LETTER OF BLOC 8406
TO THE LEADERS OF ASEM 6
IN HELSINKI, FINLAND
IN SEPTEMBER 2006
IN HELSINKI, FINLAND
IN SEPTEMBER 2006
Viet Nam, August 22, 2006
Honorable Leaders of the ASEM Member Nations,
Last April 8, 2006, we, Vietnamese Citizens living in Viet Nam, made public a Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy in Viet Nam in 2006 and brought it to the attention of the public, both domestically and internationally. For that reason we call ourselves Bloc 8406.
We understand that on September 10th & 11th of this year, the Leaders of Countries belonging to ASEM are going to have a Summit Meeting in Helsinki, Finland with the continued aim of strengthening the relationship between the Countries of the two Regions through dialogue, addressing political, economic and cultural issues. ASEM has already made significant contributions to the People of Asia and Europe and to the People of the world at large. The Human Dimension is an important part of the ASEM process. Thus, we, the Vietnamese People, would like to take this opportunity to address issues of concern to the ordinary Citizens of Viet Nam.
Viet Nam is one of the very few nations remaining one-party dictatorial regimes left on this planet. This one-party monopoly is established in Article 4 of the current Vietnamese Constitution, which makes sure that the current Regime has no competition and no fear of being replaced. Resolution No. 1481 of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) dated January 25, 2006, addresses the central problems with such a regime. The Leaders of Viet Nam’s Government as well as the Members of Viet Nam’s National Assembly are not selected by the Vietnamese People through truly free elections, but are in fact picked out beforehand by the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV). They represent only the CPV, not the Vietnamese People. That is why it is impossible for you, during the ASEM dialogues, to hear the true voice of the ordinary Citizens of Viet Nam.
We understand that a goal of ASEM is to help Member Nations build more stable, rule-by-law political systems. That is precisely what the Vietnamese People also yearn for. Despite the Vietnamese government’s claims, Viet Nam does not have a system resembling this in any way. History has shown over and over that a pluralistic, multiparty government is a necessary precursor to any rule-by-law system. Thus, we are calling for the following :
1- Viet Nam must replace completely the current oligarchic political system and convert to a pluralist, multi-party political system, incorporating wholesome political competition. We, Bloc 8406, advocate that this can be achieved through peace and non-violence.
2- Viet Nam must adopt a system in which the three branches, the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary, are clearly separated, in accordance with international standards.
3- As part of this wholesome political competition, we ought to have truly free, democratic, and fair Elections in which the people pick the best candidates to represent them.
Only upon such a foundation can a rule-by-law country be built.
We strongly believe that only after these measures are implemented can our Country, Viet Nam, be on her way to solving the many other major economic, cultural and social problems under which we now suffer : egregious human rights violations, the lack of basic freedoms, large-scale official corruption, as well as deteriorating societal ethics due in large part to the CPV’s systematic subversion of our Religions to transform them into instruments of the CPV.
It is our hope that you find yourselves in agreement with us, and will help the Vietnamese People in realistic ways, contributing to boosting the democratisation of Viet Nam, helping our Country to integrate into the Civilized Human Community in the fastest possible way.
We are also respectfully enclosing five documents :
1- Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Viet Nam in 2006, which we abbreviate to Manifesto 8406.
2- Declaration of Bloc 8406 on the 10 Fundamental Conditions for the Election of a truly free, democratic and multiparty National Assembly in 2007, so that the People of Viet Nam will not be compelled to carry out a large-scale boycott of these elections. We abbreviate this to 10 Conditions for the National Assembly Election.
3- Progress to democratise Viet Nam in 4 stages & 8 steps declared by Bloc 8406 on August 22, 2006.
4- Summary of Domestic & Overseas Peaceful Democratic Fighters and Sponsors of Manifesto 8406 from April 8 to August 22, 2006.
5- Resolution 1481 of The Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) issued on January 25, 2006.
We sincerely appreciate your concern, your approval, and your support for our cause!
And we wish great success for the ASEM 6 Summit !
Interim Representatives of Bloc 8406
consisting of 1,872 Peaceful Democratic Fighters
and tens of thousands of Members living inside Viet Nam :
Do Nam Hai, Engineer, Sai Gon.
Tran Anh Kim, Former Army Officer, Thai Binh.
Father Nguyen Van Ly, Catholic Priest, Hue.
69 Phan Dinh Phung, Hue, Viet Nam.
