October 15, 2009
Source: Google News
Wire Service: AP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXFOMp-_wwkNofydxF-Vm1ufgJ7AD9BBHN400
The United States has condemned Vietnam's recent conviction of nine democracy activists, the arrest of a writer and the expulsion of Buddhist monks from a monastery where they practiced the teachings of a renowned Zen master.
The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi issued a statement saying it was "deeply disturbed" by last week's convictions of the activists, several of whom hung pro-democracy statements over highway overpasses.
"The activists were simply expressing their views peacefully and posed no threat to Vietnam's national security," the embassy said in the statement released Thursday night.