Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-16-Speech-4-161"
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"en.20001116.9.4-161"2
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"Mr President, I am delighted that Vietnam is on the agenda at last. It has taken a long time. I feel that special praise must go to Mr Dupuis for his assiduousness in this respect, because otherwise we might have had to wait even longer.
What do we see in Vietnam? We see a country whose people are becoming more liberal whilst the powers that be are old men who cling for dear life to old ways. It is so tragic, because Vietnam is a country with so much potential. It has a dynamic, healthy and well-educated population. It has natural resources such as oil, fish, coffee, rice and timber. You feel like telling those old men to open the door and success will flood in. Instead, we see a complete lack of press freedom and ongoing political oppression. Just look at how the dissident Ha Is Phu was treated.
I am fully aware that the Vietnam debate is historically charged. We must be careful what we say about Vietnam, or at least that has been customary hitherto. After all, the West has had a certain level of involvement in the country. It is historically charged and naturally it is an awkward situation. When it comes to human rights, we cannot say whether the glass is half full or half empty. The glass is not full in Vietnam. That is what it is all about. We work with Vietnam; it is our partner, and so we cannot afford to keep our lips sealed about the situation there."@en1
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