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HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — The United States lodged an official protest with the Vietnamese government on Thursday over what news reports called a police assault of an American diplomat who monitors human rights issues as he was trying to visit a dissident priest.
Michael W. Michalak, the United States ambassador to Vietnam, described the attack on the diplomat, Christian Marchant, as “an incident of grave concern.”
The attack took place Wednesday in Hue, the former imperial capital. Accounts of the episode were sketchy, and the embassy’s spokesman in Hanoi declined to provide details. But a report by Radio Free Asia, the United States-financed broadcaster, said Mr. Marchant had been wrestled to the ground outside the home of the Rev. Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, a Roman Catholic priest being held under house arrest as part of a 2007 conviction on accusations of undermining the government.
A report by The Associated Press said the police had repeatedly closed a car door on Mr. Marchant’s legs.
Mr. Marchant, a political officer at the embassy since 2007, could not be reached for comment. He is known among fellow diplomats as an ardent advocate of dissident rights and religious freedoms in Vietnam. He was recently chosen to receive the Human Rights and Democracy Award that the State Department presents to an embassy officer.
He was attacked less than a week before Vietnam’s Communist Party is to hold its National Party Congress, a meeting that will decide the country’s leadership for the next five years.
A statement by Human Rights Watch said the assault on Mr. Marchant fit what it called a pattern of police brutality in Vietnam.
“It’s clear that Vietnam’s police are out of control,” said Phil Robertson, the deputy director of the Asian division of Human Rights Watch.
“They beat and sometimes kill suspects in detention,” Mr. Robertson said. “They brutalize dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists. They assault citizens over minor traffic violations.”
News services quoted a spokeswoman for Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry as saying that the government was reviewing the episode, but that foreign diplomats had a responsibility to abide by Vietnam’s laws.
Relations between Vietnam and the United States have flourished in recent years. American companies, including Intel, the chip maker, are among the largest investors here. The armed forces of the United States and Vietnam, former wartime enemies, now treat each other like allies, a reconciliation spurred in part by the desire to counterbalance the rise of China.
But human rights remains one area where Vietnam bristles at American criticism, recently calling Washington’s assessments of the state of religious freedom in Vietnam “biased.”
NY Times
.S.: Vietnamese police roughed up diplomat
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< script language=javascript type=text/javascript> var byString = ""; var sourceString = "The Associated Press"; if ((sourceString != "") && (byString != "")) { document.write(byString + ", "); } else { document.write(byString); } < /script>The Associated Press
Updated: Thu. Jan. 6 2011 1:48 PM ET
HANOI, Vietnam — Police roughed up an American diplomat in Vietnam and repeatedly slammed a car door on his legs when he went to visit a prominent dissident, an official in Washington said Thursday, detailing an encounter that prompted a strong U.S. protest.
Christian Marchant, a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, was expected to make a full recovery after being roughed up while trying to visit the detained dissident, said the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose details.
Neither the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi nor outgoing Ambassador Michael Michalak would describe the incident, but he said the U.S. had protested what occurred Wednesday in the central city of Hue.
"The United States government, both here in Hanoi and in Washington, has lodged a strong, official protest with the government of Vietnam regarding the treatment of one of our diplomats," Michalak told reporters Thursday during his farewell press briefing.
He called the issue a matter of grave concern, saying foreign diplomats are protected under international law.
"All governments are responsible for complying fully with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, including ensuring the safety and security of diplomatic personnel," he said.
Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said the government is reviewing the incident, but added that foreign diplomats also have a responsibility to abide by the host country's laws.
Marchant's work on human rights was recently recognized with an award from the State Department.
A 2009 U.S. State Department report on Vietnam's human rights record said political activists and family members were regularly prevented from meeting with foreign diplomatic representatives.
U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia said Marchant was attacked outside the home of Catholic priest Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, wrestled to the ground, put into a police car and driven away.
Ly, 63, one of Vietnam's best-known dissidents, was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2007 on charges of trying to undermine Vietnam's Communist government. He is under house arrest after being released last year on medical parole.
During his trial, Ly shocked the court by shouting out in protest. Photos of a police officer covering Ly's mouth to try to silence him circulated worldwide. Several members of the U.S. Congress have repeatedly called for the priest's release.
The incident comes a week ahead of Vietnam's National Party Congress, when the country's new leaders will be announced. Rights groups have criticized crackdowns on dissidents, which have increased during the run-up to the event.
"We think the Vietnamese police are out of control," Phil Robertson of U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said by telephone from Bangkok.
He called on the Vietnamese government to properly investigate the reported incident in Hue and to take swift action in this and other cases of alleged police brutality.
The U.S. government has been a loud critic of Vietnam's human rights record, urging Hanoi to stop jailing pro-democracy dissidents and to allow followers of all religions to worship freely.
Michalak told reporters last month there was a spike in arrests and convictions in 2010 involving people peacefully expressing their views.
Vietnam's government does not tolerate any challenge to its one-party rule. It maintains that only lawbreakers are jailed.
CTV Canada
