Introduction

Hello. This is my first attempt at a web site, and since I have not yet learned html or acquired the proper software, it is for the moment more of a gopher site than a web site, that is, a collection of files in text-only mode. I plan to upgrade soon, but I hope this may be useful.

The purpose of this site is to serve as a resource for people researching or interested in the issue of human rights in Vietnam. Some of the material placed here consist of articles or papers I have written in the past on various subjects related to this issue, for example religion-state relations, the re- education camps or daily living conditions in Vietnam. Other material includes statements of prominent dissidents in Vietnam (for which they were often punished) and documents from the Vietnam government itself. Not all the government material is strictly human rights related, for example the by-laws of the Vietnamese Communist Party, but since Vietnam is ruled by a one- party system I think it is relevant. Some of the materials here I originally published in a newsletter I edited from 1979-85 and 1988-95, originally titled The Indochina Newsletter, then Indochina Journal, and finally Vietnam Journal. I hope to resume the newsletter some day, or may carry it on as a web site version.

Because this web site is very new, established on Dec. 15, 1998, it is still very much a work in progress -- in addition to the primitive text-only format (which I personally prefer to html), there is much I still plan to post at this site. Any feedback would be most welcome.

I recognize that some of the materials here may seem a bit old, and that significant changes have taken place in Vietnam over the last ten years. But it is on the other hand helpful to understand the historical background to the contemporary human rights situation in Vietnam and also the reasons behind the large exodus of refugees from Vietnam over the last 23 years.

- Steve Denney
sdenney@ocf.berkeley.edu
or sdenney@uclink4.berkeley.edu