U.S. lawmakers blast Viet Nam for rights violations in advance of PM’s June meeting with Bush

In an article published on Asian Fortune News.com, Jackie Bong-Wright reports on a June 19 Capitol Hill press conference that saw Members of Congress and human rights advocates, including the Leadership Council for Human Rights, denounce the Vietnamese government for its record of abuses.

Speaking just days before Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung discussed bilateral cooperation at a White House meeting with President Bush, the lawmakers and activists took Hanoi to task for violations related to, among other issues, religious freedom, political prisoners, freedom of the press, and human trafficking.

“The thugs in Hanoi continue to imprison and torture at will,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). “The regime must be held accountable for its actions.”

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