70 years
of existence; attacked the Catholic church of Thien An in Hue; and
destroyed the Cao Dai Holy See Tuy An in Phu Yen and many other
religious establishments. Many ethnic minorities in North Vietnam and
the Central Highlands have also been severely oppressed.
Therefore,
in the spirit of democracy and freedom and having in mind the economic
and security goals of the United States in the Asia Pacific and the
interests of over 90 million people in Vietnam, we respectfully request
the President and the Congress of the United States to:
1.
Consider the aspirations of the great majority of the Vietnamese people
for independence, democracy, human rights and prosperity in the United
States’ dealings with Vietnam as distinct from the goals of the
Communist Party of Vietnam, which continues to oppress its own people.
2.
Ensure that the Vietnamese authorities respect the International
Declaration and the Covenant on Human, Civil and Political Rights which
they signed as a member of the United Nations.
3.
Pressure Hanoi to release immediately and unconditionally all prisoners
of conscience who are currently in custody or on probation, and to
return the Lien Tri Pagoda and the religious establishments they have
occupied or destroyed, and
4. Put Vietnam on the list of countries of special concern with regard to religious freedom (CPC) in the 2017 USCIRF report.
We
look forward to your response to the above suggestions, which are meant
to ensure that the Vietnamese people are able to enjoy the benefits of
living in a democracy.
May God bless the President, the government and the people of the United States.
Respectfully yours,
Vietnamese in Vietnam and Overseas, October 17, 2017.
Vietnam:
Priest Nguyen Van Ly, Catholic, Advisor.
Venerablle Thich Khong Tanh, Buddhist.
Priest Phan Van Loi, Catholic.
Chief For Administration Hua Phi, Caodaist.
Pastor Nguyen Hoang Hoa, Protestant.
Mr. Le Van Soc, Hoa Hao Buddhist.
Overseas:
Venerable Thich Minh Tuyen, Buddhist, Advisor.
Mr. Phan Ky Nhon, Freedom and Human Rights Protection Association, Advisor.
Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, Former Prisoner of Conscience, USA.
Dr. Vo Dinh Huu, Federation of Vietnamese American Communities of the USA (Fed. Vac. USA).
Dr. Do Van Hoi, Fed. Vac. USA.
Mr. Luu Van Tuoi, Fed. Vac. USA.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tanh, International Cultural Committee, USA.
Mr. Pham Tran Anh, Dien Hong Movement, USA.
Mr. Nguyen Trung Chau, Former Political Prisoners Association, USA.
Mr. Doan Huu Dinh, Former President of Vietnamese Community of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia, USA.
Mr. Cao Xuan Khai, the Association of Former Vietnamese Political and Religious Prisoners, USA.
Sub-dignitary Tran Viet Hung, The United Caodai Tay ninh Holy See Overseas, Canada.
Mr. Tran Van Dong, Vietnamese Federation of Canada.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Binh, the 8406 Bloc Supportive Organization.
Dr. Hoang Thi My Lam, President, Liaison of Refugee Associations of Republic of Germany
And 46 Vietnamese American Communities in the USA.
Contact:
Most Venerable Thich Khong Tanh (Vietnam) 0165.6789.881
Dr. Vo Dinh Huu: 714-928-3038
Dr. Do Van Hoi: 407-234-3596
Tran Viet Hung: 514-299-0015
Address: PO Box 262066, Tampa, FL 33685.
Email: Fed.vac.USA@gmail.com
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