SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the last three weeks, three members of the Democratic Party of Vietnam (DPV) have been arrested for promoting the strengthening of democracy and human rights for the people of Vietnam. On July 7, 2009, Dr. Nguyen Tien Trung, the leader of the DPV’s Youth for Democracy organization, and Lieutenant Colonel Tran Anh Kim, a key member of the DPV, were imprisoned for urging increased freedoms of the press, religion, travel and improved human rights. On June 13, 2009, Le Cong Dinh, a prominent attorney and member of the DPV, was unlawfully detained for similar reasons. These actions came shortly after the arrest and imprisonment of Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, CEO of OCI, Le Thang Long, Le Thi Thu and Tran Thi Thu on May 24, 2009. The above individuals had been politically involved in a peaceful manner with the aim of promoting & strengthening democracy and human rights, leading to economic prosperity and stamping out poverty. According to Dr. Nguyen X. Ngai, the Vice Secretary of the Democratic Party of Vietnam, “The actions of the Vietnam government are unlawful and unacceptable in the world community, and is just the opposite of what the Vietnam government agreed to when it joined the WTO and the United Nations. “The DPV deplores this action and demands that the government of Vietnam obey the law and release all the above individuals, as well as other political members who are still unlawfully imprisoned in Viet Nam, without any restrictions or conditions attached.” The Democratic Party of Vietnam has been cooperating with the Vietnamese Communist Party since 1944. At that time, the late Hoang Minh Chinh, former Secretary of the DPV, reformed and reshaped the DPV to place emphasis on non-violent but law-abiding activities with no affiliation to any other political parties. This was announced and reemphasized again on January 9, 2008. Central Executive Committee Democratic Party of Vietnam   more »

Honorable Senators and Representatives of Congress of the United States Ladies, Gentlemen and Distinguished Guests, Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you on the current Human Rights situation in Vietnam. In my personal view, the situation is as follows: 1. Since the re-establishment of the US-Vietnam normalization, the human rights situation in Vietnam has not improved in accordance with expectations. If there appears to be any improvements, these are quite superficial and temporary, mainly to relief international pressure or to obtain a special short-term objective. After such an objective is achieved, the human rights situation in Vietnam crawls back to its previous condition. It is therefore not reasonable to rely on temporary evidence to conclude that there is human rights progress under the governance of the Vietnamese Communist Party. In reality, the Vietnamese Communist Party continues to intimidate and oppress democratic dissidents, when these people express views that reflect the realistic dismal conditions in Vietnam; continues to allow corruptions to occur, in outrageous events such as the dispossessing of land from farmers and the illegal trafficking of human labor. When these people protest, to ask for the return of their land or to demand justice, they are subjected to harsh and direct intimidation measures. Or when students take to the street to protest against the illegal occupations of the group of islands called Paracels and Spratlys by China, they are subjected to oppressive measures (*1). 2. Economic developments in Vietnam have not led to the improvements in human rights practices, as expected by many. The reason is the Vietnamese Communist Party's refusal to change from a single-party-rule authoritarian regime. For example, they continue to proclaim the supremacy of its rule on the people by maintaining the validity of Article 4 of Vietnam's Constitution (*2), which guarantees the Vietnamese Communist Party's rule forever. As a result, benefits are reserved to a minority of people who pledged absolute loyalty to the Communist Party. These special party-loyalists are allowed to confiscate land from common citizens, to decimate natural resources, to skim off international developmental aid as well as natural disaster relief funds… These actions are allowed so as to purchase party loyalty. It is a vicious cycle in which these party loyalists become richer because they are loyal to the party. As they become richer still, they will become more loyal and thus more vicious against the common citizens in order to protect their personal wealth and power. Economic developments within a non-democratic society can only lead to: a. a richer group of minority authority figures b. an increase in the power and means to subjugate the common citizens, by this group of minority authority figures c. a condition in which poor people become poorer and have less power to protect themselves All of these lead to a more and more severe imbalance and gap between the rich and the poor, within society. For example, whether it is furnished with much economic wealth, a prison is still a prison by any definitions. And birds, kept within a well furnished cage among other stronger and nastier birds, can still perish from hunger for obvious reasons. These two examples clearly reflect the reality inside Vietnam today. 3. After his successful election campaign, President George Bush has stated that he will continue to support all democratic movements worldwide (*3). Even though Vietnam tried to contain many democratic movements, they were growing in terms of number as well as maturity. However, today, these movements are being eliminated by the Vietnamese Communist Party, one by one. The political dissidents inside Vietnam place much faith and hope in the statement made by President Bush and are counting on tangible actions from this statement. The installment of democracy inside Vietnam will help both of our countries. After all, having a relationship with a democratic Vietnam is indeed much more beneficial, both materially and ethically, for the US than having a relationship with a tyrannical regime like that of the Vietnamese Communist Party today. 4. The people of Vietnam today are on the verge of a very important threshold, as far as the process of democratization is concerned. The people are no longer paralyzed with fears caused by the oppressive tactics of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Moreover, people are willing to accept the risks associated with actions such as standing up for their rights. For instance, people from various strata within society have stood up to raise their concerns. Among these are students, laborers, artists, intellectuals who often use the Internet and blog pages to express their ideals and experiences as well as street protests. In order to lend a hand of encouragement to the common citizens of Vietnam in their demand for human rights, and to solidify in the long-term mutual relationships between the people of Vietnam and the United States of America, we ask for your help on the following points: a. Support and advocate for the Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2007 (HR 3096), put forth by Rep. Christopher Smith, in which concrete suggestions have been outlined with the purpose to assist with the democratization process in Vietnam. b. Support and advocate for recommendations by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to place Vietnam back into the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), because after the removal from this list, the human rights situation in Vietnam has greatly deteriorated. Thank you for your attention. May God bless America and Vietnam. Nguyen Chinh Ket _____________________________________________   more »

