In the August 1945 Revolution, the entire Vietnamese nation made a choice for national independence - not for socialism. Vietnam's Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945 did not contain a single word about socialism or communism.

History has demonstrated that under every totalitarian regime, whether communist or non-communist, all democratic rights and freedoms are mercilessly repressed, the difference being only in the degree of repression. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese nation is one of the few that is still under the rule of a totalitarian communist regime.

Article 4 of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's Constitution, says: "The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)... follows Marxism-Leninism and the thought of Ho Chi Minh, and it is the leading force of the state and society."It is on this basis that democratic rights are curtailed. The power structure in Vietnam rejects competition and minimizes the possibility of its replacement by something else.

Because there are no rules and principles regarding fair competition in the current political culture of the country, election after election, people have not been allowed to choose the most deserving individuals and political parties to represent them. For that reason the leadership, management, and operational set-ups become ever more corrupt, and can now be compared to a creaky piece of equipment from the center down to the localities.

A path chosen by the entire nation must necessarily be better than the one chosen by just one person or one group of persons. Given that the CPV is, after all, only one component of the nation, it should not claim to speak on behalf of the entire nation! The ruling party in Vietnam has usurped the voice of the nation. It is by no means a legitimate government! Why? Because there has not been a single free election in Vietnam.

The highest objective in the struggle to fight for freedom and democracy for the Vietnamese nation today is to make sure that the present political regime in Vietnam is changed in a fundamental way, not through incremental "renovation"steps or, even worse, through insignificant touch-ups here and there. Concretely speaking, it must be a change from the monolithic, one-party, non-competitive regime that we have at the present time to a pluralistic and multiparty system; one in which there is healthy competition, including at least a clear separation of powers among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of government.

The concrete objective is to re-establish the following fundamental rights of the people:

* The Freedom of Information and Opinion as defined in the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified on December 16, 1966, and endorsed by Vietnam on September 24, 1982, [specifically] Article 19.2: "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of opinion."Political parties, organizations, and individuals all have the freedom to express their opinions through the mass media without having to wait for prior approval by the government.

• The Freedom to Assemble, form Associations and Political Parties, Vote, and Stand for Elected Office as defined in the ICCPR, Article 25. This means that political parties of every orientation are allowed to compete fairly in a genuine pluralistic and multiparty democracy.

• The Freedom to Participate in Independent Labor Unions and the Right to Legitimate Strikes in accordance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights ratified by the United Nations on December 16, 1966, Articles 7 and 8: These labor unions must be independent of the state, and in practice not subservient to the state.

• The Freedom of Religion as defined in the ICCPR, Article 18: These religions must also operate independently. They cannot be made the instruments of the state.

The method of this struggle must be peaceful and nonviolent. The Vietnamese nation must itself be actively engaged in it. Of course, we are extremely thankful for the warm and ever more effective support of all our friends in the world.

Whether the CPV marches hand-in-hand with the nation or not will depend on whether it is objective, fair, enlightened, and modest enough to accept the principle of equality and fair competition. The one-party political regime must be buried, once and for all, in the dustbin of history.

We hope that this Manifesto will foster the positive contributions of our compatriots living outside of Vietnam and the support of our international friends. We are sincerely grateful and call on the United Nations, national parliaments, governments, international organizations, and our friends all over the world to continue supporting enthusiastically and effectively this fully legitimate struggle.