(VOVworld) – The US city of Santa Ana, California, has adopted a resolution discouraging officials from Vietnam from visiting or passing through the city.
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| Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Hanoi on July 10, 2012 |
Mayor Miguel Pulido on February 19th signed a resolution discouraging representatives and officials from Vietnam from visiting Santa Ana city. Vietnamese officials will be required to inform the Major and City Council at least 14 days before a visit. The city asserted its right to charge any entity that initiates official visits for any costs that Santa Ana might incur. This is an administrative regulation in Santa Ana, where many Vietnamese-American people are living.
Resolution 55B has no expiration date, but states that Santa Ana will discourage official visits until the State Department or international organizations find that Vietnam has improved its human rights record and respects basic civil rights.
Mayor Pulido told VOA on February 20 that the resolution is a promise of solidarity with the Vietnamese American community. It refuses to welcome Vietnamese officials to oppose human rights violations in Vietnam. Pulido said he hopes other states and cities will follow suit and issue similar resolutions to support human rights in Vietnam.
It’s plain that Resolution 55B is designed only to satisfy some Vietnamese-American people in Santa Ana. In reality, Vietnam has not violated human rights. The rights of Vietnamese people, such as the right to live, to work, to study, and freedom of speech and belief, are guaranteed by the Constitution, law, and in reality. Vietnam’s human rights record has been acknowledged by the international community, in human right reports, in evaluations by countries including the US, and by eyewitnesses in Vietnam.
The Vietnam – US relationship has been improving since 1995 when the two countries normalized relations. Many American leaders, including Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung have visited the other country. The two countries have enhanced multi-faceted cooperation. 2 million Vietnamese people living in the US have integrated well with the local community including those in Santa Ana city.
In recent years, tens of thousands of Vietnamese people have traveled to the US to study, do business, visit relatives, or vacation. Many Americans including diplomats, war veterans, and students, have come to Vietnam on national programs of reconciliation and resolving war aftermaths or to perform charitable activities. This reality is stronger than any city resolution undercutting the relationship between the two peoples. This resolution to discourage visits by Vietnamese officials is woefully out of step with the broad direction of Vietnam – US development.