Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-05-15-Speech-4-152"
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"en.20030515.9.4-152"2
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". – Mr President, the Commission's overall policy towards Vietnam is to encourage and support continued progress on human rights and democratisation and to raise concerns where abuses occur or where a deterioration in the situation becomes evident.
I thank all honourable Members of the European Parliament for their very valuable and good speeches.
The Commission works closely with EU Member States in monitoring human rights developments in the country and participates in all démarches to the Government of Vietnam on human rights issues. I can assure honourable Members that the Commission and EU Member States have repeatedly urged the government of Vietnam to strengthen its respect for political and religious freedoms and to further strengthen economic and social freedoms.
Article 1 of the European Community and Vietnam Cooperation Agreement of 1995 states that respect for human rights and democratic principles is the basis of our cooperation. This reference has given the Commission increased possibilities to discuss human rights issues with Vietnam, for example in joint committee meetings held under the agreement.
With the aim of encouraging and supporting the continued commitment of the government of Vietnam to human rights issues, the Commission is currently considering proposing a further reinforcement of the relations in this field. This could be done through the establishment of a mechanism for a structured human rights dialogue, taking account of the experience gained with dialogues that the EU has already established with other countries.
Let me recall that the Constitution of Vietnam guarantees freedom of belief and religion and that the Vietnamese Government officially recognises six religions. The Constitution also specifies that it is forbidden to violate freedom of belief or religion or to take advantage of it, or to act against the laws or policies of the state. This provision is attributed to the desire of the Vietnamese authorities to control the pace of change and to maintain cohesion in their society during the process of transition to a market economy. However, it may also be used against non-approved religious groups which, according to the Vietnamese authorities, engage in political activities or are potential elements of disunity.
Reports of harassment of Christians in Vietnam, especially the Montagnards and Hmong Christians, have increased since the violent uprising in the Central Highlands in 2001, in which some religious groups were reportedly implicated. A number of so far unconfirmed reports since then have alleged repeated actions by local official forces aimed at forcing highlanders to renounce their faith.
Commission President Prodi and Commissioner Patten discussed the situation in the Central Highlands with Vietnam's Prime Minister, Phan Van Khai, during his visit to the Commission last September. They agreed that the Commission would explore, under its financial cooperation programme, specific activities involving, inter alia, ethnic minorities to reduce poverty in the Central Highlands and thus to deal with some of the root causes of problems in the area. A preparatory mission of experts is currently in the field.
As Mr Dupuis has already mentioned, recent, promising, positive signals have been sent out by the Vietnamese Government regarding the still unrecognised Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. There has been a meeting between Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and the Supreme Patriarch, the Venerable Thich Huyen Quang. A meeting between the Patriarch and the Venerable Thich Quang Do, another prominent leader of the Unified Buddhist Church, has also been authorised. Although no change with regard to the church's legal status has so far taken place, we believe that these events, as mentioned, are encouraging steps towards enhanced tolerance of religious freedom in Vietnam.
Let me conclude by emphasising that I am convinced that what is needed in Vietnam is continued and more rapid progress in the country's reform programme so that the administration would learn to deal with a wider range of use and appreciate the value of accommodating dissent in the system of government."@en1
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