Dissident Calls for Democracy in Vietnam

The time has come for democracy and human rights in Vietnam, exiled Vietnamese dissident Doan Viet Hoat told a crowd of 150 last night.

“Democracy plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty and sustaining development,” he said in his speech at the Science Center.

After having spent 19 years in various prisons and detention camps for publishing materials critical of the communist regime in Vietnam, Doan now lives in Washington, where he works to organize Vietnamese immigrants around the world to promote democracy in their homeland.

Doan said that in recent years the market economy has been expanded in Vietnam but that further progress will depend on democratization.

Doan’s speech, entitled “Why Human Rights Matter: A Road Map to Democracy in Asia,” laid out specific proposals for bringing political change to Vietnam.

Doan suggested that international economic assistance will help strengthen Vietnam’s private sector.

He also called on communist leaders to allow free speech.

Ultimately, Doan said he looks forward to a multi-party free election in Vietnam.

Doan said he believes that if the communist leadership does not accept democracy in a peaceful manner, violent protest will erupt. This, he said, is not a desirable way of bringing about democracy.

“No one wants it to be born out of chaos,” he said.

Doan said he is hopeful that advocates of democracy, both inside and outside Vietnam, will unite in order to find a peaceful path toward democratization.

He said that though the process will require “painful sacrifices from all parties involved,” especially from the ruling Communist Party, these sacrifices may be possible.

Doan compared Vietnam to South Korea, which he said has developed increasingly democratic practices throughout the past two decades.

He said since the countries share similar Asian values that traditionally have been seen as alien to democracy, he is encouraged that Vietnam will share in the South Korea’s success.

In response to an audience member’s question, Doan called for the adopting of the Human Rights Act for Vietnam, a bill which calls for educational and social exchange.

The bill passed almost unanimously in the House of Representatives, but Doan said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a Vietnam War veteran, has blocked its progress in the Senate, arguing that there needs to be more economic progress in Vietnam before the U.S. makes such a move.

Doan’s lecture, the Woodbridge Society’s Second Annual Lecture for International Understanding, was co-sponsored by the Harvard Vietnamese Association.

The event was also the first student-organized project funded by the University Committee on Human Rights Studies.

In general, the audience reacted positively to Doan’s speech.

“You have to have respect for anyone who’s spent that much time in jail and is still committed to his cause,” said Patrick Barron, a second-year graduate student at the Kennedy School of Government.