Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC)
Hearing Announcement:
Status Update: Religious Freedom in Vietnam
2-4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, August 18
B-318 Rayburn HOB
The overall human rights and religious freedom situation continues to deteriorate under the rule of the current government of Vietnam. Despite its ascension to the World Trade Organization in 2007, which many believed would help improve Vietnam's poor rights record, the situation for political dissidents and religious communities remains precarious. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's (USCIRF) 2010 Annual Report recommended that the State Department re-designate Vietnam as a "country of particular concern" (CPC) on account of the Vietnamese government's stringent control and repression of religious activities.
Furthermore, USCIRF's 2010 Annual Report notes that "property disputes between the government and the Catholic Church continue to lead to harassment, property destruction, and violence." The recent events in Con Dau village exemplify this emerging pattern of persecution. Government officials have arrested, beaten and detained residents of the village, which is a coterminous Catholic parish in the Diocese of Da Nang, Central Vietnam in order to force them to abandon their land and century-old cemetery in order to make way for a new "green" resort.
To discuss these issues, we will welcome as our witnesses:***
- Leonard A. Leo, chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
- Tai Nguyen, brother of Nam Nguyen, who died after a police beating
- Quang Nguyen, brother of Lieu Nguyen, who escaped to Thailand
- Luan Nguyen, sister of Liem & Minh Nguyen, who are still detained
- T. Kumar, director of international advocacy, Amnesty International
***Witness list subject to change.
If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Hoffman (Rep. Wolf) or Hans Hogrefe (Rep. McGovern) at 202-225-3599.
Frank R. Wolf, M.C.
Co-Chairman, TLHRC Co-Chairman, TLHRC
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