White House to maintain concern over Viet Nam crackdown

White House to maintain concern over Viet Nam crackdown

During the planned late June visit by Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, President Bush is expected to personally confront the issue of jailed dissidents amidst the crackdown on democracy in Viet Nam, Reuters reported today.

“The United States and Vietnam have seen enormous progress in their relationship over the past several years,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino. She added, “President Bush will also express his deep concern over the recent increase of arrests and detentions of peaceful democracy activists in Vietnam, and note that such actions will inevitably limit the growth of bilateral ties.”

With the removal of Viet Nam from country of particular concern designation under a U.S. religious rights blacklist in 2006 and the accession into the WTO, Hanoi has continued to deny allegations of a crackdown from international human rights organizations.

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