This was the second time the US House of Representatives ratified the Vietnam Human Rights Act coded H.R. 3096. Both the previous bill and the Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2007 were under the auspices of Christopher Henry Smith and a number of congressmen from the Republican Party who made false allegations about the human rights issue in Vietnam. According to them, the human rights situation in Vietnam is terribly degrading. They even blamed Vietnam for conducting brutal and extraordinary repressions like Guantanamo Bay detention camp’s acts against those who claimed to be “fighting for democratic freedom”. Such slanderous allegations are an insult to not only the Vietnamese people but also law enforcement agents who are sparing no effort to safeguard and maintain stability and peace in the country.

Those who claimed to be fighting for human rights are none other than Thich Quang Do and Nguyen Khac Toan who had colluded with other reactionaries in the country to incite land-related petitioners to demonstrate in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

There was no denying that those reactionaries had gathered information about petitions to send to hostile forces and anti-Vietnam organisations abroad and helped them set up what they called the Hoa Mai club, the petitioner support committee and the Tan Viet party in the US. So far, these organisations have sent more than US$20,000 to petitioners in Vietnam and planned to transfer an additional US$30,000 to them later.

Hostile forces have attempted to use domestic reactionaries to cause social disorder and carry out a “colour revolution” against the State of Vietnam. For most Vietnamese people, the acts by Thich Quang Do and Nguyen Khac Toan showed that they are just reactionaries in the hands of political opportunists. It is absolutely necessary for law enforcement agents in Vietnam as well as in other countries over the world to defend the regime against wrongful and dangerous acts. The Party and State of Vietnam are making every effort to protect the noble values of human rights they have strived for over the past 62 years.

However, the authors of the Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2007 went to extreme lengths to distort Vietnam’s efforts in protecting and promoting human rights. Even the Associated Press (AP) reported on September 18 that the H.R. 3096, introduced by Senator Christopher Henry Smith, was just a reaction to Vietnam’s recent success in uncovering a plot by Buddhist abuser Thich Quang Do and reactionary forces in exile to cause social disorder in the country.

That also explained why the Act contained unreasonable provisions banning an increase in US non-humanitarian assistance to Vietnam over fiscal year 2007 levels but demanding an allocation of US$4 million over two years for organisations and individuals that “promote human rights in Vietnam”.

It is clear that the authors of the H.R. 3096 intended to use aid as a means to carry out political plots. Such legislation will not only make mutual assistance for mutual cooperation and development become meaningless but also badly affect the relationship between the two countries.

Vietnam has been praised by the United Nations for its remarkable achievements in poverty reduction. The UK’s Economist newspaper said in its March 29 issue that Vietnam was all smiles. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on May 10 placed Vietnam 35^th among 121 most peaceful countries. However, the proof of human rights development in Vietnam was not taken into consideration when the US House of Representatives adopted the so-called Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2007. In so doing, the House of Representatives proved to be neither subjective nor respectful of reality.