Sài Gòn.- Ðể thuyết phục nhà văn Nguyễn Xuân Nghĩa ở nhà thay vì đi dự đám tang cụ Hoàng Minh Chính, công an CSVN đã dọa ông là sẽ tông xe cho ông chết trên đường như đã xảy đến cho cả gia đình kịch tác gia Lưu Quang Vũ 20 năm trước. Ông kể như vậy cho nhà báo Hoàng Hải. Nhà văn Nguyễn Xuân Nghĩa hiện là một trong năm thành viên điều hành của Khối 8406, một tổ chức chính trị quần chúng mà cụ Chính là một trong những thành viên sáng lập. Trong số những người bị chế độ Hà nội cấm đi dự tang lễ cụ Hoàng Minh Chính mà áp lực tệ hại nhất, có các ông Nguyễn Xuân Nghĩa, Trần Khuê. Ông Trần Khuê đã tới phi trường Tân Sơn Nhất chuẩn bị lên máy bay thì bị công an CSVN bắt “làm việc” và buộc ông quay lại nhà. Ông cương quyết không về nên bị khiêng ném lên xe trở về một trại giam rồi sau đó mới được cho về nhà. Thật ra, còn trường hợp của nữ Bác Sĩ Nguyễn Thị An Nhàn, từ San Jose, California, về Hà Nội dự tang lễ cũng bị công an CSVN cưỡng bách lên phi trường trục xuất khỏi Việt Nam đêm 15 tháng 2, 2008 sau mấy tiếng đồng hồ thẩm vấn. Bà Nhàn, bác sĩ khoa giải phẫu tim của bệnh viện Ðại Học Stanford ở Palo Alto, California, là đảng viên của Ðảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam ngay từ khi cụ Chính mới bắt đầu loan báo tái lập hồi Tháng Sáu 2006. This is news of the removal of dissidents supportive of Freedom for Vietnam at the funeral of Professor Hoang Minh Chinh on February 16. Nguyen Xuan Nghia and Tran Khue of Vietnam, and Dr. Nguyen Thi An Nguyen of San Jose, California. Linked to article in Vietnamese on Nguoi Viet News http://www.nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=74018&z=2   more »

