The Ho Chi Minh City Security Agency on September 21 decided to suspend investigations and expel Do Cong Thanh – a Vietnamese American – from the Vietnamese territory. Thanh was arrested on September 14 on a charge of harmful acts against Vietnam’s national security.

Although the Thai army staged a coup d’etat with little violence, the event has caused disruption in people’s lives, negatively affecting the Thai economy. No forecast has been made so far but many analysts believe that Thailand’s ailing economy will suffer a great shock from serious political upheaval.

The US Department of State has just released its annual International Religious Freedom Report 2006 with biased remarks on Vietnam’s religious freedom, saying the country continues violating its citizens’ religious freedom. It sounds like a replay of the same old allegations, running counter to the growing ties between Vietnam and the US.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)- a New York-based human rights organisation has made slanderous allegations against Vietnam over what it called “repression of dissidents in Vietnam”. These slanderous allegations have blatantly distorted the human rights situation in Vietnam in an attempt to deter Vietnam’s international integration efforts and undermine cooperative relations between Vietnam and the US.

The 14th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit which takes place in Havana, Cuba, from September 15-16, is the centrepiece of the world these days as it has attracted up to 3,000 heads of State, governments and senior officials from 115 out of the 116 member countries of the organisation. The Vietnamese delegation to the summit is led by State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

The great success of the sixth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 6) has opened up a new era in cooperative relations between the two continents- the sustainable partnership of mutual development for the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world.

The host country of Finland and ASEM member countries praised Vietnam’s active participation in ASEM 6, which significantly contributed to further raising Vietnam’s position in the international arena as well as at the ASEM forums, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Many public opinions hold that President Bush’s so-called anti-terrorist doctrine has caused widespread antipathy towards the US and pro-US western countries. A recent poll showed two thirds of New Yorkers were very worried that there would be another terrorist attack on the city like the ones on September 11, 2001.

Heads of State and Government from the 39 member countries of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) began their 6th summit in Helsinki, Finland on September 10. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung delivered a speech reviewing the ASEM process after the fifth summit in Hanoi and proposing future orientations for the grouping.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s working visits to the EC and Belgium are aimed at raising Vietnam’s position and prestige in Europe to help strengthen Vietnam’s relations with the EC and Belgium, as well as building a comprehensive and sustainable partnership for the sake of peace, cooperation and prosperous development in the spirit of long-term stability and mutual trust.