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CANADA/VIETNAM:
Vietnam is barring the news
media from covering the return of the remains of
an executed Vietnamese-Canadian
woman to her family.
Nguyen Thi Hiep's execution
for drug smuggling last month sparked a
diplomatic firestorm because
Vietnam had promised Ottawa to delay the
execution based on new evidence
that Hiep had been duped. Hiep, 43, was
convicted in 1997 along
with her mother, Tran Thi Cam, 74, for smuggling 5.5
kilograms of heroin through
Hanoi airport.
She was executed by firing
squad April 24, the first western passport holder
to suffer the
death penalty. Her mother
remains in prison.
Ottawa retaliated by freezing
ministerial-level relations with Vietnam.
Hoping to ease
tensions, Vietnam agreed
last week to turn over the remains of Hiep to her
family in
Toronto and consider the
release of her sick mother.
On Tuesday, Hiep's two sons,
Trung Le, 26, and Tu Le, 21, arrived in Hanoi
with their
uncle and aunt. They were
met by their father, Tran Hieu, and Canadian
Ambassador
Cecile Latour at the airport.
The Vietnamese government
has refused to announce a date and time for the
transfer of
Hiep's remains.
"This is completely
a private family matter," said Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Phan
Thuy Thanh. "Therefore press
participation is neither necessary nor in
accordance with
Vietnamese custom."
As part of Vietnam's concessions,
discussions are expected to continue about
the release of the mother
on humanitarian grounds.
"Vietnamese agencies are
considering the request of the Canadian side
favourably, in the
humanitarian spirit and
in accordance with Vietnamese law," Thanh said.
Officials are also considering
Canada's demand that Toronto police be
allowed to
investigate the case on
Vietnamese soil.
Canadian authorities have
said new evidence has emerged that Hiep and her
mother may
have been tricked into carrying
the heroin for drug smugglers. Another woman
arrested in Canada told
an identical story of accepting money to transport
artwork from Vietnam to
a man in Canada.
All four plane tickets for
Hiep's family are being paid for with funds
raised by the Toronto-based
Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.
(source: Associated Press)
Canada Condemns Execution Of Citizen In Vietnam
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada
Wednesday condemned Vietnam for ignoring clemency appeals and
executing a Canadian woman
who was sentenced to death in March 1997 for heroin trafficking.
Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy
said he was shocked by the weekend execution of Nguyen Thi
Hiep, who had been arrested
in April 1996 at Hanoi airport after customs officials found 2.4 pounds
(one kg) of heroin hidden
in her luggage.
Axworthy said in a statement
that Vietnam, as a signatory to the International Convention on Civil
and Political Rights, was
obliged to impose the death penalty for only the most serious crimes.
``We do not believe that Ms. Nguyen's conviction for drug trafficking meets this standard,'' he said.
``I am deeply disappointed
that the government of Vietnam did not accept our request for executive
clemency and commutation
of the death sentence imposed on Ms. Nguyen.''
Nguyen was born in Vietnam
but became a naturalized Canadian citizen after moving to Canada in
1992.
Raymond Chan, Canada's secretary
of state for the Asia-Pacific region, said Ottawa had provided
Vietnam with information
suggesting Nguyen might have been tricked into transporting the heroin.
``Canadian police officials
were to go to Vietnam to assist in the examination of this information,
and
this visit was pending at
the time of the execution,'' he said.
``It is most unfortunate
that the Vietnamese government chose to ignore pertinent information that
might have saved Ms. Nguyen's
life.''
Trafficking as little as
3.3 ounces (100 grams) of heroin is punishable in Vietnam by death or life
imprisonment.
Vietnam has been identified
by anti-drug agencies as an important post in the heroin trafficking route
from the Golden Triangle
region centered on Myanmar, Laos and parts of southwestern China and
northern Thailand.
Canada To Review Vietnam Ties After Execution
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada
vowed Wednesday to take a ``hard look'' at its ties with Vietnam
after Hanoi executed a Canadian
woman despite promising to look at evidence which Ottawa said
cast doubt on her conviction
for smuggling drugs.
Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy
said he was shocked by the execution of Nguyen Thi Hiep, who
was arrested in April 1996
at Hanoi airport after customs officials found 2.4 pounds (one kilogram)
of heroin hidden in her
luggage.
Nguyen, described by Foreign
Affairs Department officials as being in her early forties, was
executed early Monday. She
was convicted in March 1997.
Canadian officials were stunned
by the news, especially since they said Vietnamese authorities had
given an undertaking to
look at evidence sent to them from Canada that suggested Nguyen had been
duped into carrying the
drugs.
``It was our understanding
they would hold off the execution and they didn't,'' Foreign Affairs
Department spokesman Reynald
Doiron told Reuters.
``Our relations were close
but now we're going to take a hard look at all angles and examine that
relationship closely,''
he said, but declined to elaborate. No one was available for comment at
the
Vietnamese embassy in Ottawa.
Nguyen was born in Vietnam
but became a naturalised Canadian citizen after moving to Canada in
1992.
Trafficking as little as
3.3 ounces (100 grams) of heroin is punishable in Vietnam by death or life
imprisonment.
``The Vietnamese authorities
had offered to send over representatives of the police forces involved
in their investigation to
look into some new evidence in some related cases in Toronto that led us
to
believe she might have been
forced to traffic in drugs,'' said Doiron.
Earlier this year, Canada sent Hanoi other written and video evidence backing its case.
``We are going to ask the
Vietnamese authorities why they carried out the death sentence without
taking a look at the evidence
sent to them. It is our understanding they did not analyse and did not
investigate the information
sent to them,'' Doiron said.
Raymond Chan, Canada's secretary
of state for the Asia-Pacific region, said it was ``most
unfortunate that the Vietnamese
government chose to ignore pertinent information that might have
saved Ms. Nguyen's life.''
Axworthy said in a statement
that Vietnam, as a signatory to the International Convention on Civil
and Political Rights, was
obliged to impose the death penalty for only the most serious crimes.
``We do not believe that Ms. Nguyen's conviction for drug trafficking meets this standard,'' he said.
``I am deeply disappointed
that the government of Vietnam did not accept our request for executive
clemency and commutation
of the death sentence imposed on Ms. Nguyen.''
Vietnam has been identified
by anti-drug agencies as an important post in the heroin trafficking route
from the Golden Triangle
region centerd on Myanmar, Laos and parts of southwestern China and
northern Thailand.
Canadian woman maintains
innocence as she was executed
for smuggling drugs
TORONTO (CP) - Up until the
last minutes of her life, a Canadian woman maintained her
innocence before she was
executed by Vietnamese officials for smuggling drugs.
Nguyen Thi Hiep, who would
have turned 44 Thursday, who was convicted in 1997 along with her
then 71-year-old mother,
was shot by a firing squad early Monday.
When Nguyen was marched in
front of the firing squad, she was "gagged and blindfolded . . .
continuing to maintain her
innocence right up to the end," Reynald Doiron, a Foreign Affairs
spokesman, said Wednesday.
"She refused to sign a statement of guilt."
Up to the day of her execution,
Toronto police were investigating whether Nguyen, who became a
Canadian citizen in 1982,
was being used as an unsuspecting mule by an organized drug ring.
Nguyen's husband, who lives
in Hanoi, was contacted by a prison official several minutes after she
was executed. Neither he
nor the family were permitted to see her.
Wednesday night, Nguyen's
family in Canada gathered to mourn at an uncle's home in Brampton,
Ont.
"Everybody is devastated," said Nguyen's son Tu Le.
The family learned of her death when Nguyen's husband phoned Wednesday at 2 p.m. from Hanoi.
While Nguyen was sentenced to die, her mother was sentenced to life in prison.
Both women told a Hanoi court
during their trial that they were unaware that 5.5 kilograms of heroin
was concealed in Oriental
art panels they were carrying at Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport.
