Boston Globe (with Nam Pham)
CHRISTMAS BOMBING. That's a term loaded with paradox. Twenty-nine years ago this week, the United States bombed North Vietnam. The Nixon administration was frustrated over what it saw as North Vietnamese obstinance at the Paris peace talks. It believed that bombing would force Hanoi back to the table. It was a highly disputed strategy, but it seemed to work. Talks resumed, and a peace pact was reached in January 1973.
It is useful to examine where democracy stands today in Vietnam, almost 30 years later. A national obsession for decades, Vietnam has virtually disappeared from the scope of our war on terrorism.
Yes, Vietnam has made some tangible and laudable reforms, chiefly in normalization of diplomatic and trade relations. American business leaders and elected officials understand the value of doing business with Vietnam.
Expansion of trade relations, however, does not mask the tortured path to democracy. As is the case with China today, some will argue that effective trade relations is a precursor to actual democratization. They will say, ''take it one step at a time,'' and they are not entirely wrong. However, patience has its limitations. The Bush administration must ask how long it will take to build democracy. Indeed, when will we know that Vietnam is getting serious about it?
Just days before the events of Sept. 11, the House of Representatives passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act by a 410-1 vote. The act would make granting non-humanitarian aid conditioned upon Vietnam's human rights performance. It would also assist democratic forces in the country, while authorizing additional funding for Radio Free Asia to penetrate jamming by the Vietnamese government.
The bill has been bottled up in the Senate for more than three months. If we've learned anything since Sept. 11 it is that our ideals transcend commerce. Yes, open markets are integral to our system, but human rights are indispensable. And Vietnam's record, under an elderly and repressive regime, would not meet the standards of most Americans.
Let's look at the facts: Vietnam has yet to evolve beyond the tyranny of one-party rule. The Communist Party remains the official voice of some 80 million people. Before Russia, the Czech Republic, and other reform-minded states got serious about democracy, they rejected one-party rule and opened their systems to the ballot box.
Vietnam's persecution of its Montagnard population also continues without hesitation. Earlier this fall, 14 Protestant Montagnards from the Central Highlands were sentenced for up to 12 years in prison for participating in protests calling for religious freedom. Their trials were closed and lasted one day. In October, Father Nguyen Van Ly was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His crime? He has advocated a brand of Catholicism not sanctioned by the government, assisted in flood relief measures not approved by the government, and advanced democratic reforms not welcomed.
Last month Vietnam deported two German nationals for attempting to preach political and religious freedom. This followed the deportation of a Belgian national earlier in the year for wanting to meet with a detained Buddhist dissident, as well as the removal of a Norwegian parliamentarian after he dared to meet with Father Ly and others. Shades of the Taliban?
What is Hanoi's reaction to those who oppose its repression of political, religious, and press freedoms? It makes them very nervous. They tell us to mind our own business. They even placed blame for the events of Sept. 11 on what they call ''isolationist US foreign policy.''
Two days after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, the official People's Army Daily condemned America's chauvinism and linked it directly to brazen interference by the United States in Vietnam's human rights performance.
OK, so let's not be isolationist. Let us take a firm stand wherever universal human rights are denied. That's why the US Senate must follow the lead of its House colleagues and pass the Vietnam Human Rights Act. That's why Senator John Kerry must act in his capacity as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. With apologies to Calvin Coolidge, the business of America is not just business. Trade relations are a good place to start, but true progress must ultimately reflect the passions of people and not just the promise of profits. That's why human rights can never be just business as usual.
CHRISTMAS BOMBING. That's a term loaded with paradox. Twenty-nine years ago this week, the United States bombed North Vietnam. The Nixon administration was frustrated over what it saw as North Vietnamese obstinance at the Paris peace talks. It believed that bombing would force Hanoi back to the table. It was a highly disputed strategy, but it seemed to work. Talks resumed, and a peace pact was reached in January 1973.
It is useful to examine where democracy stands today in Vietnam, almost 30 years later. A national obsession for decades, Vietnam has virtually disappeared from the scope of our war on terrorism.
Yes, Vietnam has made some tangible and laudable reforms, chiefly in normalization of diplomatic and trade relations. American business leaders and elected officials understand the value of doing business with Vietnam.
Expansion of trade relations, however, does not mask the tortured path to democracy. As is the case with China today, some will argue that effective trade relations is a precursor to actual democratization. They will say, ''take it one step at a time,'' and they are not entirely wrong. However, patience has its limitations. The Bush administration must ask how long it will take to build democracy. Indeed, when will we know that Vietnam is getting serious about it?
Just days before the events of Sept. 11, the House of Representatives passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act by a 410-1 vote. The act would make granting non-humanitarian aid conditioned upon Vietnam's human rights performance. It would also assist democratic forces in the country, while authorizing additional funding for Radio Free Asia to penetrate jamming by the Vietnamese government.
The bill has been bottled up in the Senate for more than three months. If we've learned anything since Sept. 11 it is that our ideals transcend commerce. Yes, open markets are integral to our system, but human rights are indispensable. And Vietnam's record, under an elderly and repressive regime, would not meet the standards of most Americans.
Let's look at the facts: Vietnam has yet to evolve beyond the tyranny of one-party rule. The Communist Party remains the official voice of some 80 million people. Before Russia, the Czech Republic, and other reform-minded states got serious about democracy, they rejected one-party rule and opened their systems to the ballot box.
Vietnam's persecution of its Montagnard population also continues without hesitation. Earlier this fall, 14 Protestant Montagnards from the Central Highlands were sentenced for up to 12 years in prison for participating in protests calling for religious freedom. Their trials were closed and lasted one day. In October, Father Nguyen Van Ly was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His crime? He has advocated a brand of Catholicism not sanctioned by the government, assisted in flood relief measures not approved by the government, and advanced democratic reforms not welcomed.
Last month Vietnam deported two German nationals for attempting to preach political and religious freedom. This followed the deportation of a Belgian national earlier in the year for wanting to meet with a detained Buddhist dissident, as well as the removal of a Norwegian parliamentarian after he dared to meet with Father Ly and others. Shades of the Taliban?
What is Hanoi's reaction to those who oppose its repression of political, religious, and press freedoms? It makes them very nervous. They tell us to mind our own business. They even placed blame for the events of Sept. 11 on what they call ''isolationist US foreign policy.''
Two days after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, the official People's Army Daily condemned America's chauvinism and linked it directly to brazen interference by the United States in Vietnam's human rights performance.
OK, so let's not be isolationist. Let us take a firm stand wherever universal human rights are denied. That's why the US Senate must follow the lead of its House colleagues and pass the Vietnam Human Rights Act. That's why Senator John Kerry must act in his capacity as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. With apologies to Calvin Coolidge, the business of America is not just business. Trade relations are a good place to start, but true progress must ultimately reflect the passions of people and not just the promise of profits. That's why human rights can never be just business as usual.