President Obama told Vietnamese activists in Hanoi on Tuesday that people like them have made him a better leader.
The courageous work that they do is “important everywhere, including, by the way, in the United States, where there are all sorts of activists and people who are mobilizing, [who] often times are very critical of me and don’t always make my life comfortable but, ultimately, I think it’s a better country and I do a better job as president because I’m subject to that accountability,” Obama said.
He encouraged the civil society leaders to continue pressuring their government to make reforms.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the Vietnamese people to determine how their society functions and the nature of the government,” he said.
Obama said he told Vietnam’s political leaders that the U.S. respects Vietnam’s sovereignty and independence, but prodded them to do more to ensure freedom of speech and government accountability.
“[W]e do believe in certain universal values and it’s important for us to speak out on behalf of those values wherever we go,” Obama told the civil leaders. “And it’s particularly important and useful for me to hear directly from those who, under often very difficult conditions, are willing to make their voices heard on behalf of greater freedom and human rights.”
Obama noted that some invited activists were prevented from attending the meeting. “And it’s my hope that the government of Vietnam comes to recognize what we’ve recognized and what so many countries around the world have recognized, and that is that it’s very hard to prosper in this modern economy if you haven’t fully unleashed the potential of your people,” he said.
“And your people’s potential, in part, derives from their ability to express themselves and express new ideas, to try to right wrongs that are taking place in the society.”
