Mr. Speaker, Vietnam has been in the news lately: 25 years since the end of the Vietnam war, the execution apparently of an innocent Canadian, and the recall of ambassador.
What has not been in the news is the routine way in which Vietnam abuses religious rights. Religious rights do not get much play in the news here, in part because we take them for granted and in part because of journalistic apathy toward people of faith.
It does not much matter whether they are Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim or Evangelical. If they do not worship at a state sanctioned patriot facility, they are abused, arrested or imprisoned. Religious rights are like the proverbial canary in the mine shaft. If they have no religious rights, they probably have no right to a fair trial, no right to freedom of assembly, and certainly no contractual rights.
Two years ago I met with the minister of justice for Vietnam. The bottom line was that he did not believe in the rule of law. If one does not believe in the rule of law, certainly religious rights are an easy abuse, as are other civil rights and contractual rights. As long as Vietnam is stuck in a time warp, it will not enjoy these kinds of rights.