Letter to Vietnamese people

Jonathan D. London
Dear Friends, 
It is with great pleasure that I join you on the occasion of the inauguration of the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers. 
It is, of course, no coincidence, that we are celebrating the Network’s inauguration on the occasion of International Human Rights Day. 
Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of association and assembly are among the most fundamental of all human rights. 
And yet Vietnamese have yet to enjoy these freedoms.
As citizens of a country that has not only signed the Universal Deceleration of Human Rights but one whose state sits on the United National Human Rights Commission, the people of Viet Nam are of course fully guaranteed these rights.
For this reason, the formation of the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers represents a major step forward for Viet Nam and in the campaign for human rights in Viet Nam.
Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of association are not anti-state or anti-party values. Nor are they anti-socialist. They are human values that promote social equity and accountability and values that we all should support.
Viet Nam stands to benefit enormously from a truly free press. An essential step in this direction is for Vietnamese to put this human right to practice. This is, of course, precisely what the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers is committed to. 
Freedom of expression and freedom of association are inalienable human rights.It is my hope and expectation that the formation of the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers will mark the first in a series of steps toward a Viet Nam that is truly free. 
For only with real freedom will the country’s independence really have meaning.
Jonathan D. London City University of Hong Kong