Thailand opposes Bangkok launch for Vietnam human rights report

Bangkok - Thailand objected to the use of Bangkok to launch a report denouncing Vietnam's human rights record and has reportedly revoked the visa of the main author, sources said Sunday.

The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights planned a press conference Monday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) to publish the report titled From Rhetoric to Reality: Human Rights in Vietnam.

Thailand's Foreign Ministry objected to the event, and it is unclear whether it will be held.

'While the Royal Thai government attaches great importance to the principles of freedom of expression and diversity of views, it also has a longstanding position of not allowing organizations and/or persons to use Thailand as a place to conduct activities detrimental to other countries,' ministry spokesman Thani Thongpaksi said in a letter to the press club.

'I therefore hope that the FCCT will respect this position and not allow its premises to be used for such activities,' he said.

The press conference was to be held by Vietnam Committee on Human Rights chairman Vo Van Ai and vice president Penelope Faulkner.

Ai, a critic of the Vietnamese government who runs the Buddhist Information Center in Paris, was initially granted a visa but it was later revoked by the Thai embassy in France, sources said.

It was not immediately known whether Faulkner would be allowed to attend the planned Bangkok event.

'We feel it is unfortunate that the Thai government has chosen to apply pressure on us in this way. We would appreciate if the government reconsiders the wisdom of such pressure,' the FCCT said in a statement.


(2010-09-12/monstersandcritics.com)