Bush Pushes Vietnam Leader On Human Rights

(CBS/AP)  As hundreds of protestors across the street called for the release of political prisoners in Vietnam, President Bush voiced similar concerns at the end of his Oval Office meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet.

"In order for relations to grow deeper, that it's important for our friends to have a strong commitment to human rights and freedom and democracy," he said.

The Vietnamese leader said he's willing to discuss those matters — but hopes they don't impair the larger overall relationship with the U.S., CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports.

Neither leader took questions during the appearance.

Triet is the first leader of his country to visit the White House since the end of the Vietnam War. But some fellow Vietnamese were not rolling out the welcome mat.

Hundreds were outside the White House carrying the flag of the old South Vietnam, as well as banners calling the Vietnamese president a criminal. CBS News correspondent Peter Maer says it was certainly one of the largest demonstrations against a visiting foreign leader in Washington in a long time.

"The young generation, they just want freedom, they just want freedom of speech, they just want freedom of expression," one woman told Maer.

"Minh Triet, go home! Minh Triet, go home!" others shouted.

Republican lawmakers have urged Mr. Bush to encourage President Triet to make stronger efforts to stop what they describe as widespread abuse of Vietnam's citizens.

"Societies are enriched when people are allowed to express themselves freely or worship freely," Mr. Bush said in the Oval Office after the meeting with Triet.

Mr. Bush said he told Triet, "We want to have good relations with Vietnam."

As dozens of protesters outside the White House waved flags, Triet said the two presidents had a "direct and open" conversation about human rights.

"Our approach is that we would increase our dialogue so that we will have a better understanding of each other," Triet said through an interpreter.

He said he is determined not to let differences on the issue damage overall relations.

Triet has attempted to keep the focus on vibrant trade ties between the United States and one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. The countries began a bilateral trade agreement in 2001; trade reached nearly $10 billion last year.

Triet is leading a delegation of more than 100 Vietnamese businessmen. He signed with the United States on Thursday a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which sometimes acts as a road map to eventual free trade negotiations.

But during an hour-long private meeting Thursday, senior U.S. lawmakers repeatedly took Triet to task for claims by rights groups that Vietnam has ramped up repression of political activists and religious leaders.

"Human rights was overwhelmingly the dominant issue," Republican Rep. Ed Royce said. "We've got to see a stop to this conduct if this relationship is going to improve."

When asked about Triet's response, Royce answered: "Evasion."

Vietnam tolerates no challenges to Communist one-party rule; it insists, however, that only lawbreakers are jailed. In recent months, Vietnam has arrested or sentenced at least eight pro-democracy activists, including a dissident Roman Catholic priest who was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Rep. Roy Blunt, the No. 2 House Republican, said Triet told lawmakers that Vietnam "had lots of human rights, but the dissidents were somehow endangering the security of the country. We pressed hard for more information about exactly what that means."

Triet, in a speech to business leaders before the congressional meeting, avoided any mention of human rights. He called for more U.S. business investment in his fast-growing country and said the government was working hard to smooth out difficulties that some U.S. companies have experienced.

"We will do our best to help you," Triet told the audience. "We are striving to create a friendly business environment."

Triet said talk of the war was outdated. "Vietnam is peace. Vietnam is friendship. Vietnam is developing dynamically and creatively," he said through an interpreter.

Sherman Katz, a senior associate in international trade at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Vietnam has "got to be aware that part of the price of doing business with the United States, if you expect the U.S. government to help you, is to clean up some of these" human rights problems.

In Los Angeles, Triet's next stop, hundreds of protesters, most of them Vietnamese émigrés critical of the communist leader and his government's human rights record, are expected to demonstrate.

[wfbdem]

"Bush Pushes Vietnam Leader On Human Rights"


Wait...
The only way this makes headline makes sense is if bush is complaning that Vietnam has too many human rights. He probably is complaining that they are not torturing their suspects enough.

[cybergrace7]

Human rights start at home. If Bush really cares about human rights, the U.S. government should stop shielding the 37 U.S. chemical companies survivors of Agent Orange poisoning have sued in a brave class action suit. Widespread, knowledgeable, racist agent orange poisoning of the Vietnamese people is the largest human right violation going on in Vietnam today. Hundreds of thousands of severely deformed children of vets are living a life sentence, without resources for basic rehabilitation, or schools or healthcare for their needs. The unfathomable amount of suffering of deformed children of vets is an unbearable human right. Bush, listen and help these innocent victims.