With admiration and respect for Professor Hoang Minh Chinh, the Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Vietnam (DPV), as well as the Vietnamese tradition, a U.S. doctor who went to Vietnam to attend Professor Chinh's funeral was interrogated and forced out of the country. On Feb. 15, 2008 at 3 PM, one day before the funeral, the Vietnam government ordered a team of police to enter the Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi and forced Dr. Nguyen Thi An Nhan to the nearby Police station and interrogated her for more than six hours. Finally, they escorted her to the airport and demanded she leave the country that night, Feb. 15, 2008. Dr. Nguyen Thi An Nhan joined the Democratic Party of Vietnam (DPV) on June 1, 2006, when Professor Hoang Minh Chinh officially declared the reestablishment of the DPV. She also is one of the doctors who took care of Professor Hoang Minh Chinh when he was in the United States in August 2005 for cancer treatment.    more »

Hanoi seeks to impose a political funeral for Hoang Minh Chinh and prevent UBCV monks and pro-democracy activists from attending the event   more »

While Dr. Ngai Nguyen is flying to Hanoi to be at the funeral of his famous patient Hoang Minh Chinh, here is a brief biography of the elder statesman and their relationship. It is based on interview with Dr. Nguyen Xuan Ngai in his San Jose medical office in November 2007. Additional research sources are Que Me (Penelope Faulkner, author and Vice-President of the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights in Paris); from the BBC in London, February 8 2008 (Nga Pham, author); and press releases from the Democratic Party of Vietnam in Hanoi on the death of Hoang Minh Chinh February 7, 2008. Detailed chronology from these sources, beginning with Professor Hoang Minh Chinh's birth in 1922, his leadership in the Communist Party and government until 1967, when he is imprisoned for writing "Dogmatism in Vietnam" and stripped of his official duties. Professor Hoang Minh Chinh suffers three periods of imprisonment totaling thirteen years, the last being one year in 1995 when he was 73 years old. Author Jean Libby, editor of VietAm Review, is the English translation manuscript editor and author of the preface of the English language publication of the prose stories of Nguyen Chi Thien on prison conditions in Communist Vietnam, the Hoa Lo/Hanoi Hilton Stories (Yale University Southeast Asia Studies, 2007. ISBN 978-0-938692-89-8) A retired teacher of United States History and Ethnic Studies at community colleges in northern California, she is a member of Amnesty International USA Group 19 in Palo Alto.   more »

Professor Hoang Minh Chinh, Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Vietnam. (DPV), after a long illness, passed away in Hanoi at 11:08 PM on 7 February 2008, the First Day of the New Year "Tet Mau Ty". Professor Hoang Minh Chinh has parted serenely, after achieving the task of senior activist for democracy. He has guided the democratic movement in Vietnam in the right direction, and in June 2006, he reactivated The Democratic Party of Vietnam (established in 1944 but later banned by the controlled government). Prior to his death, he prepared and carefully transferred all operations of the Party to the next generation that will assume his responsibilities. The Standing Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Vietnam calls upon the members of the DPV to transform the suffering loss into strength, to unite within the party and reach out to others to move forward for the ultimate goal of the democratization of Vietnam as he wished. As we grieve this great loss, the Standing Central Committee of the DPV would like to announce this sad news to the people of Vietnam and to all the world who believe in peace and democracy. Representing the Standing Central Committee, Nguyen Tam. CONTACT: Democratic Party of Vietnam Overseas Office Dr. Ngai Nguyen, 1-408-603-5030 ngainguyen@aol.com   more »

The INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST INFORMATION BUREAU (BUREAU INTERNATIONAL D'INFORMATION BOUDDHISTE) Official information service of Vien Hoa Dao, Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam announced today that Vietnamese elder dissident Hoang Minh Ching, who died on Tet 2008, asked to be converted to Buddhism by the Venerable Thich Quang Do. This information came to IBIB in Paris from his daughter in Hanoi. Professor Hoang Minh Chinh and Venerable Thich Quang Do exchanged contacts in 2005, after Thich Quang Do sent a “New Year’s Letter” calling on Vietnamese intelligentsia in the North and South to rally together for pluralism and democratic change. This appeal, sent through the intermediary of IBIB and Quê Me to avoid government censorship, succeeded in forging unprecedented links of solidarity and understanding between Communist dissidents in the North and democrats in the South. Hoang Minh Chinh then wrote: “Thich Quang Do’s proposals for democracy and pluralism are fundamentally important and absolutely urgent. He proposes the very things that all our people have been aspiring to with all their hearts for the past half century and more. I have seen the letter circulating widely in Hanoi. Everyone who has read it has found it totally convincing, extremely moving, and worthy of their wholehearted support... “Indeed, I want to say how much I admire the actions of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Thich Quang Do, along with all the UBCV clergy and followers, have waged a courageous combat for decades, since the fall of Saigon until today. We Vietnamese have suffered misery and humiliation for too long. It is time to unite. I call on all Vietnamese to join together in support of Thich Quang Do’s proposals and struggle fearlessly to achieve them. We do not fear repression, imprisonment, intimidation. We must keep up the struggle for democracy, pluralism and human rights. This is the only way we can escape from our condition of slavery today...”. In April 2006, Hoang Minh Chinh and Thich Quang Do were jointly awarded the “Democracy Courage Tribute” by 600 democracy activists gathered at the Fourth Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy (WMD) in Istanbul. The WMD praised these “two particularly heroic figures… Even from prison, these men and many others like them from both the secular and religious communities have dared to disseminate messages defending human rights, increased pluralism and the rule of law in Vietnam”. Accepting the award on their behalf, Mr. Vo Van Ai, IBIB Director and President of Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam, stressed the significance of honouring these two men with the award: “For 2,000 years, Vietnam was one country, with one language and one culture. But conflicts of ideology split our country into two, north and south, separating our people and forcing them to live apart under different political regimes.   more »

Ông Hoàng Minh Chính, tổng thư ký đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam qua đời http://www.nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=73573&z=1 From QueMe (in English) - HOANG MINH CHINH (Tran Ngoc Nghiem), former Dean of the Hanoi Institute of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy, spent almost 20 years in prison and under house arrest without charge for alleged “anti-Party revisionism”. In 1995, Hoang Minh Chinh was arrested again and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on charges of “abusing democratic rights and freedoms” and “anti-socialist propaganda”. On his release, he continued to call for Party reforms. As a result, his movements are restricted and his communications closely monitored. He is continuously summoned for “working sessions” (interrogations) by the Police, and the authorities have organized public “denunciation sessions” to criticize him. http://www.queme.net/eng/docs_detail.php?numb=148    more »

