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“VIETNAM'S CONTINUING ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1409-E1411 on Aug. 3, 2012.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
VIETNAM'S CONTINUING ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
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HON. FRANK R. WOLF
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the record several months' worth of correspondence with the State Department regarding Vietnam's deplorable human rights and religious freedom record.
The correspondence includes a recent letter signed by three other members and myself calling for the removal of David Shear, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, for his failure to advocate for basic human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam while conditions are getting worse.
The U.S. must ensure that human rights and religious freedom are at the forefront of bilateral relations with Vietnam and the American embassy must be an island of freedom.
Congress of the United States,
Washington, DC, May 15, 2012.Hon. David Shear,U.S. Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, U.S.
Department of State, C Street, NW, Wasington, DC.
Dear Ambassador Shear: We write today to express our concern over the arrest and detention of a U.S. citizen, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, by Vietnamese authorities on April 17, 2012. Further, we write to express our concern that you, as U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, have not yet visited the U.S. citizen and democracy activist, who has been imprisoned for nearly one month on politically motivated charges.
During a hearing convened by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission today, Dr. Nguyen's wife, Mrs. Mai Huong Ngo, provided emotional testimony about her husband's ongoing detention. It was shocking to hear that no one from the U.S. Embassy has reached out to Mrs. Ngo regarding the detention of her husband. We urge you to personally contact both Dr. Nguyen and Mrs. Ngo to show solidarity with and concern for two American citizens.
In addition, if Mrs. Ngo decides to go to Vietnam and attempt to see her husband, we request that you ensure her safety by personally meeting her at the airport and escorting her to the embassy and the jail where Dr. Nguyen is being held so that she does not meet the same fate as her husband.
If the U.S. Embassy does not stand with Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan then what assurances do other U.S. citizens have when traveling to authoritarian countries? America must be a voice for the voiceless. The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam must be an island of freedom.
We urge you to meet with Dr. Nguyen and work to secure his immediate release so he can be reunited with his wife and two sons. To speak with Mrs. Ngo, please contact Representative Wolf's office at 202-225-5136 for her information.
We would like to be kept abreast of this case and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,Frank R. Wolf.Daniel E. Lungren.Loretta Sanchez.Zoe Lofgren.Bob Filner.
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House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, June 6, 2012.David Shear,U.S. Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, U.S.
Department of State, C Street, NW., Washington, DC.
Dear Ambassador Shear: I write to follow up on our recent phone call, after the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on Vietnam. I appreciate your willingness to assist in the case of imprisoned U.S. citizen Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan. I hope that after our conversation a senior person from the U.S. Embassy has reached out to his wife, Mrs. Mai Huong Ngo. As I mentioned to you--both in my previous letter and on the phone, the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam must be an island of freedom.
It is with this in mind that I truly hope you will invite Vietnamese dissidents and their families to the embassy's July 4th celebration this year. In addition, I urge the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City to continue to work for the release of Dr. Nguyen. Please let me know of any updates in his case and when the embassy intends to have an Independence Day celebration that includes freedom-loving people in Vietnam. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes.
Sincerely,Frank R. Wolf.
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U.S. Department of State,
Washington, DC, June 26, 2012.
Dear Mr. Wolf: Thank you for your letter of June 6 following up on your phone conversation last month with Ambassador Shear regarding the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's hearing on Vietnam and the case of Dr. Richard Nguyen.
We continue to urge the Vietnamese government to release Dr. Nguyen. In addition to raising his case with high-level Vietnamese officials, our consular officers will continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance to Dr. Nguyen. Ambassador Shear has personally spoken with Dr. Nguyen's wife, Mai Huang Ngo, and senior officials from our Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City remain in close contact with her.
Ambassador Shear continues to engage with civil society advocates, promoters of rule-of-law, and democracy activists and will welcome them to the Embassy's July 4th celebration. This is one of many ways we promote respect for human rights and rule-of-law in Vietnam.
We will keep you and your staff updated on developments regarding Dr. Richard Nguyen. Please do not hesitate to let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
David S. Adams,
Assistant Secretary,Legislative Affairs.
____
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, July 9, 2012.Hon. Barack H. Obama,The President,The White House, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: On May 15, 2012, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, which I co-chair, held a hearing on human rights abuses in Vietnam. As you undoubtedly know, the State Department's own annual human rights report aptly describes Vietnam as an ``authoritarian state.'' During the hearing, several of my colleagues and I heard testimony from Mrs. Mai Huong Ngo, the wife of Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, a Vietnamese-American democracy activist and U.S. citizen. Upon his arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, he was arbitrarily detained and has been in prison ever since. Dr. Quan's wife was invited to testify in light of her husband's plight.
