FM Spokeswoman protests U.S CIRF's slanderous allegations
Ha Noi, Feb. 15 (VNA) -- Viet Nam has strongly condemned the denunciation of religious maltreatment in Viet Nam made by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (CIRF) on Feb. 13.
Answering Ha Noi-based AFP correspondent on the country's reaction to the above-said denunciation, the spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, Phan Thuy Thanh, on Friday described the CIRF's continued slander against and distortion of the situation in Viet Nam as a wrongful action, grossly interfering in the country's internal affairs and totally unacceptable.
She pointed to the fact that Viet Nam is a multi-religion country, and that the law and the State of Viet Nam always respect and ensure the freedom of belief and religion and the freedom of non-belief and non-religion of all citizens.
"It is necessary to reaffirm that Viet Nam has so far never tried, imprisoned or put any religious figure under house arrest for religious reasons. All Vietnamese citizens are equal before the law. Only those who violate the law are brought to trial in conformity with the law. All nations have their own legal regulations to prevent extreme activities by a number of individuals that are inimical to the common aspiration of the people. All legal violations must be tried in accordance with current laws. This is a criterion of a law-governed State".--VNA
