U.S. citizens released from Viet Nam

Three U.S. citizens have been released from Viet Nam, including a couple accused of carrying a handgun and bullets at the Ho Chi Minh City airport, and a pro-democracy activist, Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday.

Le Van Phan and his wife Nguyen Thi Thinh, a Vietnamese-American couple, were called “terrorists” by state media after their arrest on November 23. Leon Truong, a member of the California-based Viet Tan party, was arrested on November 17 with five other activists, including another Vietnamese-American, a French woman, a Thai citizen and two Vietnamese nationals.

The other Vietnamese-American arrested, Nguyen Quoc Quan, “is still in custody and we haven’t received a formal notification of charges brought against him,” Steve Royster, spokesman for the State Department’s consular affairs division, said.

Loretta Sanchez, Democratic legislator from California, said “it is appalling to me these arrests ever happened,” and called for the immediate release of Nguyen.

“When will the harassment, the arrest of the U.S. citizens, and the harassment and jailing of the Vietnamese people end,” she asked at a news conference on Capitol Hill, accusing Hanoi of human rights abuses against its own citizens.

Viet Nam has stated that it only prosecutes people who break the law, and not political activists, although provisions ban anti-state propaganda.

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Arrests of U.S. citizens in Viet Nam confirmed by U.S. officials

American officials confirmed reports that Viet Nam has detained four U.S. citizens, Agence France-Presse reported Tuesday.

The statements were made after the officials gained their first consular access to two of the detainees.

Police arrested six pro-democracy activists in Ho Chi Minh City on November 17, two of whom were U.S. citizens. The activists are members of the California-based Viet Tan party, which the Vietnamese government considers a terrorist organization.

Two more Vietnamese-Americans were arrested on November 23 at the city’s airport, according to reports by state-controlled media that labeled the detainees “terrorists.” They were reportedly found carrying a handgun and bullets. Viet Tan has denied any link with these individuals.

Viet Tan has charged that Viet Nam, having arrested peaceful activists, “had to fabricate a link with two individuals who allegedly smuggled a firearm into Vietnam in order to paint Viet Tan as a terrorist organization.”

Speaking about the arrests during a visit to Hanoi Tuesday, U.S. senior diplomat Stephen Mull said: “We do hope that people are not charged with terrorism just for expressing their opinions peacefully.”

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Activist speaks out against possible attack on Iran

The idea of attacking Iran must be condemned by the international community, Iranian human rights activist and journalist Akbar Ganji said Tuesday, CanWest News Service reported the same day.

“Beating the drum of war, even as a theoretical possibility, places the Iranian people at a crossroads,” he said. “This is exactly what the Islamic republic’s fundamentalist rulers hope to see.”

In 2000, Ganji was arrested in Iran under charges of “propaganda against the regime and its institutions” after writing a series of articles that connected government officials and senior conservative clerics with the killings of scholars and dissidents in 1998.

Ganji condemned the idea of placing economic sanctions on Iran, saying they will only hurt Iranians, not cause any change in the policies of the government.

He also reprimanded the United States on its “double standards” in making agreements with dictators, and for making military threats that are unjustified.

Bombing Iranian infrastructure won’t improve democracy, security or human rights in the country, Ganji says, “But it will certainly enflame fundamentalism both in Iran and the region.”

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The Center for American Progress addresses 'turmoil in Pakstan'

The Center for American Progress held a presentation November 30 on the “Turmoil in Pakistan: Implications for U.S. Security.” Lawrence Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, mediated, and panelists included Senator Tom Daschle, a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; Robert Hathaway, the director for the Asia Division at the Woodrow Wilson Center; and Robert Grenier, the managing director at Kroll, Inc. and former CIA chief of station in Islamabad.

Given the current situation in Pakistan, Hathaway said there is no going back to where the United States or Pakistan was at the beginning of the year. Daschle, who visited Pakistan in October before the State of Emergency declaration was made, said that when he was there was “more of a pervasive sense of fear than at any other time,” noting specifically the treatment of the press and the judiciary, as well as the level of activity of intelligence agents at the local level. Circumstances in the country deteriorated across the board between May and October, he explained, adding that extremist elements were taking over, and women’s ability to move freely and participate politically had declined. The situation in Pakistan since then, Daschle said, has become much worse.

The panel focused a great deal on the dismissal of the Supreme Court and the restoration of the judiciary. Daschle described the judiciary as being a political and legal force that provided a counterbalance to Musharraf. According to Hathaway, the U.S. should not call for the restoration of the judges because it will not happen, rather, he said, Washington should call for the formation of a new independent judiciary. Disagreeing with solutions posed by some of the other panelists, Grenier recommended restoring the judiciary in stages, saying that a demand for a complete restoration all at once is unrealistic. The improvement of democracy in Pakistan, he said, is a generational process.

The U.S.’s relationship with Pakistan was discussed in detail, with Grenier saying it is important for the U.S. to be seen as a partner to the people of the country, as well as the military. The panelists agreed that aid should not be suspended, but they added that it should not be unconditional either. Hathaway explained that the U.S. needs to send a message to the people of Pakistan that they can count on the United States. In order to do this, he recommended that the U.S. not support individuals, but a process. As Daschle said: “My real concern is the degree to which the United States is linked to Musharraf.”

The alliance between Pakistan and the United States is largely based on counterterrorism. According to Grenier, however: “To look at counterterrorism in a narrow way in Pakistan is a big mistake.” While senior al-Qaeda cadres have been removed from urban areas in the country, he explained, the tribal areas of Pakistan are much more problematic, with considerable military losses.