Assistant Secretary Michael Posner was also invited to testify at the hearing on behalf of the State Department. At the time I expressed my shock and dismay that no one from the department, not even the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, David Shear, had been in touch with Dr. Quan's wife since his detention. Only at my urging did Ambassador Shear initiate contact with Mrs. Ngo to update her on her husband's situation.
This was disturbing on a number of levels. I have long believed that U.S. embassies should be islands of freedom--especially in repressive countries like Vietnam. Under Ambassador Shear's leadership it didn't appear that the U.S. embassy in Hanoi was embracing this important task. But even more troubling is the fact that Dr. Quan is an American citizen, and yet there appeared to be little urgency to securing his release.
In speaking by phone with Ambassador Shear following the hearing I expressed my concerns and urged him to host a July 4th celebration at the embassy, where the guest list was comprised of religious freedom and democracy activists in Vietnam. I stressed that he should fling open the doors of the embassy and invite Buddhist monks and nuns, Catholic priests and Protestant pastors, Internet bloggers and democracy activists. Such was the custom during the Reagan Administration, especially in the Soviet Union. This practice sent a strong message that America stood with those who stand for basic human rights. In many cases it afforded these individuals protection from future harassment and even imprisonment.
Ambassador Shear said that he intended to honor this request. Following my conversation with him I received the enclosed letter from the department indicating that,
``Ambassador Shear continues to engage with civil society advocates, promoters of rule-of-law, and democracy activists and will welcome them to the Embassy's July 4th celebration.'' I took Ambassador Shear at his word and in fact shared this correspondence with members of the Vietnamese Diaspora community in the U.S., several of whom were greatly encouraged by this development.
Late last week it was brought to my attention that many of the most prominent democracy and human rights activists in Vietnam were not invited to the event. These reports seemed starkly at odds with the assurances I had personally received from Ambassador Shear. I called him directly this morning to find out if the embassy had invited the dissidents as had been agreed upon. His response was appalling. He said that he had invited a few civil society activists but then said that he needed to maintain a ``balance.'' I then asked him for a list of the invitees. He initially refused saying he was unable to provide this information, even though presumably the embassy, which he leads, created the guest list. Then he said he would have to address this through State Department. I asked him when we might expect to receive a copy of the guest list and, after initially declining to be specific; he eventually conceded that it would be ``in a few weeks.''
Ambassador Shear's entire handling of this issue has been unacceptable. He showed little to no initiative in the case of Dr. Quan. Then, after appearing to recognize the shortsightedness of this approach, he agreed to host an Independence Day event at the embassy attended by human rights and democracy activists--only to go back on his word and mislead me about his intentions. Finally, when posed with a simple congressional request for additional information about the guest list at a U.S. embassy event, he was uncooperative at best and obstructionist at worst.
In light of these realities, I write today to call for the firing of Ambassador Shear.
Sadly, his sidelining of serious human rights issues in Vietnam is symptomatic of this administration's overall approach to human rights and religious freedom. Time and again these issues are put on the back-burner--to the detriment of freedom-loving people the world over. In a Constitution Day speech, President Ronald Reagan described the United States Constitution as ``a covenant we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind.'' We have an obligation to keep that covenant. If you were to take this action, it would send a critical message to U.S. ambassadors globally, and just as importantly, to repressive governments which fear the words of the Constitution and the promise they hold as much as they fear the aspirations of their own people.
I have repeatedly said that it would be fitting for a Vietnamese-American to serve as U.S. ambassador Vietnam--someone who understands the country, the language, and the oppressive nature of the government having experienced it themselves before coming to the U.S. Such an individual would not be tempted to maintain smooth bilateral relations at all costs. Such an individual would embrace the cause of freedom. The Vietnamese people, and frankly millions of Vietnamese-Americans, deserve better than what Ambassador Shear and this administration are giving them.
America must be a voice for the voiceless. The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam must be an island of freedom, headed by a bold American ambassador. Ambassador Shear is not that man.
Best wishes.
Sincerely,Frank R. Wolf.
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U.S. Department of State,
Washington, DC, June 26, 2012.
