Oslo - Norwegian authorities were slated to discuss a
decision by Vietnam not to allow entry to a Norwegian human rights
group, officials said Wednesday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Bjorn Jahnsen said Oslo 'regretted' the
decision and had asked for a meeting with Vietnamese authorities.
Such a meeting would likely take place next week in Hanoi after the
ongoing New Year celebrations, he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Arne Liljedahl Lynngard, head of the Rafto Foundation board, said
he had recently been told by the Vietnamese embassy in the Danish
capital Copenhagen that he would not be granted a visa.
'I wanted to be open with the purpose of my visit,' Lynngard said
after his visa application was rejected, adding he had stated his
intent to visit Thich Quang Do, a veteran pro-democracy activist.
Do was last September named winner of the 2006 Rafto Prize 'for
his personal courage and perseverance through three decades of
peaceful opposition against the communist regime in Vietnam.'
Lynngard said he had wanted to present the prize to Do who had
decided not to visit Norway last year to accept the award since he
was afraid he would not be allowed to return if he left Vietnam.
Do is also deputy patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of
Vietnam that is not officially recognized by the Vietnamese
authorities.
The prize, worth 50,000 kroner (7,600 dollars), was symbolically
accepted on Do's behalf by Vo Van Ai, Paris-based president of the
Vietnam Committee on Human Rights, Lynngard said.
If Vietnam reconsiders its decision, Lynngard said he was still
prepared to travel to Vietnam.
Do, who has diabetes, is held in 'pagod arrest,' Lynngard said,
adding he remained under constant police surveillance.
Despite the restrictions, Do was in 'good spirits' and showed no
sign of giving up his struggle for human rights, democracy and
freedom of speech, Lynngard said.
The Rafto award was created in 1986 in memory of Professor Thorolf
Rafto of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business
Administration in Bergen, who was an outspoken human rights activist.
Four previous winners of the Rafto Prize - Aung San Suu Kyi, Josè
Ramos-Horta, Kim Dae-jung and Shirin Ebadi - later went on to receive
the Nobel Peace Prize.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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