Her death has outraged and
shocked Canadian officials, who demanded a 30-minute meeting with
Vietnamese ambassador Trinh
Thanh.
Cecile Latour, Canada's ambassador
to Vietnam presented Trinh with a diplomatic note of protest,
demanding a formal explanation
for the execution.
Nguyen's death, the only
Canadian known to have been executed anywhere in the world on a
drug-related charge, could
chill relations between Canada and Vietnam, officials said Wednesday.
"Depending on the explanation, bilateral relations will be examined," Doiron said.
The Canadian officials also
want to know why the Vietnamese government didn't wait to review a
50-page document prepared
by Toronto police that was forwarded to Vietnamese authorities.
The officers were baffled by the timing of the execution.
"We were in the process of
conducting a joint investigation with Vietnamese officials regarding the
Nguyen case when she was
executed," Det. Carl Noll said.
Toronto police believe the
drugs were destined to be distributed by three men, who were sentenced
in a Toronto court a year
ago as ringleaders in the drug organization.
Noll said said he hoped to
fly to Vietnam to point out similarities between the Nguyen case and that
of another woman arrested
in Canada in 1998.
The other woman was eventually
freed by the courts when it was concluded she had been duped
into smuggling drugs to
Canada from Vietnam.
International appeals including
those from Prime Minister Jean Chretien, U.S. President Bill Clinton,
Rubin (Hurricane) Carter
and Amnesty International were ignored by Vietnam. © The Canadian
Press, 2000
TORONTO (CP) - Advocates
for the wrongly convicted denounced Thursday the recent execution
of a Canadian woman in Vietnam,
and demanded the government in the southeast Asian country free
the woman's imprisoned mother.
"We think it's very important
that this case be internationalized so that countries that execute people
can appreciate and understand
that there is a downside to killing their own citizens and foreign
citizens," said lawyer James
Lockyer, of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.
"Execution is an awful thing, particularly awful when the person executed is innocent."
Nguyen Thi Hiep, 43, was
shot by a firing squad early Monday. Her mother, Tran Thi Cam, 75,
remains in a Vietnam prison.
The pair was convicted in 1997 for smuggling heroin.
Lockyer said pleas were made
to various levels of the Canadian, American and Vietnamese
governments, asking that
Nguyen's execution be postponed.
Each of the women told a
Hanoi court during their trial they were unaware that 5.5 kilograms of
heroin was concealed in
Oriental art panels they were carrying at Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport.
Activist Rubin (Hurricane) Carter said Thursday he was stunned by news of the execution.
"The death penalty anywhere on this earth is dead wrong," Carter said.
"We petitioned and received
an audience with the president of the United States. At the end of the
day, president Clinton said
that he would contact the president of Vietnam and ask for a
postponement of this woman's
execution."
Carter said he met with Clinton last December.
Nguyen, a Toronto seamstress,
maintained her innocence until the last minutes of her life, when she
was gagged and blindfolded
and then placed before the firing squad.
Moments before her death, she was asked to sign a confession, but refused.
Up to the day of her execution,
Toronto police were investigating whether Nguyen, who became a
Canadian citizen in 1982,
was being used as an unsuspecting mule by an organized drug ring.
Nguyen's husband, who is
fighting for his mother-in-law's release in Hanoi, was contacted by a
prison official several
minutes after his wife was executed. Neither he nor the family were permitted
to see her.
Two sons, Nguyen's sister
and brother broke down during the emotional news conference. The men
wore white headbands to
signify they are a family in mourning.
The family learned of Nguyen's death when her husband telephoned Monday from Hanoi.
Toronto police believe the
drugs were destined to be distributed by three men who were sentenced
in a Toronto court a year
ago as ringleaders in the drug organization.
Vietnamese-Canadians vow
to honour memory of executed
comrade
TORONTO (CP) - Across Canada
on Friday, Vietnamese-Canadians condemned Vietnam's
execution of Nguyen Thi
Hiep and vowed to honour her memory at annual ceremonies that
commemorate the country
they knew and that ignore the current regime.
