(VOVworld) -The European Parliament on April 18 issued a resolution on human rights in Vietnam saying that Vietnam violates the right to freedom of expression. After that, the US Department of State released a report on the situation of human rights in Vietnam in 2012 with false information and a biased statement of the real situation of human rights in Vietnam. They are erroneous reports, a kind of imposition in international relations which runs counter to the improvement of relations between Vietnam and the US and the European Union.

Remote and mountainous regions have access to the internet (Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)

In a 6-page resolution, the European Parliament stated that Vietnam detained, and conducted unfair trials of several Vietnamese bloggers. The resolution mentioned Nguyen Van Hai, Ta Phong Tan and Phan Thanh Hai, who were imprisoned by the Vietnamese court for disseminating information against the Vietnamese Socialist Republic State. The resolution stated that Vietnam controlls internet and blogs restricting people’s freedom to express their opinions and differences publicly. Meanwhile the US Department of State’s annual report, which seems to be imposed by a political prejudice and based on intentionally biased information about Vietnam, continues to consider Vietnam as an authoritarian state, where citizens’ political rights and rights to freedom of speech, press and religion are limited.

The US, which gives itself the right to judge other countries’ human rights, has neglected violations of human rights in the US. Within the US, there are human rights-related problems, in particular gun related crimes which threaten people’s lives and safety. Due to the power of the pro-gun lobby, the US government has not been able to control guns effectively, resulting in hundreds of reported deaths each year. The US leads 17 other developed countries in the number of gun-related deaths. In addition, poverty in the US has gotten worse since the global financial crisis in 2008 and the gap between the rich and the poor keeps growing. The US continually violates human rights in other countries by intervening in their national sovereignty. From 2001 to 2011, the US led an anti-terrorism war in Iraq and Afghanistan that killed between 14,000 and 110,000 people each year. The US has drawn strong reactions from other countries. As a result, it was dismissed from the International Human Rights Committee at its 57^th session of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva in 2011.

In the past few years, Vietnam has made considerable progress in ensuring human rights in politics, economics, culture and society, including undeniable achievements in implementing the UN Millennium Development Goals, reducing poverty, improving people’s living conditions and implementing conventions on protecting women and children’s rights. Vietnam’s Human Development Index has steadily increased in recent years. The UNDP’s 2013 Human Development Report released on April 17 indicates that Vietnam ranks 3^rd among ASEAN countries and 48^th in the world in terms of gender equality. In addition, the Vietnamese State guarantees Vietnamese citizens’ right to mastery, freedom of speech, press, meeting and religion in its Constitution and laws.

Referring to isolated cases, which don’t fully reflect the situation in Vietnam, the US and the European Parliament subjectively describe the situation in Vietnam. although Vietnam has held dialogues on human rights with both the US and the EU, in which all parties have frankly and constructively discussed their perception of human rights in each country.

In fact, there are certain differences in the perception of human rights by Vietnam and by the US, the EU and other countries, which are due to cultural differences, historical traditions, and level of development. The exercise of human rights in each country must be based on its history, culture, religion, beliefs and socio-economic situation.  No country can be taken as a model of human rights for others. Both the US and the EU were wrong to impose their human rights standard on Vietnam. This imposition runs counter to efforts to strengthen understanding between Vietnam and other countries and undermines cooperation between Vietnam and the US and the EU.