(2004/C 65 E/045)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0802/03

by Marco Pannella (NI), Emma Bonino (NI), Marco Cappato (NI), Gianfranco Dell'Alba (NI), Benedetto Della Vedova (NI) and Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(17 March 2003)

Subject:   Persecution by the Vietnamese authorities of Dr Que Nguyen and compliance with the UN Human Rights Commission's concluding observations of 27 July 2002

Dr Que Nguyen is one of the most prestigious internationally recognised figures in democratic, non-violent Vietnamese circles.

Some facts about Dr Que Nguyen: he was first detained (and also held in isolation and tortured) from 1978-1988, on account of his ceaseless activities.

In 1990, after founding the ‘Non-violent Movement for Human Rights’ and publishing, on 11 May of that year, the Movement's manifesto, which called for the upholding of human rights and for political pluralism and free elections, he was arrested and held in isolation; in 1991, following a half-hour sham trial, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison plus five years' house arrest for having ‘sought to overthrow the government’.

In 1995 he was awarded the Robert Kennedy Human Rights Award by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial; he has on a number of occasions been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and included on Amnesty International's prisoners-of-conscience list.

In 1998, following a government amnesty, he was placed under house arrest (where he remains to this day) for reasons including his adamant refusal to be expelled from Vietnam, but he still suffers intimidation and he is constantly prevented by the Vietnamese security forces from freely expressing his thoughts, being denied the use of the telephone and the Internet.

On 20 September 2002, on the eve of the ‘World Day for Freedom and Democracy in Vietnam too’, which had been organised by the Transnational Radical Party (of which Dr Que's brother, Dr Quan Nguyen, had become a member), Dr Que was assaulted in his own home by the Vietnamese security forces, who searched for his papers and articles, including the one in which he had condemned the treatment inflicted on the Montagnard refugees in Cambodia (whom the Cambodian Government had handed over to the Vietnamese authorities and of whom nothing more has been heard) and then sought to arrest him for having insisted upon his rights.

He suffers from high blood pressure and serious health problems affecting his kidneys, and any further persecution by the Vietnamese Government may damage his health for good.

In view of the above facts, will the Commission say whether:

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2003)

The Commission understands that Dr Nguyen Dan Que is no longer under house arrest but has been re-arrested on 17 March 2003 and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Mr Que's arrest.

The Commission's policy towards Vietnam is to encourage and support progress on human rights and democratisation, and to rise concerns where abuses occur or where a deterioration in the situation becomes evident. The Commission works closely with the Member States in monitoring human rights developments in the country and participates in all Union démarches to the Government of Vietnam on human rights issues.

Whereas the Commission shares the concerns expressed by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee in July 2002 concerning the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Vietnam, it also notes the efforts which are being made by Vietnam to reform its domestic legal order, to comply with its international, in particular, human rights, commitments. In this context the Commission welcomes the decision of the Government of Vietnam to elaborate an action plan for legal reform, based on the Legal Means Assessment, which has been established with the support of the international donor community.

The Commission and the Member states have repeatedly urged the Government of Vietnam to strengthen its respect for political and religious freedoms, as well as to further strengthen economic and social freedoms. The EU has expressed this request in its declaration at the Consultative Group meeting in Hanoi in December 2002. Moreover, the Commission and the Member States have declared that they will welcome any possibility to support the Vietnamese Government in measures to strengthen the governance and public administrative reforms, to improve human rights, to prepare for the signing and implementation of additional international conventions in human rights and in other areas where assistance could be helpful.

The reference to the respect for Human Rights and democratic principles of Article 1 of the Community-Vietnam Co-operation Agreement constitutes the enabling framework for the Human Rights dialogue of the Commission with the Government of Vietnam. The Commission, together with the Member States, will continue to follow closely the human rights situation in Vietnam and take appropriate action.