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Politics

Bush pushes Vietnam to address human rights

The Vietnamese president's visit is part of a growing relationship between the nations.

By WASHINGTON POST
Published June 23, 2007

WASHINGTON - President Bush pressed Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet on Friday to address human rights abuses and open up his communist nation's autocratic system, marking the first White House visit by a head of state from Hanoi since the countries were at war.

Bush hailed the growing trade ties between the two former enemies and the signing of a new agreement that could lead to formal free-trade talks. But as flag-waving Vietnamese-American protesters demonstrated outside the White House gates, Bush used the opportunity to urge Triet to permit opposition and end crackdowns on religious minorities.

"I also made it very clear that, 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, " Bush said with Triet at his side in the Oval Office before hosting a lunch.

Triet told reporters that he and Bush had a "direct and open exchange" on human rights but offered no indications that he intended to do anything as a result of the discussion. "We are also determined not to let those differences afflict our overall, larger interest, " he said.

Triet's visit was the latest step in the evolution of U.S.-Vietnamese relations. President Bill Clinton normalized ties in 1995, later sent the first U.S. ambassador to Hanoi and became the first American leader to visit the country since the war. Bush followed suit with a trip to Vietnam in November and has hosted the Vietnamese prime minister at the White House.

Human rights abuses shadowed the visit, though. Members of Congress and activists urged Bush to put more pressure on Triet. Reporters Without Borders asked Bush to intervene on behalf of nine journalists and "cyber-dissidents" in prison. Religious groups are severely critical of Vietnam's record on religious freedom.

Triet has dismissed the criticism. In a New York speech before arriving here, he asserted that everyone in prison in Vietnam is a criminal. In an interview with the Associated Press after his session with Bush, he said Vietnam's human rights record does not need to be fixed.

[Last modified June 23, 2007, 01:01:34]