(To find the contact information for your Congressional Representative, visit
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/ or http://capwiz.com/democracyforvietnam/dbq/officials/)
July 23, 2009
Dear Representative ___________,
I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor H.Res. 672 calling on the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to release imprisoned bloggers and respect Internet freedom.
The Government of Vietnam is taking a step backward by imposing restrictions on the internet and imprisoning bloggers and cyber activists who peacefully express their views.
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls Vietnam one of the “10 worst countries to be a blogger.” Reporters Without Borders lists the Vietnamese government as an “enemy of the internet.”
Internet censorship is not only a violation of freedom of expression—a basic human right—but also a serious impediment for Vietnam’s economic development and integration into the world community.
Please support H.Res 672 to send a strong message that the US Congress supports the right of Vietnamese citizens to share and publish information over the internet.
Sincerely,
The Vietnamese government seeks to emulate China’s “Great Firewall” by creating a dynamic online censorship program through collaboration with internet service providers. Hanoi has indicated that it will ask Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft to help censor internet content and hand over private user information.
According to Reporters Sans Frontieres, Vietnam is among the worst countries when it comes to internet freedom. In October 2008, the government created a new entity—the Administration Agency for Radio, Television and Electronics Information—to monitor the internet and control the flow of information from bloggers. The government also issued a new decree to tighten internet restrictions.
Please urge the big internet companies to help uphold internet freedom. They can say NO to the Vietnamese security police.
Thanks for your support!
Viet Tan
Sample letter to Yahoo:
Dear Carol Bartz,
It has come to my attention that the Vietnamese government may ask for your participation in censoring the internet in Vietnam. As a user of your service, I would like to urge you to uphold internet freedom in Vietnam and not collaborate with the regime.
Any collaboration to help the Vietnamese government gain more control over the internet, like in the case of China, will not only set back the Vietnamese blogger movement, it also will be a blatant disregard for human rights. You will only aid the government’s attempt to arrest more bloggers and be complicit in blocking the flow of information to Vietnamese citizens.
I am hopeful that as a member of the Global Network Initiative you are committed to the promotion of internet freedom and the protection of freedom of expression and privacy around the world, including Vietnam.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely
Your Name
Your Address
Contact Yahoo:
Mailing address:
Carol Bartz, Chief Executive Officer
Michael Samway, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
USA
Send email to: samway@yahoo-inc.com, bartz@yahoo-inc.com
cc: krubey@yahoo-inc.com, bhw@yahoo-inc.com, schmaler@yahoo-inc.com
Contact Google:
Mailing address:
Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer
Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
USA
Send email to: eschmidt@google.com, rachelw@google.com
cc: jonm@google.com, marias@google.com, rboorstin@google.com
Contact Microsoft:
Mailing address:
Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
USA
Send email to: steveb@microsoft.com, brads@microsoft.com
cc: rrt@waggeneredstrom.com, cause@microsoft.com
Under his pen name “Dieu Cay,” Nguyen Van Hai blogged about China’s encroachment on Vietnamese islands and criticized the Vietnamese government’s kowtowing to its northern neighbor. For blogging about the repression of peaceful activists and calling for a boycott of the Olympic Torch Relay, he was arrested days before the torch arrived in Saigon. Before his arrest, he was placed under close surveillance and at one point, the police threatened to let Chinese agents kill him. Arbitrarily charged with tax fraud, he was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison in a trial condemned by the international community.
Please urge your elected officials to raise the case of blogger Dieu Cay with the Government of Vietnam.
You can also write to Dieu Cay as an expression of solidarity. He may not receive the letter, but his jailers will:
Mr. Nguyen Van Hai
Cai Tau Prison
xa Khanh An, huyen U Minh, Ca Mau
Viet Nam
