This organisation says that they will approach the Vietnamese Government’s new leadership members to demand that Vietnam stop detaining dissidents and allow a multiparty system.

Its statement about the human rights situation in Vietnam is still based on the old argument of hostile forces which bear grudges against Vietnam.

The only difference is that they have put forward very unreasonable demands, raising the question about who they want to protect. Their argument that a number of Vietnamese are being detained for their dissident views against the State is a brazen slander.

It must be reiterated that there are no political prisoners in Vietnam- people are only detained for violating State laws and policies. The detention of such people according to the law only aims to help them get back on the straight and narrow soon.

Upholding the national traditions of humanity and leniency, the Vietnamese State has never issued a policy of discrimination or revenge against any social groups including those who are antagonistic.

The HRW should not label those charged with committing acts of sabotage against the State and undermining national security as people with dissident views against the Government.

The deliberate attempt to blur the two concepts shows that the HRW is not acting for human rights - on the contrary it is aiding and abetting hostile forces to pursue their scheme of denying the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and undermining the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In so doing, the HRW is running counter to its professed goal of protecting the true values of human rights and struggling against forces which are violating human rights.

The HRW’s demand for the Vietnamese State to change its political system by allowing a multiparty system is an insult to the iron will of every Vietnamese patriot. Between being a single party or a multi-party system is the right of each nation to decide and it is not a criterion for democracy or human rights.

The United Nations has acknowledged the rights of equality and self-determination of all nations as a basic principle of international laws, according to which they have the rights to decide on their own political system as well as economic, cultural and social affairs without interference by outside forces.

History shows that many countries with multiparty systems have committed serious acts of violating human rights and trampling on the rights of self-determination of other nations. Meanwhile, many other countries with a single-party regime have recorded tremendous achievements in protecting and developing fundamental human rights.

Singapore is a case in point. It is considered as a country with a sound economy under a civilized and democratic regime in Southeast Asia.

During the past 70 years, especially in the past 20 years of Doi Moi (renovation), Vietnamese people have made outstanding achievements under the Party’s leadership. The country has been successful in maintaining an economic growth rate of more than 7 percent, thus bringing about remarkable improvements to living standards.

Vietnam’s achievements in developing human rights have been acknowledged and praised by UN organisations. In that context, the slanderous statement about Vietnam’s violations of human rights can cut no ice with the general public.

Vietnam’s history makes it clear that in its leadership platform, the Communist Party of Vietnam has no other goal than that of bringing its people happiness where human dignities are respected in an environment of peace, independence and safety. That is a foundation of the people’s belief and confidence in their party and it is also a constitutional principle that needs to be respected by other nations and international organisations.

It is high time the HRW presented an objective and correct view on human rights in Vietnam and stopped allowing other forces to make bad use of its prestige and image in the international community.