The four famous prisoners and their periods of imprisonment in the Communist gulags of Vietnam are: Nguyen Chi Thien (27 years), Vo Dai Ton (12 years), Phan Nhat Nam (14 years). They are moderated and connected by Ly Tong Ba, a Brigadier General of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) (12 years). You can find their descriptions and information about connecting to Paltalk in Vietnamese on http://www.vietvungvinh.com/Portal.asp?goto=VietNam/2007/20071128_03.htm These brief histories in English are written in the hope they may be useful for the planned Paltalk event on December 1, 2007. Scholarly references used for preparation are available on request. Jean Libby, editor VietAm Review   more »

The People' s Democratic Party (PDP) strongly protests the sentences of lawyers Le Thi Cong Nhan and Nguyen Van Dai 's appeal trial and the use of brutal force to attack and prevent pro-democracy activists who came to attend the appeal trial including Lawyer Le Quoc Quan, Nguyen Phuong Anh, Nguyen Xuan Nghia, Pham Van Troi, Nguyen Vu Binh. The accusation of violation of the so-called criminal code‘s “Article 88” was baseless and also in contradiction to "Article 69" of the current Vietnam Constitution. Letter is in Vietnamese and in English by Cong Thanh Do, Spokesperson of the People’s Democratic Party   more »

Dan Thang Tien Viet Nam -- Vietnam Progression Party report from Frankfurt on November 23, 2007. The main office in Hue is closed due to pressures and arrests by the Vietnam government. This group is one of the founders of Bloc 8406, manifesto for referendum in Vietnam whose members as well as other freedom seekers have been imprisoned for speaking their viewpoint. As an independent democracy activist in America who is not of Vietnamese descent, it is my mission to acknowledge and to catalog many associations and political parties of seekers of free elections for Viet Nam who are Vietnamese. Jean Libby, editor VietAm Review   more »

LIST OF POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS PRISONERS STILL UNDER DETAINMENT; THE LIST OF MEMBERS OF HOA HAO BUDDHIST CHURCH; MENNONITE MEMBERS/CHRISTIANS AND DE GAR CHRISTIANS IMPRISONED IN COMMUNIST VIETNAM, 2007 by Viet Si, Speaker, International Movement for Religious Freedom and Democracy in Vietnam, Former Prisoner of Conscience after April 30th, 1975 in Vietnam. The list of 148 names and their locations of imprisonment (name of prison camp and province) includes 11 political prisoners who have died in Vietnamese prisons in the past two years in Xuan Loc prison camp, Dong Nai Province.   more »

The San Jose City Council is paying attention at last to the people who demand that their city, the 10th largest city in the United States, have a gateway entry to a redeveloped section which properly reflects the heritage of the people who came there as refugees. These refugees rebuilt the city house-by-house, store-by-store, one small business at a time. They sent the children to public schools and made that success a priority of life that puts other groups to shame. The power struggle over human rights in Vietnam is now on the table, thanks to your efforts and those of San Jose Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and now California Senator Barbara Boxer. Will you lead that struggle from a strong moral position of ecumenism that includes "Americans" not as foreigners but as fellow immigrants and citizens with a stake in society who need to learn about Vietnam today in order to bring freedom there? You can't do it alone. Ask the government of South Africa about that. All the larger society see among Little Saigon in San Jose leadership are jackals howling at each prey before they rip it to shreds. Such good press to target a vulnerable young woman, Madison Nguyen. Now how about targeting the real power in San Jose, Chuck Reed's international business machine called the Chamber of Commerce? How about requiring them to speak out and ask for human rights in Vietnam? Get them while their stocks are down. There are Democrats and Republicans in Congress who are in leadership for human rights in Vietnam. How about asking every presidential candidate for the election in 2008 to take a stand for human rights in Vietnam? Most of them are riding on rhetoric of "no more Vietnams." How about educating them about that history? Can you do it without requiring that more young Americans (including Vietnamese Americans) die in Iraq to prove your valor in the 1960s and 1970s? I dare you to try. More than 50% of the engineers at Cisco Systems, San Jose's largest employer, are of Vietnamese heritage. Do they say anything as a power group about the meaning of Little Saigon as a name of cultural heritage to share? Do they even say anything as a group about human rights in Vietnam? What about it, VACETS? The Veterans of Foreign Wars in the USA showed the flag of South Vietnam with pride as they honored the 58,000 Americans who died fighting communism in Vietnam last week in Washington D.C. at the 25th anniversary of The Wall, which is the most-visited memorial in the country. Was there anyone from the Vietnamese American power structure thanking the VFW for recognition of the heritage flag? I know the Amerasian Family was there with pride in Vietnamese American heritage. How about showing the nonVietnamese City Council members that you can work together as Vietnamese people, that is your strength in society? It is the strength of any minority group in American society. Some do it well, and become "seamless" in the fabric, but when you examine the texture of the cloth you see their culture and values as part of the whole. Strengthen the fabric of our society by reweaving, not unraveling. The whole world's watching. Jean Libby, editor VietAm Review    more »

