News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: Searches To Resume

Date: April 25, 2001

"Vietnam Hopes U.S. Rights Stance Won't Harm Ties

By Dominic Whiting

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien said Friday he hoped U.S. criticism of Vietnam's human rights record would not harm ties between the two countries and said Hanoi was ready to discuss the issue.

Nien told a news conference on the fringes of a five-yearly congress of the ruling Communist Party Vietnam resented U.S. ''interference'' but was prepared to enter a dialogue.

``It is our hope these issues will not affect state-to-state relations, especially after the two sides have made important steps to normalize relations,'' he said.

``On human rights and ethnic issues, the two sides are divergent at the moment. We have many times said no state has the right to give judgement on other states.''

``But now the world is moving to more openness and we should be ready to carry out dialogue in goodwill,'' Nien said.

He said Vietnam would discuss human rights ``at the official level'' with the State Department.

The Committee on International Religious Freedom, an advisory body to the U.S. Congress, recently called on Washington not to support more than $750 million in loans from the International Monetary Fund (news - web sites) and World Bank (news - web sites) for Vietnam on the grounds of rights abuses.

Washington abstained in the approval vote for the IMF funds and is expected to do the same for the World Bank funds, but this is not expected to affect disbursement.

Friction between the United States and Vietnam has also emerged since 24 ethnic minority people who fled into Cambodia from a crackdown on unrest in Vietnam's Central Highlands were granted asylum in the United States.

Analysts say a possible delay in U.S. ratification of a landmark bilateral trade agreement signed last year between the former Vietnam War enemies has placed a further strain on ties.

The agreement would give Vietnamese goods greater access to the U.S. market, which has been growing in importance for Vietnam since a punishing trade embargo was lifted in 1994.

The new administration of George W. Bush has been considering pushing the Vietnam agreement through Congress with similar agreements with other countries, which could take up to two years.

``I hope the agreement will be ratified in 2001 by the (Vietnamese) National Assembly and U.S. Congress,'' Nien said.

He said U.S. congressman Philip Crane, vice chairman of the U.S. Ways and Means Committee, had told him recently the chances of the agreement being ratified this year were good.

Nien said Vietnam would continue to co-operate with the search for U.S. troops missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War, a controversial program Washington still describes as its highest priority in relations.

Search efforts have been suspended since a helicopter carrying a joint search team crashed on April 7, killing seven Americans and nine Vietnamese.

``The MIA search will start again in weeks, rather than months,'' Nien said.

Nien said Vietnam would welcome more help from the United States to deal with the effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.

Vietnam blames Agent Orange for causing tens of thousands of birth defects and says it has affected about a million people.

A report released Thursday by the Institute of Medicine (news - web sites) of the National Academies, an independent research body that often advises the U.S. government, said there may be a link between Agent Orange and leukemia found in veterans' children. "