奥巴马称维护人权不会影响社会稳定

President Barack Obama, in a forward-looking speech, has told the Vietnamese that they and the American people are “embarking on a 100-year journey together.”

The U.S. leader, in a wide-ranging address at Hanoi’s National Convention Center Tuesday, before more than 2,000 people, included some Vietnamese government officials, also touched on the very sensitive topic of human rights.

Obama noted that the rights to freedom of speech and the press, as well as the rights to freedom of assembly, are enshrined in Vietnam’s constitution. He also spoke of opening Vietnam’s political process to candidates from outside the Communist Party.

“It is my view that upholding these rights is not a threat to stability,” Obama said.

There are more than 100 political prisoners in Vietnam, and additional people have been detained in the past week, according to activists.

For the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch the president’s remarks and the joint statement in Hanoi do not go far enough.

Obama also reiterated the right to freedom of navigation and said the United States would support that right for other nations.

“Big nations should not bully smaller ones,” the U.S. president didn’t name China.正在越南访问的美国总统奥巴马发表演讲展望未来。他表示，美越两国人民正在共同踏上百年之旅。

奥巴马星期二在河内国家会议中心发表了内容广泛的演讲，其中还提到非常敏感的人权问题。听众有两千多人，其中包括一些越南政府官员。

奥巴马说，越南宪法保障言论、出版和集会自由。他表示，越南政治进程应向非越共候选人敞开大门。

奥巴马说：“我认为，维护这些权利不会对稳定构成威胁。”

活动人士说，越南目前有100多名政治犯，就在上周还有人被拘留。

非政府组织人权观察认为，奥巴马在人权上的讲话和在河内发表的联合声明都不够深入。

奥巴马在演讲中重申自由航行权，并表示美国将支持其他国家维护自由航行权。

奥巴马说：“大国不应欺负小国。”但他没有点中国的名。