Vietnam: Premier Receives Frosty Welcome in the US
Jul 10 2007
Postings >> Vietnam

The Vietnamese premier has received a frosty welcome in the US, amid disquiet over human rights abuses back home.

President Nguyen Minh Triet had officially come to strengthen trade ties between Vietnam and the US -- but he came in for stern criticism from US congressional leaders.

Representatives protested against the current crackdown on dissidents such as Father Nguyen Van Ly and the persecution of ethnic minorities such as the mainly Christian Montagnards.

The president replied simply that all dissidents were lawbreakers and that there were 'lots of human rights' in his nation.

The mysterious disappearance of a key religious leader from the president's official delegation may prove to contradict Triet's comments. The name of Rev Phung Quang Huyen, president of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North), had been confirmed in Washington as being on the official list of delegates.

But Compass Direct reports that Rev Huyen was sent instead to China with Vietnam's Bureau of Religious Affairs. It also points out that Rev Huyen has 'extensive knowledge of religious persecution aimed at ethnic minority Christians in north-west Vietnam.

Congress's unfriendly reception for President Triet may help appease campaigners who were enraged when the US removed Vietnam from its religious rights blacklist of 'Countries of Particular Concern'.

Even as Triet met President Bush, Compass Direct revealed the death in April of Vin Y Het, a Hroi ethnic minority Christian in his early 20s who was savagely beaten by police in Phu Yen province for refusing to recant his faith.

• Ask God to comfort and strengthen the family of Vin Y Het, who left a pregnant wife and two small children. Praise God for his strong witness.
• Pray that Vietnam will respond to international criticism of its religious rights record by ending its crackdown on dissidents.