Vietnamese language article about the Congressional Hearing on Human Rights in Vietnam by Cong Do of The People's Democratic Party, an American citizen who was imprisoned in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in 2006 for Internet communication using the word "democracy". The article by Cong Do will be distributed at the Vietnamese American Authors Book Fair in San Jose, California on November 17. The theme of the program, which will be conducted in Vietnamese, is "Human Rights for Vietnam"   more »

The United States Commission On International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recently arrived in Vietnam to conduct thorough investigations on the issue of religious repression in Vietnam because, for years, Vietnam has been designated in the U.S. State department’s list of CPC (Countries of Particular Concern) in 2004 and 2005 after Vietnam authorities torn/ burned down and/ or destroyed more than 4,000 churches and worship facilities in 2001 and 2002. They had imprisoned and killed many religious faithful and prohibited them from practicing their religions, especially to the Christians in big cities and in tribal hamlets in highland regions of Vietnam . This information may be referenced in the U.S. State Department’s official website. Vietnam authorities had promised President George W. Bush and the State Department that they would implement appropriate policy and administrative measures to fully comply with State Department’s required benchmarks in order to be taken off from the list of CPC and be granted status of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) and admitted into the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, after achieving their goals, Vietnam authorities mendaciously turned around and did not keep their promise. Yet, they have drastically increased persecution and imposing harsh jail terms for more than 50 popular political and religious dissidents since August 2006. Vietnam authorities formally welcomed USCIRF Delegation during its visit in Vietnam . However, when USCIRF was still working out issues with Vietnam and about to leave, the Communist authorities have instructed more than 600 state-controlled daily newspapers and periodicals to start igniting their war with full force by publishing this following article, written in Vietnamese, in their “Cong An Nhan Dan & An Ninh The Gioi” Newspaper (People Police and World Security” Newspaper on their article dated October 27, 2007, written in Vietnamese by Colonel Nguyen Nhu Phong, the Executive Editor. URL referenced below: http://www.cand.com.vn/vi-VN/binhluan/2007/10/77733.cand Please remember all communication media in Vietnam are strictly controlled by the government. Therefore, the above-mentioned newspaper was instructed to publish the following article. We have translated this article, intact, into English and highlighted important paragraphs/ phrases for your quick reference. The communists have particularly attached the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and the Venerable Thich Quang Do. They have also denigrated the religious beliefs of the people of the Central Highlands.   more »

Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight chaired by William D. Delahunt (D-MA), will hold a hearing on human rights in Vietnam at the Rayburn Office Building at 2 p.m. November 6. Panel includes Congresswomen Lofgren and Sanchez; State Dept. Scott Marciel; Sophie Richardson Human Rights Watch; Cong Thanh Do The People's Democratic Party   more »