Dear all,
On International Human Rights Day, we, former prisoners of conscience in Vietnam, together with all members of the Vietnamese Bloggers' Network (VBN), would like to sincerely thank you for voicing your concerns, and fighting for the freedom of prisoners of conscience as well as supporting our efforts to improve human rights in Vietnam over the past year.
International pressure on the Vietnamese government to respect human rights is crucially necessary; especially after Vietnam has become a member of the United Nations' Human Rights Council, and the Vietnamese leaders want to improve the country's image in order to develop more diplomatic and economic ties and to gain acceptance in the world community.
By supporting our struggle for human rights, international organizations and democratic governments are sending a clear message that confirms your beliefs that all universal human rights must be respected, and must exist in every country. This is also an encouragement for us, prisoners of conscience, and human rights activists in Vietnam. From your expression of concerns, we know that we are not alone in our struggle for human rights.
Today, after more than a year that Vietnam has become a country member of the United Nations' Human Rights Council, not only our human rights situation does not improve but on the contrary, it is increasingly worsening. Most notably is the abusive use of Article 258 by the government to arbitrarily arrest its citizens; among them recently are bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh, Hong Le Tho, and writer Nguyen Quang Lap.
We earnestly urge all free, democratic governments and UN Human Rights Council to apply legitimate pressure and appropriate sanctions to compel the Republic of Socialist Vietnam to abolish Article 258 - a law with ambiguous and overbroad content that has allowed the authorities to deduce arbitrary arrest against any of its citizens.
Moreover, we respectfully call upon you to compel the Vietnamese government to act and behave accordingly to the role and duty of a country member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and to support us in our defence of the rights of Vietnamese citizens who are detained, or imprisoned merely for exercising their freedom of expression and peaceful struggle for human rights.
In response to this year theme of the United Nations' Human Rights Council on the International Human Rights Day with its slogan: "Human Rights 365", depicting that every day is Human Rights Day, we pledge to continue our struggle for human rights until the day when "each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values".
In order for that day to be realized, we urgently ask for your continuing support and to help us end impunity and hold government officials and perpetrators accountable for their abuses of human rights.
Please continue to walk with us on our chosen path for our common cause so that every day, everywhere, everyone is entitled to live freely, and equally with their integrity intact.
Please accept our deepest gratitude.
Members of the Vietnamese Bloggers' Network (VBN) and the following undersigned former prisoners of conscience:
Đỗ Thị Minh Hạnh
Lê Công Định
Lê Minh Triết
Lê Thị Công Nhân
Ngô Quỳnh
Nguyễn Bắc Truyển
Nguyễn Đan Quế
Nguyễn Phương Uyên
Nguyễn Tiến Trung
Nguyễn Trung Tôn
Nguyễn Văn Đài
Nguyễn Văn Hải (Điếu Cày)
Nguyễn Văn Thơ
Nguyễn Vũ Bình
Nguyễn Xuân Nghĩa
Phạm Bá Hải
Phạm Chí Dũng
Phạm Minh Hoàng
Phạm Thanh Nghiên
Phan Thị Tiềm
Phạm Văn Trội
Rev. Phan Văn Lợi
Tô Văn Mãnh
Trần Đức Thạch
Trần Văn Thiệp
Trương Minh Đức
Vũ Văn Hùng
Võ Văn Bửu
Võ Văn Thanh Liêm
Võ Văn Thanh Long