According to Daschle, while U.S. involvement in Pakistan has implications, non-involvement does as well. Hathaway expanded on this statement, saying “inaction is not an option” when it comes to Pakistan. He made the recommendation, however, for the U.S. to remain modest in how much of an effect they can have on Pakistan’s politics, due to a lack of leverage on the U.S. side. As Hathaway states, “I doubt there is a ‘made in America’ solution for Pakistan.”

Viet Nam rejects moves by Western nations to place sanctions on Burma

Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet on Wednesday expressed opposition to efforts by Western countries to punish Burma through economic sanctions, saying Viet Nam remembered the pain economic sanctions brought, Agence France-Presse reported today.

“Vietnam experienced war and was slapped with economic sanctions,” Triet said.

“We fully understand the agony people that felt at the time,” he said. “Therefore, we will not support economic sanctions on Myanmar, which are merely a means of making people suffer.”

The United States and European Union have placed sanctions on Burma due to its crackdown on protestors and activists. Countries in Asia, however, have preferred to focus on engaging the military junta, although Japan has cancelled nearly 5 million dollars in aid to the country.

Both Ibrahim Gambari, United Nations special envoy on Myanmar, and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fakuda have asked Viet Nam to support U.N. efforts to resolve the crisis in Burma, with Gambari saying Viet Nam is among the states closest to Myanmar’s regime.

Triet explained that Viet Nam is concerned with the situation in Burma. “We want to try hard to resolve the issue smoothly through cooperation among Vietnam, ASEAN and the United Nations,” he said.

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Rice called on to help secure release of U.S. activist arrested in Viet Nam

U.S. Representatives Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Loretta Sanchez Grove (D-CA), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) have sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking her to help gain the release of two U.S. political activists arrested in Viet Nam, The Honolulu Advertiser reported on November 23.

The U.S. based pro-democracy group Viet Tan stated that Vietnamese police had detained six activists over the weekend, including two U.S. citizens, a French citizen and a Thai citizen.

“We are disappointed to hear that the government of Vietnam has arrested United States citizens in Vietnam for reportedly having a peaceful discussion,” the letter read.

“Not only do we ask you to work to return these United States citizens to the United States, but we ask you to convey to the government of Vietnam that the arbitrary detention of United States citizens is unacceptable.”

Reporters Without Borders also condemned the arrest of the activists, stating: “We call for their immediate release since they were only engaged in peacefully promoting freedom of expression.”

The U.S. Embassy confirmed the arrest of a U.S. citizen, and has requested an interview with him. An investigation into the reason for his detention is also being made.

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Iran reprimands Saudi Arabia for participation in Middle East peace talks

Saudi Arabia’s participation in this week’s U.S.-hosted Middle East peace talks has drawn the ire of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Agence France-Presse reported today.

“The U.S. government, which is an accomplice to Zionist crimes, cannot play the role of savior by hosting the Annapolis conference,” Ahmadinejad told Saudi King Abdullah.

In a telephone conversation with King Abdullah, Ahmadinejad said that he wished Saudi Arabia was not attending the conference with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The conference will be the first time the kingdom will meet with Israel to discuss a peace agreement.

More than a dozen Arab countries have stated they will be sending representatives, including Israeli adversary Syria, a chief ally of Iran. Iraq has not confirmed its presence, and representatives from the Islamist Hamas movement will not be attending.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the conference, predicting that it was “doomed to failure.”

Non-recognition of Israel is one of Iran’s main ideological themes. In response to the meeting, Ahmadinejad has invited leaders of Palestinian factions to Tehran.

The conference will be held Tuesday in Annapolis near Washington, D.C.

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Pakistan's state of emergency puts U.S. in difficult position

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, key U.S. ally in counterterrorism, has imposed a state of emergency in his country, leading to a crackdown on human rights, and prompting protests from angry civilians. TIME featured the story in an article Thursday.

Musharraf has said that he plans to return Pakistan to democracy. However, as the article notes, he has worked against the institutions of a democratic society. On November 3, Musharraf suspended the constitution, suppressed independent media, fired top judges, jailed secular politicians, and sent troops to halt protests in cities.

“Those [Musharraf] has arrested are progressive, secular-minded people, while the terrorists are offered negotiations and cease-fires,” said Asma Jahangir, Pakistan’s best-known human rights activist.

The U.S. government has been allied with Musharraf largely because of his professed dedication to fighting terrorism. The Bush administration, though, has little in the way of real influence over him despite giving Pakistan more than $10 billion in aid since 2001, the article says, and it is unlikely that the U.S. will stop giving aid, because of the country’s key role in counterterrorism.

“We are mindful not to do anything that would undermine counterterrorism efforts,” Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said.

The state of emergency in Pakistan has only helped militants, though, according to the article. Rather than fighting these militant groups, Pakistan’s army and intelligence forces must now devote time, energy and resources to stamping out opposition protests in the cities.

Rumors have been spreading around the country of another coup. Upon hearing about this possibility, Abida Hussain, a former ambassador to the U.S., said: “If there were a coup, it would be the best day for Pakistan.”

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Iranians mark 28th anniversary of seizure of U.S. embassy

Thousands of young Iranians gathered outside the site of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran on Sunday to celebrate the 28th anniversary of its takeover by student radicals, Agence France-Presse reported the same day.

Those gathered shouted slogans such as “Death to America! Death to Israel!” and wore bibs depicting the burning of American and Israeli flags.

“By being here I am doing my religious duty, and by being here I am saying I hate the bullying powers, especially the United States and Israel,” 18-year-old seminary student Esmaeel Mohammadi said.

In a keynote address, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi called the seizure “a great and glorious event” that continues to inspire the Iranian people.

The seizure, which occurred on November 4, 1979, caused the United States to break off diplomatic ties with Iran. Many of the leading participants in the seizure such as Massoumeh Ebtekar, Abbas Abdi, and Mohsen Mirdamadi have become reformists highly critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s conservative government.

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