"Every year we raise our
(former) national flag but this year we will find a way to remember Mrs.
Nguyen," said Xe Kha, executive
director of the Vietnamese Association of Toronto.
Nguyen, 43, was executed
by firing squad on Monday, four years after she was convicted of
trafficking heroin along
with her 74-year-old mother, Tran Thi Cam, who is serving a life sentence
in
a Hanoi prison.
Kha's association will meet
prior to the annual Sunday event at Toronto's city hall to plan a protest
as well as to petition Ottawa
to exert more pressure on Vietnam for the release of Tran.
In a telephone news conference
from Ghana on Friday, External Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy
said he has dispatched a
letter to his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Dy Nien, asking for the
woman's release on humanitarian
grounds.
Axworthy vowed Vietnam will
"pay the price" for its actions but that no further steps would be taken
beyond the measures announced
Thursday when he withdrew Canada's ambassador, suspended
international relations
with Vietnam and announced that Canada would boycott the country's 25th
anniversary celebrations
of the end of the Vietnam war.
"The Canadian government
was wise to withdraw its ambassador. At least it shows our anger at the
execution," said Than Nguyen,
co-ordinator of the Vietnamese Community of Mississauga, just west
of Toronto.
On Friday, the Vietnamese
government announced the release of more than 12,000 prisoners,
including 29 foreigners,
to celebrate the anniversary. Vietnam says the prisoners receiving amnesty
include murderers and fraud
artists. It is not known if Tran is among those to be set free.
Axworthy said the amnesty
announcement days after Nguyen's execution breaks "virtually all the
basic courtesies and conventions.
Sam Seyadoussane, an adviser
with the Vietnamese Canadian Federation in Ottawa, also
questioned why the amnesty
couldn't have included Nguyen. "Why didn't they give the life of this
poor lady back?"
Calling the execution cruel
and thoughtless, Tom Truong, a spokesman for the Communaute
Vietnamienne au Canada in
Montreal, said this weekend's anniversary event in Ottawa will
undoubtedly be affected
by Nguyen's execution.
Cuong Do, pastor of a Vietnamese
church in Ottawa, said he was shocked by the news but not
surprised at the way the
execution was handled. "In Vietnam, the law of the jungle rules."
In Vancouver, Van Pham, co-ordinator
for a Vietnamese seniors association, implored the
Vietnamese government to
follow its laws to the letter; that is, to honour the double citizenship
held
by some of its expatriates.
Toronto police believe Nguyen
and Tran were unsuspecting mules being used by an organized drug
ring, three members of which
have since been convicted and sentenced for similar dealings with
another woman returning
from Vietnam.
Ottawa and an advocacy group
say they had secured promises to postpone Nguyen's execution until
Vietnamese authorities had
a chance to see the proof collected by Toronto police's heroin unit. But
Nguyen was shot before the
delegation arrived.
Nguyen, a seamstress, and
Tran were visiting relatives in Vietnam and were leaving Hanoi airport
when 5.45 kilograms of heroin
were found inside art paintings they were bringing to Canada.
A trust fund has been set
up for Nguyen's relatives, including two sons, to cover the cost of a trip
to
Vietnam. Nguyen's husband
lives in Hanoi.
The family hopes to rescue
Tran and to retrieve Nguyen's body from the prison grounds where it has
been buried. The family
says the body must be dealt with within 48 days to meet religious customs.
Canada Dismisses Hanoi's Reason For Executing Woman
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada
Friday dismissed Vietnam's explanation as to why it executed a
Canadian woman for smuggling
drugs, saying Hanoi had ignored crucial evidence which might have
spared her life.
Canadian Foreign Minister
Lloyd Axworthy -- who has already ordered a complete review of
relations with Vietnam --
said Ottawa would continue to put pressure on Hanoi unless it explained
its
actions promptly.
The two countries are at
loggerheads after Vietnam executed Nguyen Thi Hiep Monday despite
promising to look at Canadian
evidence that Ottawa said cast doubt on her conviction.
