Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi (VNA) – The Viet Nam Human Rights Acts (H.R 1587), approved by the US House of Representatives on July 14, runs counter to the general development trend in the relationship between Viet Nam and the US, Ton Nu Thi Ninh, vice chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Commission for External Relations, told the daily Tuoi Tre newspaper on Wednesday.

Ninh cited the two countries’ cooperation in trade, education and culture, saying that last year, the US became Viet Nam’s largest commercial partner, with bilateral trade reaching 6 billion USD; the Vietnamese Education Fund has sent hundreds of students to the US; and a painting exhibition by Vietnamese artists has just been opened in Washington following an exhibition on Vietnamese culture in the Museum of Natural History in New York. Additionally, she said, the two countries have collaborated in fighting terrorism and drug crimes.

The newspaper quoted her as saying that during the live-broadcast debate at the House of Representatives about the H.R 1587, Rob Simmons said the House discussed three resolutions relating to human rights and religious freedom in Viet Nam in this session whilst ignoring countries where the human rights situation is of greater concern. He said it was unfair to Viet Nam.

Asked about whether the US Senate will approve the act, Ninh said the senators are said to pay attention to strategic and long-lasting issues and the Viet Nam Human Rights Act of 2001 was not debated in the Senate. However, she noted that the political situation in the US this year is very complicated due to the upcoming elections, making it harder to predict anything. She stressed that the fight against the act should be based on the building of a sustainable, mutually benefitting long-term cooperation between the two countries.