[cybergrace7]

There are dated memos, actual proof, that US manufacturers of Agent Orange, knew that this so-called pesticide was contaminated with dioxin and an actual human poison. Why should chemical company executives be able to make so much money off of killing Vietnamese? The memos bluntly state "the dioxin is being dumped on 'the enemy'." Didn't the concentration camps in WWII teach us that we have to treat our enemy with the basics of humanity-- the right to life? Companies who profit off of war are immoral, but companies who make super-profits off of gross violations of human rights should have to give back the super-profits they made. All is NOT fair in war.

[hypnotoad72]

How about the ability to have a job and earn a living?

Offshoring has only hurt Americans. And America.

[peacethinker-2009]

We should keep asking them to improve human rights and release political prisoners. We should also admit our spraying of Agent Orange caused thousands of sad birth defects and other problems to those people, apologize for it, i.e. knowing it was a dangerous chemical compound and doing it anyway.

[hungry1968]

"Triet has attempted to keep the focus on vibrant trade ties between the United States and one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. The countries began a bilateral trade agreement in 2001; trade reached nearly $10 billion last year."

Oh good - another trade deficit for the US. Pretty soon we won't be exporting any of our products anywhere.


"In order for relations to grow deeper, that it's important for our friends to have a strong commitment to human rights and freedom and democracy," he said.

Bush said that? Did he get hit by lightening? Did his lips start on fire? Frigg*in hypocrite.


Rep. Roy Blunt, the No. 2 House Republican, said Triet told lawmakers that Vietnam "had lots of human rights, but the dissidents were somehow endangering the security of the country. We pressed hard for more information about exactly what that means."

Sounds like the Bush and the people on this message board that support him. It's no problem for Bush though - he can just rip another chunk out of the Constitution.

[oldpilot954]

I keep hearing two themes in this thread -- Gitmo and money. While I do not approve or in anyway condone the mistreatment of prisoners, I know of no past war or conflict when such things did not occur. This isn't something Bush dreamed up -- he just didn't stop it when he should have. We have information reporting today that was not available in the past. When the Cherokees were pushed out of their homes in the late 1840s, or Sherman marched to the sea during the civil war, or the Native Americans were captured in the west, or people of German descent were abused during WWI, or people of Japanese descent were held in WWII nobody really knew about it and most (as today) didn't care. That doesn't mean we shouldn't change it but let's drop this idea that it is new. It's just more formalized and better reported now.
As for financial motivation -- I was mad when we opened trade with China and I'll probably be mad about Vietnam too. But if I want to buy my new shirt for $15 instead of $45, someone in a foreign country is going to be enslaved. You can't pay union wages and deliver a product as cheap as we can buy them now. Until America's social conscience gets so sensitive that it says "I" will do without new clothes and live within my income, people in other countries wiil have to work in the sweatshops of the world.

[my2centss]

Let's stop worrying about human rights in Cuba, Vietnam, Venezuela, and the rest until we stop supporting the biggest violator of them all China.

[toldyouso21]

Torture/Gitmo/rendition/WP on civilian boy pushing for human rights? Almost as hypocritical as him and Blair pretending to be brokers for peace in the Middle East while giving Israel bombs to kill civilians in Lebanon.

[sharncedar]

"Triet is leading a delegation of more than 100 Vietnamese businessmen."

"He signed with the United States on Thursday a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement,"

Do you folks even read the articles. Trust me, this event has nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing whatsoever to do with human rights. The "human rights" angle means nothing at all, it is a smokescreen to get really, really, really stupid people like yourselves to ignore the actual purpose of the Vietnam butcher's visit, which is to get a massive new trade concession from the United States. Which they got. They came here to sign a document giving them more access to take American jobs. They did that. The "human rights" talk is nothing, its not a document, its not genuine, its for the cameras only. Did ya even read the article?

"Triet is leading a delegation of more than 100 Vietnamese businessmen."

What about that don't you get? Do you really actually think anyone in America's leadership is concerned about "human rights" in Vietnam? They are concerned about getting reelected, and to get reelected, they need money from business, and business wants a free trade agreement with Vietnam. So the butcher of Vietnam came here to meet with businesses and sign an agreement.