Vietnam's deputy foreign
minister said authorities had had no choice but to execute Nguyen, saying
she had been caught red-handed
smuggling drugs.
But Axworthy said Hanoi had brushed off Ottawa's efforts to have the case reviewed.
``We sent them what paper
documents we had but they did not follow it up, so I don't think their
argument is a valid one,''
he told reporters during a conference call.
``It seems to me they have
broken virtually all the basic courtesies and conventions in this matter
and
this woman had to pay the
price for it. It's a great tragedy.''
Nguyen was arrested in April
1996 at Hanoi airport after customs officials found a reported 5.4
kilograms (12 pounds) of
heroin hidden in her luggage. She was convicted in March 1997.
Axworthy has written a letter
to his Vietnamese counterpart seeking an explanation and also urging
clemency be shown toward
Nguyen's aging mother, sentence to life in jail for her involvement in
the
smuggling case.
``I haven't had a response
back from their foreign minister yet but I expect we'll be getting one
reasonably soon and if not
we'll continue to put the pressure on,'' he said.
Canada has withdrawn an offer
to provide training on the World Trade Organization for Vietnamese
officials and Canadian officials
will not attend events sponsored by the Vietnamese government this
weekend to mark the 25th
anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war.
Hanoi announced Friday it would mark the occasion by freeing 12,264 prisoners in an amnesty.
``They're certainly not treating
(our concerns) with much respect. It's surprising because Canada has
gone out of its way...to
establish relations with Vietnam to support some of their efforts,'' said
Axworthy.
``We have an...aid program
which is humanitarian in its efforts, we've had a lot of contact, we've
had
a lot of visits, and this
attitude I find to be unacceptable and I've said so.''
MIRO CERNETIG, COLIN FREEZE, JEFF
SALLOT
The Globe and Mail
Saturday, April 29, 2000
Ho Chi Minh City, Toronto, Ottawa -- MIRO
CERNETIG
in Ho Chi Minh City
COLIN FREEZE
in Toronto
JEFF SALLOT
in Ottawa
The Vietnamese government strongly defended
yesterday the execution of a Canadian woman
for drug smuggling, even as it provided an
amnesty to more than 12,000 criminals.
But there was no word on whether Nguyen Thi
Hiep's 74-year-old mother, who is serving a life
sentence for smuggling, would be freed. Foreign
Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy vowed
yesterday to step up the pressure on Vietnam if
the regime does not surrender Ms. Nguyen's
body and release her mother.
Ms. Nguyen's sons were heartbroken
yesterday, a family friend said. "It's very hard
for them to understand why murderers were
released and their mother was executed."
At a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam's
deputy foreign minister, Nguyen Tam Chien,
said the country had no choice but to execute
Ms. Nguyen, an action that has outraged
Ottawa. "She was trafficking 5.4 kilograms of
heroin and was caught red-handed. She was
sentenced by the court to capital punishment,
therefore I think we should not have any kind of
intervention in this case because . . . it is a
serious crime not just in Vietnam, but all over
the world."
Ms. Nguyen, 43, was executed by firing squad
Monday, despite the Hanoi government's
promise to review evidence uncovered by
Toronto Police suggesting she was duped into
carrying the drug.
"The Vietnamese authorities had seriously taken
it into consideration; however it does not have
enough legal grounds to revise the sentence,"
stated the country's embassy in Ottawa
yesterday.
Meanwhile, in a mass amnesty timed to mark
the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam
War, Hanoi granted mercy to 12,264 prisoners
-- including murderers. The country's
largest-ever amnesty also includes 29
foreigners.
"It could be her. She should be there," said
lawyer James Lockyer yesterday in Toronto.
Vietnam's forgiving hand was "a kick in the
face" to Canadians who quietly fought for years
to save Ms. Nguyen, added Mr. Lockyer,
director of the Association in Defence of the
Wrongly Convicted.
Vietnamese government officials say the
prisoners will be freed over the next few days.
