WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has dropped Vietnam from its list of nations that severely violate religious freedom ahead of a visit there this week by President George W. Bush, U.S. officials said on Monday.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, also said Uzbekistan had been added to the State Department's annual list of "countries of particular concern" for violating religious freedom.
The list, to be unveiled by the State Department at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday, will also include China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, they said.
The U.S. decisions were to be announced shortly after Vietnam on Monday deported a U.S. citizen convicted of plotting against the communist-run government, a move that resolved a long-running irritant between Washington and Hanoi. ...
Paul Fountain | 1/30/2009