Dear Mr. Wolf: Thank you for your letter of June 6 following up on your phone conversation last month with Ambassador Shear regarding the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's hearing on Vietnam and the case of Dr. Richard Nguyen.
We continue to urge the Vietnamese government to release Dr. Nguyen. In addition to raising his case with high-level Vietnamese officials, our consular officers will continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance to Dr. Nguyen. Ambassador Shear has personally spoken with Dr. Nguyen's wife, Mai Huang Ngo, and senior officials from our consulate in Ho Chi Minh City remain in close contact with her.
Ambassador Shear continues to engage with civil society advocates, promoters of rule-of-law, and democracy activists and will welcome them to the Embassy's July 4th celebration. This is one of many ways we promote respect for human rights and rule-of-law in Vietnam.
We will keep you and your staff updated on developments regarding Dr. Richard Nguyen. Please do not hesitate to let us know if we can be of further assistance.
David S. Adams,
Assistant Secretary,Legislative Affairs.
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House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, July 13, 2012.Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,Secretary of State,Washington, DC.
Dear Secretary Clinton: I write to follow-up on my letter of July 9 regarding Ambassador David Shear's deeply disappointing pattern of sidelining of human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam. In fact I was so troubled by his approach that I urged you to fire him. I continue to believe that Ambassador Shear is not the man for the job. Furthermore, I am eager to know when the State Department will be able to provide me with a list of invited guests for the recent July 4 event held at the embassy.
I read with interest your public remarks earlier this week in Vietnam. While I appreciated your general comments regarding human rights concerns, I was disappointed to see no public mention of the imprisoned Vietnamese-American democracy activist Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan.
As you know, I have been unreserved in my criticism of this administration's policies in China on a host of levels. But, I will gladly concede that I have seen a promising trend with Ambassador Gary Locke, himself a Chinese-American. In numerous meetings with dissidents, human rights lawyers and activists, I have learned that they have been welcomed into the embassy under Ambassador Locke's leadership. He has taken a personal interest in their cause. This is in keeping with the finest traditions of our nation's embassies over the years. It bears noting that Chinese human rights activists and self-trained legal advocate Chen Guangcheng recently sought refuge in the American embassy--not the embassy of any other country.
The American embassy must a beacon for those seeking basic human freedom and dignity. The American ambassador must be a stalwart defender of dissidents and advocate for human rights. Increasingly I hear from the Vietnamese-American community in the U.S. that they no longer have any confidence that Ambassador Shear is up to the task.
I again urge you to remove Ambassador Shear and appoint a Vietnamese-American ambassador, preferably someone who is well versed, through personal experience, in the oppressive ways of Vietnam's communist government, to take his place. Such an individual would not need to be reminded that human rights and religious freedom advocacy feature prominently in their job description.
Best wishes.
Sincerely,Frank R. Wolf.
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Congress of the United States,
Washington, DC, July 19, 2012.Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,Secretary of State,Washington DC.
Dear Secretary Clinton: We strongly believe that human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam need to be at the forefront of bilateral relations with Vietnam, including any discussion about a strategic partnership with the United States. While we were pleased to hear that you mentioned democracy activists, lawyers and bloggers on your recent trip to Vietnam, we were deeply disappointed that there was no public mention of imprisoned Vietnamese-American Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan. In fact, in a letter sent earlier this month prior to your trip, several members of Congress urged you to raise the matter of his continued detention and press for his release.
We do not believe that this administration, especially Ambassador David Shear, have sufficiently advocated for basic human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam. In fact, Ambassador Shear has sidelined these issues which has been a cause for concern. The people of Vietnam yearn for American leadership in this realm--leadership which Ambassador Shear has been simply unable or unwilling to provide. As such, we urge you to dismiss Ambassador Shear from his post, and move swiftly to appoint an individual who will embrace the struggle of the Vietnamese people and advocate on their behalf.
Unfortunately, the outstanding congressional request for the list of invitees to the Embassy Hanoi's July 4th celebration remains unfulfilled. As such, we also urge you to make sure that the list is provided in a timely fashion so that we are able to see which religious freedom and democracy activists were invited, if any.
We wish to see a mutually beneficial relationship with Vietnam. In order for this to happen, we must have confidence in this administration's efforts to promote religious freedom and democracy in Vietnam. We have lost confidence that Ambassador Shear is up to the task.
Sincerely,Frank R. Wolf.Daniel E. Lungren.Christopher H. Smith.Joseph R. Pitts.
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