According to news reports, the foreigners are
from the United States, Australia and various
Asian countries. Both Ms. Nguyen and her
mother lived legally in Canada, but also held
Vietnamese citizenship.
"I do not know why a Canadian woman would
not have been included in the amnesty when
your government was fighting for her behind the
scenes," said a businessman who has worked in
Vietnam for five years.
A Canadian member of Parliament said
yesterday that the government had long asked
for such an amnesty for Ms. Nguyen, but
Vietnam was non-committal. That being the
case, the concentration was on more attainable
goals, such as consular and family visits.
"It's so bizarre that -- bang -- all of a sudden
this happened," said Raymond Chan, Secretary
of State for the Asia-Pacific region. He added:
"It just blew up in our face. Without any
advance warning. We still don't know why."
Mr. Chan twice met officials in Vietnam, during
trade delegations in 1996 and 1998. He felt
progress was being made, especially after last
fall. Then, Toronto Police brought a nearly
identical case, where a woman was duped into
being a drug "mule," to Hanoi's attention.
Mr. Chan said Ottawa did everything it could,
and that a more forceful approach was not
considered. "People don't want to be bullied,"
he said, adding that the focus was always on
trying to leverage Canada's position as a friend
who gave Vietnam aid and advice. Such an
approach freed Ontario resident Nguyen Dang
Ngoc in another amnesty in 1998 -- he had
served five years of a 20-year sentence after
being convicted of involvement in an attempted
coup.
"We don't try to lecture them. We try to explain
to them that it's important for us to have
bilateral relationships," Mr. Chan said.
Now, every aspect of that relationship is being
reviewed in the wake of the execution of Ms.
Nguyen. Mr. Axworthy said Canada's
ambassador to Vietnam, Céline Latour, will
remain in Canada for some time to develop
several options for further action to express
displeasure and win the mother's release.
In a conference call yesterday, the Foreign
Affairs Minister said the actions announced by
Canada on Thursday -- which include a
diplomatic boycott of Vietnamese victory
celebrations this weekend -- "certainly got their
attention and reaction." The Vietnamese
embassy said its government "regrets" the
Canadian reaction and hopes to further develop
relations.
Trade between the two countries isn't significant
so Canada wouldn't have much economic
leverage if it were to impose trade sanctions,
Mr. Axworthy said. But he hinted that Canada
could make life difficult for Vietnam in a variety
of multilateral organizations.
Mr. Axworthy condemned the fact the
Vietnamese refused to look at the Toronto
Police evidence. He said he expects some
response by next week from his Vietnamese
counterpart to a letter he sent yesterday asking
for the release of the elderly mother.
"It may, in retrospect, have been a mistake not
to make this a more public battle," said a
Canadian diplomat, who spoke on condition of
anonymity. "It's a shock that this happened days
before a widescale amnesty for prisoners, a
group that included convicted murderers."
Mr. Lockyer had always felt publicity would
mean immediate death for Ms. Nguyen, so his
group kept its campaign quiet. He's no longer
so certain of the approach. "Now, it could
hardly be worse, could it?"
Although the state-controlled press did not
report the execution, news of it travelled quickly
through Vietnam's small community of
foreigners. But ordinary Vietnamese had no
idea that a Canadian had been killed. "Our
government killed one of your countrymen?"
exclaimed a shopkeeper. "We have been told
nothing about this."
As workers unfurled red banners in Ho Chi
Minh City's main square yesterday, the
government chose to trumpet its leniency to
other prisoners.
The Vietnam News, a state-run newspaper,
said more than 17,000 prisoners are expected
to benefit from the government's decision to
reduce or commute sentences tomorrow, and
later this year on Sept. 2, Vietnam's National
Day.
One of the cases cited was that of Thai Huu
Thien, a 34-year-old jailed for murder. After
serving 10 years, he will be released tomorrow.
Even one of Ho Chi Minh's biggest crooks,
Nugyen Van Muoi Hai, who embezzled about
$1-million from the public in an investment
scheme, has had his life sentence reduced to 20
years.
