WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States on Monday dropped Vietnam from a list of countries said to severely violate their people's religious freedoms, acting ahead of President Bush's trip to Hanoi.
The State Department added Uzbekistan to the annual list it sent to lawmakers.
John V. Hanford III, U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom, said Vietnam had made significant improvement since it was first placed on the list in 2004 by releasing religious prisoners and enacting laws to prevent harassment of thousands of believers who had once been pressured to renounce their faith.
"Though important work remains to be done, Vietnam can no longer be identified as a severe violator of religious freedom," Hanford told reporters.
Vietnam's removal from the list, he said, had nothing to do with political considerations or burgeoning U.S. trade ties with the booming Asian economy.
"It's clear that they have not been given a pass in the past, and they are not now," Hanford said. "The changes are really dramatic."
Uzbekistan was added to the list in part for harassing its Muslim citizens, he said. Persecution there, he said, is "widespread and severe, and the situation has continued to deteriorate this year."
Returning to the list from last year were Myanmar, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are set to travel to Hanoi for the upcoming meeting of the 21 economies of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Vietnam is preparing to become the Geneva-based World Trade Organization's 150th member next month.
Bush's visit to Vietnam comes as U.S. lawmakers consider legislation that would normalize trade relations between the former war enemies.
Congressional approval of the bill is needed to allow U.S. companies to enjoy all the benefits of Vietnam's new WTO agreement.
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