(Ten)

                                                                                                (Dia-chi)

                                                                                                (So DT)

(Ten thanh pho), April XX, 2007

The President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to support recent calls in Congress for a revision of the U.S. policy on human rights in regard to Vietnam, to wit:

1) Senators John F. Kerry’s and Edward M. Kennedy’s common letter to Secretary Condoleezza Rice (April 9, 2007) pointing to the shocking treatment reserved for those who did nothing more than exercising their right to freedom of expression in Vietnam (witness Father Nguyen Van Ly’s trial of March 30 in Hue and the arrest of human rights lawyers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan).

2) The letter of April 12 signed by Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Senator John McCain and Chairman Vin Weber of NED, and sent to Vietnam’s President Nguyen Minh Triet calling for the immediate release of Lawyer Le Quoc Quan, a NED Reagan-Fascell fellow, arrested four days after his return to Vietnam.

3) Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren’s letter of April 9 to Secretary Rice asking that Vietnam be put back on the CPC (Countries of Particular Concern) List because of its blatant repression of various religious groups.

4) House Resolution 243, introduced by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), which was overwhelmingly approved on April 19 by House Foreign Affairs Committee, calling for major improvements in Vietnam’s human rights record.

The above calls show that there is complete bi-partisan agreement in Congress regarding the urgent need to send a strong message to Hanoi that the U.S. no longer tolerates Hanoi’s reneging on its commitments, international and bilateral, to respect human rights once it has joined WTO.  We would be most grateful to you, Mr. President, if you can deliver such a message to Hanoi and instruct Secretary Rice to do the same.  Thank you very much for your concern.

Respectfully yours,

(Ghi ro ten minh duoi chu ky)