The family was to hold a memorial service
today for Ms. Nguyen, who proclaimed her
innocence moments before she died.
Relatives hope to fly to Vietnam in a few
weeks. The Association in Defence of the
Wrongly Convicted has set up a trust fund to
help them do that. Together, they hope to
remove the body from prison property, where it
currently rests.
"They feel that she cannot rest in peace there,
that they can't leave her there because it's cold
and it's evil and their mother doesn't deserve to
be around that kind of atmosphere," the family
friend said.
"They want her out."
COLIN FREEZE, MARK MacKINNON and
MIRO CERNETIG
Friday, April 28, 2000
Toronto, Ottawa and Saigon -- COLIN
FREEZE
in Toronto
MARK MacKINNON
in Ottawa
MIRO CERNETIG
in Saigon
Years of quiet diplomacy failed to save Nguyen
Thi Hiep from the bullets of a Vietnamese firing
squad. Now, with the full support of the
Canadian government, the grieving family is
loudly seeking to have her body, still inside
prison walls, returned to Canada.
"I hate the government, the Vietnamese
government, because they broke their promises.
They're just so cruel," Ms. Nguyen's 21-year-old
son, Tu Le, said yesterday.
His mother, a Vietnamese Canadian, was
arrested four years ago for heroin smuggling and
was executed Monday by firing squad.
Her two sons, her sister, Nguyen Lien The, and
other family members expressed their grief at a
press conference yesterday.
In a few weeks, family members hope to visit
Ms. Nguyen's 74-year-old mother and plead for
her release from a Hanoi prison. Tran Thi Cam
was arrested along with her daughter. Now
serving a life sentence, she is asthmatic and losing
her eyesight and still doesn't know her daughter
is dead.
The dead woman's family and civil-rights officials
said they thought they had secured a stay of
execution until Vietnam could review evidence
from Canada.
They were not the only ones yesterday
expressing feelings of anger and betrayal.
"This unwarranted action by the Vietnamese
government does not, and cannot, allow for the
continuation of business as usual between our
countries," Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd
Axworthy said in a statement from Africa
yesterday.
All aspects of Canada's relationship with
Vietnam will be reviewed and Canada's
ambassador to Hanoi, Cécile Lanoi, who is
currently in Canada, will remain here until that
review is completed, Mr. Axworthy said.
Canadian officials in Vietnam have been ordered
to boycott all state-sponsored celebrations
marking the 25th anniversary of the end of the
Vietnam War. Canada has also withdrawn its
offer to instruct Vietnamese officials on how to
join the World Trade Organization.
Mr. Axworthy sent a letter to the Vietnamese
foreign minister, Nguyen Dy Nien, supporting the
family's request that Ms. Nguyen's body be
returned, although convention dictates that it
remain at the prison for three years. The
Canadian minister also asked that Ms. Nguyen's
mother be released on humanitarian grounds.
In Hanoi, Canadian embassy officials said they
were given no warning of the execution. "It came
as a complete shock. We weren't informed, it
just suddenly happened," said one official who
declined to be named. "For the moment, she's
been buried in the prison yard. We're trying to
get the family back the remains."
There was no mention of the execution or the
consequent diplomatic furor in the
government-controlled Vietnamese press
yesterday.
Ms. Nguyen was arrested when customs officials
at a Hanoi airport found heroin hidden in
paintings in her luggage. On Monday, the
Vietnamese government ordered her executed
by firing squad. In doing so, the government
apparently reneged on a promise to review an
investigation by Toronto Police that indicates a
crime organization duped her into carrying drugs
in ignorance.
That promise was secured behind the scenes,
because Canadian officials feared publicity
would have imperilled Ms. Nguyen.
"Whether that was the right thing to do, we'll
never know," a dispirited James Lockyer,
director of the Association in Defence of the
Wrongly Convicted, said yesterday.
The sons said their last memory of their
43-year-old mother was at the Hanoi prison.
One arm was un...
(The rest of the webpage was deleted from NBCI in April 2001)
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