NEWS RELEASES

May 19, 2000 (7:15 p.m. EDT) No. 114

CANADA RECEIVES INITIAL RESPONSE FROM VIETNAM

ON NGUYEN CASE

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) Raymond Chan today announced that Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien has indicated that his government is ready to return to the family the remains of Nguyen Thi Hiep, a Vietnamese Canadian executed in Vietnam on April 25, and to consider the early release, for humanitarian reasons, of Ms. Nguyen's ailing mother, Tran Thi Cam.

"I am encouraged by this initial response," said Minister Axworthy. "We trust that this bodes well for other outstanding issues that we have raised with the Vietnamese authorities. Of particular interest is an early visit by the Toronto police regarding the investigation into the events that led to the arrest of Ms. Nguyen and Mrs. Tran. We remain hopeful for the release of Mrs. Tran."

"We want to maintain a dialogue with Vietnam on this case. In so doing, we also seek a long-term solution in the form of co-operation on criminal matters, in order to avoid similar situations in the future," said Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) Chan. "Our embassy in Hanoi will assist Ms. Nguyen's family in any way possible over the coming weeks."

Minister Axworthy noted that Canada's Ambassador to Vietnam, who has been in Canada for the last several weeks, will return to Vietnam in order to prepare for the visit of Nguyen family members, who will travel to Vietnam later this month. The ambassador will also further the dialogue with Vietnamese authorities on outstanding issues, particularly the release of Mrs. Tran.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Naseem Nuraney

Office of the Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)

(613) 995-1852

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874