Văn phòng TTK/Đảng DCVN trân trọng công bố THÔNG ĐIỆP ĐẦU NĂM CỦA ĐẢNG DÂN CHỦ VIỆT NAM. Thông Điệp đầu năm của Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam được công bố chính thức trên diễn đàn của Đảng DCVN tại Website : www.ddcvn.org và được phát hành từ Email : vpttkddc@gmail.com Văn Phòng TTK Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam Nguyễn Tâm Phụ tá Tổng Thư Ký ( Ấn Ký ) THÔNG ĐIỆP ĐẦU NĂM MỚI 2008 CỦA ĐẢNG DÂN CHỦ VIỆT NAM KÍNH GỬI : - Toàn thể đồng bào, các chính đảng, các tôn giáo, các đoàn thể Việt Nam. - Đảng viên Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam. Nhân dịp đầu năm mới 2008, Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam trân trọng gửi lời Chúc Mừng Năm Mới đến toàn thể đồng bào, các chính đảng, các hội đoàn, qúy giáo hội và các anh chị em đảng viên Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam. Chúc đất nước và dân tộc Việt Nam năm 2008 phát triển mạnh mẽ, tự do, dân chủ tiến nhanh và bền vững trong sự nghiệp độc lập, bảo vệ toàn vẹn lãnh thổ và ấm no hạnh phúc cho toàn dân. Năm 2007 vừa qua đã đánh dấu bước ngoặt mới của đất nước và dân tộc Việt Nam : Vị trí đất nước và dân tộc Việt Nam ngày càng khẳng định trên trường quốc tế. Kinh tế đất nước có bước phát triển nhất định, tuy chưa bền vững và chưa đồng bộ với phát triển dân chủ và nhân quyền. Lạm phát cuối năm tăng cao đột ngột làm cho đời sống của đông đảo nhân dân, nhất là nông dân, công nhân và viên chức bình thường sa sút, làm cho ý nghĩa phát triển kinh tế mất đi giá trị thực tiễn và đời sống của tuyệt đại đa số nhân dân quay lại con đường khó khăn. Những sai lầm và thiếu sót trong quản lý và điều hành đất nước một phần do yếu tố tham nhũng chi phối đã làm cho lực lượng dân oan, những người bị thiệt thòi về quyền lợi kinh tế bởi các chính sách phát triển của nhà nước ngày càng tăng cao và lòng oán thán với chính quyền ngày càng nghiêm trọng. Tuy nhiên, dân trí trong xu thế phát triển và hội nhập quốc tế đang phát triển lớn mạnh. Tư duy và hiểu biết về kinh tế xã hội của nhân dân ngày càng nâng cao, đặc biệt là tư duy về Độc lập, Tự do, Dân chủ và Nhân quyền. Mặc dù bị hạch sách, thậm chí bị đàn áp sai luật pháp nhưng ý chí độc lập, tự do và dân chủ đã bộc phát mạnh mẽ trong nước. Đã có nhiều nhà tranh đấu cho dân chủ công khai ra mặt và lên tiếng trong làn sóng ngầm của phong trào dân chủ hóa đất nước đang trỗi dậy trong toàn dân và rộng khắp mọi miền đất nước, đỉnh cao vào cuối năm với những cuộc biểu tình lên tiếng phản đối mạnh mẽ việc nhà cầm quyền Trung Quốc âm mưu thôn tính quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa của đất nước và thái độ nửa vời của nhà cầm quyền Việt Nam. Tuổi trẻ với sự tiếp cận tri thức của thời đại ngày càng chứng tỏ trình độ, hiểu biết, năng lực và bản lĩnh trong học tập, làm việc, nghiên cứu và đặc biệt tiếp thu nhanh các ý nghĩa chính trị xã hội trong phát triển và hội nhập quốc tế. Năm 2007 được đánh dấu là năm Phong trào dân chủ và Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam phát triển vượt bậc. Tư tưởng và hành động dân chủ được nhiều người tìm đến. Năm vừa qua là năm Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam trở lại hoạt động với Cương lĩnh và chương trình hành động chính thức được công bố. Đội ngũ Đảng viên Đảng Dân chủ phát triển nhanh chóng từ Phong trào dân chủ trong nước và nước ngoài. Với chủ trương dân chủ hóa đất nước bằng đường lối hoạt động ôn hòa, theo khuôn khổ luật pháp và thông lệ quốc tế. Năm 2008 hứa hẹn sẽ là năm Phong trào dân chủ và Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam phát triển mạnh mẽ. Đại hội Đảng Dân Chủ đang được chuẩn bị tiến hành tổ chức trong năm nay. Sau cùng, trong năm mới, Đảng Dân Chủ Việt Nam mong muốn toàn dân cùng các chính đảng, các tôn giáo, các đoàn thể tích cực đoàn kết đẩy mạnh dân chủ và sự phát triển bền vững cho đất nước Việt Nam. Hà Nội, Ngày 31 Tháng 12 Năm 2007 TM. ĐẢNG DÂN CHỦ VIỆT NAM Tổng Thư Ký ( Ấn Ký ) GS. HOÀNG MINH CHÍNH   more »

Life, Poetry, and Prison--Cuoc Song, Thi Van, va Tu Day is a new bilingual publication of the poetry of Nguyen Chi Thien especially designed in small inexpensive size for students use and organization benefits. The author and his editorial assistant Jean Libby will be presenting some of these poems at the Milpitas Community Library on July 14, 2007. The Vietnamese reading is at 3:00 p.m.; English reading at 4:15 p.m., and a reception at the the library is at 5:15 p.m. Admission is free and all are welcome. 40 N. Milpitas Blvd. 95035 The Friends of the Milpitas Library program sponsors have prepared a souvenir for attendees which commemorates the anniversary (Ky Niem Hoa Dia Nguc) on July 16, 1979 when the author brought his manuscript of prison poems to the British Embassy in Hanoi, asking that they be published in "their free country." The souvenir reproduces the original handwritten French inscription by the poet (he brought it first to the French Embassy on July 14, 1979 but was unable to get in), the English translation published by the Index on Censorship in London in July 1982, and a new handwritten translation in Vietnamese by the author. The original inscription and English translation was first published by QueMe in 1982 in a trilingual collection Nguc Ca--Chants de Prison--Prison Songs--with music by Pham Duy. This is reprinted with the permission of the original publisher in 1982, QueMe in Paris. The author was presented commendations from the Mayor of Milpitas, Jose Esteves, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and the Viet Arts Institute.    more »

The Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), one of the last few hold-outs of Communism of the Stalinist era, has just gone through its Tenth Congress in Hanoi, a quinquennial ritual to rubber stamp its Politbureau’s choice of candidates for the 3 most crucial political positions in the country: General Secretary, President, and Prime Minister. The Congress is also an occasion for party members to discuss the action plan for the next 5 years. Its took place on the eve of the 31st anniversary of the take-over of South Vietnam by northern Communist forces on April 30, 1975. This Commentary by Le Duy Can of the Vietnamese Canadian Federation discusses corruption in Vietnam and the Manifesto 2006 petition by 118 Vietnamese citizens to demand democracy from their government.   more »

VIỆT NAM – Bản tin của BBC cho biết, một nguồn tin chưa kiểm chứng nói rằng ông Hoàng Minh Chính đã được đưa vào bệnh viện ngày 26 tháng 11, 2007, trong tình trạng hôn mê. Bản tin nói, gần đây, sức khỏe của ông Hoàng Minh Chính kém đi thấy rõ. Nguồn tin chưa kiểm chứng cũng nói rằng, cách đây ít tháng, ông Hoàng Minh Chính đã nhập viện nhưng “các bác sĩ không chữa được vì ông bị ung thư tiền liệt tuyến di căn.” Tuy nhiên, bác sĩ Nguyễn Xuân Ngãi, người đóng góp vai trò đưa ông Hoàng Minh Chính ra nước ngoài tiếp xúc nhiều giới, nói với BBC rằng “sức khỏe ông Chính đã rất kém, nhưng trong cuộc nói chuyện vừa rồi ông vẫn tỉnh táo.” The full story on BBC is at this link. http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2007/11/071126_hoangminhchinh.shtml Xin đọc thêm bài về ông Hoàng Minh Chính ở đường dẫn bên tay phải. Cuộc phỏng vấn với BS Nguyễn Xuân Ngãi được phát về Việt Nam trên đài BBC, làn sóng AM1503, sóng ngắn 25, 41 và 49 mét trong buổi phát thanh 21:30-22:00 giờ Hà Nội.   more »

A new page on the Viet-Am Review website (www.vietamreview.net) features current essays, letters, and statements about democracy and human rights in Vietnam by people who have been imprisoned by the Communist government there beginning in the 1950s and 1960s and as recently as 2007. see www.vietamreview.net/Prisoner_Wisdom.html   more »

Democratic Party of Vietnam Representative Visits the White House, National Security Council and the U.S. State Department for Consultations in Advance of Vietnam President Meeting with President Bush on June 22. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 18, 2007 In advance of Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet’s meeting with President Bush on June 22nd, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Ngai was invited by Vice President Richard Cheney, National Security Advisor Dennis Wilder and high level State Department officials to Washington, D.C. for consultations on Thursday, June 14. Dr. Nguyen, a physician and cardiologist in San Jose, California, is a key member of the Democratic Party of Vietnam, which advocates democracy for Vietnam and an improvement in human rights and religious freedom for its people. In addition, the renowned cardiologist Dr. Ngai Nguyen was asked for medical advice about his heart condition by the vice-president, which he promptly received. Jean Libby, editor, VietAm Review   more »

urls to sign petitions in support of 118 dissident religious leaders and professionals in Vietnam in demanding Freedom and Democracy. CONTENTS AND SIGNATURES OF ORIGINAL PETITION ON PREVIOUS BLOG POSTING, APRIL 8 Jean Libby Viet-Am Review   more »