Westminster, California - 09/09/2007. Billboards Depict Injustice in Vietnam to be Erected in Los Angles and Little Saigon Westminster, California. 

The Committee for A Call for Democracy on Sept. 9, 2007 held in Little Saigon  a meeting luncheon at Paracel Seafood Restaurant, Westminster, CA, to discuss about erecting two billboards showing Father Nguyen Van Ly's mouth was covered at a communists trial in Hue, Viet Nam, on March 30, 2007.

After two hours of meeting members agreed to sign a contract with an advertising company to set up one billboard, size 13'x26', at the corner of Hills and Olympics, center of Los Angeles, as early as Oct, 2007, with a public ceremony to mark the event. Another billboard will follow, to be set up at the intersection of Brookhurst and Hazard, in Little Saigon.

A separate group, working independently from the committee of A Call For Democracy, was formed to set up the billboards in Southern California. During the inception of this task, however, the Committee helped the group with initial fees for the contract with the advertising company, while the group procures other necessary license and permit for the billboards. Since the due time for erecting the billboard so pressed, especially in Los Angles area, Mr. Nguyen Duy Ngheu, who represents the Vietnamese Community in Los Angeles, has immediately advanced an amount of $1,000 and pledged another $500 more in the coming month.

The meeting also passed a resolution asking everyone in the Vietnamese-American Community to support the activities promoting freedom, democracy, and human rights in Viet Nam. The Committee stressed that an announcement will be made with area’s news organizations, local and state lawmakers, to mark the billboard-erecting event. Similar projects in other states have attracted much popularity. A fund raising event to supports the above projects will be organized at Parcel Seafood Restaurant on October 21, 2007. Date and time will be announced later.

After the picture of Father Nguyen Van Ly ---- his mouth was physically muted by a court’s bailiff’s hand ---- was seen around the world, the A Call For democracy has issued 32,000 postcards and 500 posters which depict the injustice act of Vietnam communist authority. Billboards with the picture of Father Ly's covered mouth were erected in the cities of  San Jose, Oakland, Palo Alto, Seattle, Houston and Brisbane (Australia).

The meeting ended in a determine atmosphere. It was resolute that Little Saigon --- the capital of Vietnamese in America ---  and Los Angles --- the Asian gateway of the U.S. --- should have the billboard erected by now. If not sooner.