Dim Perspectives

Religious Fredom at Stake

The Most Venerable Thich Quang Do received warm sympathy from international circles. On January 18, 2008, US congressman Ed Royce (R- California) sent a letter to the Committee for Nobel Prize for Peace to recommend the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do to the candidacy to the prize for the year 2008. The highest dignitary of the Unified Buddhist Church is highly appreciated as a famous candidate whose shining bravery essentially serves to inspire peace and democracy. His concerns at the rights situations in the country were most memorable.He has been for many years a personality of prestige who has braved danger and  struggled nonviolently for religious freedom and human rights in Vietnam. In the interview with RFA, February 28, 2009, he said that the winning of the prize is not as important as the world’s interest in the depraved Vietnamese people who have not enjoyed freedom, who have not seen democracy, and  whose rights of man have not been respected. The economic development has brought some improvements, but the wealth gap is surisingly widening. This is not the gap between the rich and the poor, but the abyss between the rulers and the ruled.

Harsh Repressive Measures

      The Most Venerable Thich Vien Dinh

In Quang Nam, on February 6, 2009, the security police arrested and detained the Most Venerable Thich Vien Dinh, Secretary-general of the Institute of the Propagation of Buddhist Faith, Unified Buddhist Church. According to AFP, Buddhist followers were forbidden to attend the first anniversary commemorating the death of the late Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang who passed away this day a year previously. Harassment ensued.

    The Most Venerable Thich Khong Tanh

On May 1, 2010, AFP reported that the security police of Ho Chi Minh City detained the Most Venerable Thich Khong Tanh for many hours for interrogation at the city police department. The high dignitary of the Unified Buddhist Church was released at 10 P.M. April 30 after having been beaten and detained for 4 hours. The Most Venerable himself, the Head of the Social Department of Social Service, diffused the news by e-mail to the Information Office of the Unified Buddhist Church in Paris, France. Fifty plain-clothes agents of the security police of Ward II, Thu Duc District and the city security police blocked his way and arrested  him without warrant. He was then detained, beaten, and interrogated. Four Buddhist monks at Lien Tri Pagoda, Thu Duc District, who tried to defend him were also assaulted and beaten .

    The Patriarch Thich Quang Do

In an interview with RFA on May 13, 2010, the Patriarch Thich Quang Do, when asked about the reason for which he had been placed under house surveillance, explained that “the Communist authorities in Vietnam think that if he is free like many other people, he will continue to struggle for freedom and democracy. Being under surveillance, he has no opportunity to contact with many people. Under house surveillance, he has no one to talk to. Sometimes, someone wants to see him, the security police posit check-points around his pagoda and on the other side of the street. Any time, the police is on watch there, he is isolated from the outside. They want him not to see anyone. He is restricted to isolation.

      

A prominent Buddhist, who asked anonymity, praised the Patriarch devotion to religious faith and the country in warmest confidence. He sacrifices all his life for the struggle for justice and human rights. His master was brutally and mercilessly killed. His mother then his elder brother monk, his master‘s junior brother monk, and even his master’s master were all killed by the Communists. They are extremely brutal. In addition, they follow and apply the tenets of a totalitarian political regime. The citizen has no right to voice his own opinion. They observe no human rights; neither do they have democracy. The Communists rule the country according to their whims and wishes. We cannot let them do things as they wish forever. We have to struggle in one or way or another.  We will never give up. A Buddhist like him will never live only for himself. He lives for man. As long as the Vietnamese still endure misfortune, he will cooperate with fellow cpatriots and share hardship with them. And, we continue to struggle until Vietnam has freedom, democracy, and peace.” There is no hatred in his heart and mind. He  loves man and show compassion for everyone, That means love is happiness. “If you really love and show compassion for another person, you will feel happy.” That is why, he always maintains peace of mind. He knows he never feels unhappy. He always keeps a smile. He forgives the Communists because they are also human beings. The Communists could change their thinking and renounce their ideology. What they have to act right now is to drop communism and accept democracy, freedom, and human rights for the sake of just cause. They will be happy, then.

         

       Restrictions

After the Communist takeover of South Vietnam in April 1975, they found out it was difficult to place the Unified Buddhist Church under its control, They then sought to create another Buddhist Church. They called it the Buddhist Church of Vietnam. The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam was  outlawed. They forbade all its activities. Not only does the Church suffer misery, The Vietnamese all suffer misery because they are bound to live under a totalitarian political regime.  Their rights are stripped off. They have nothing but 2 meager meals a day. A human person has no human rights and a human life, and thus his life has no meaning. We all decide to act to change the situation. Thus, I continue to act, until this day  

      

According to the law “hellman” of Buddhism, the Patriarch of the Vietnam Unified Buddhist Church believed, all things transform, nothing remains unchanged within a “setma.” All things transform. Communism will then transforms according to the law of transformation of Buddhism. Things that do not transform do not exist. Anything that transforms exists. The same is true with communism.  Some day, communism will come to an end. I think that some day Vietnam will have freedom and democracy, and the Vietnamese will have peace and contentment. He stressed:

    

“I honorably ask every to help the Vietnamese to get democracy, freedom, and human rights. My sincere appreciation specifically goes to Ratto Foundation, Norway, for the prize they awarded to me in 2006.  Events that have happened in Korea, Cuba bring us hope. I have experienced communism 35 years. I understand that like the Vietnamese people the citizens in those Communist countries have no peace and happiness. They endure misery. I hope the Communists there will abandon communism and honor democracy, freedom, hand human rights. If human rights are respected, everyone, every people, and every country in the world  will have peace and happiness. I hope the world all has peace and happiness.” 

  

     Repression at Pagodas

     Saigon

On August 12, 2011, the Buddhist annual holiday of 15th July of the Lunar Calendar, the security police aborted a gift-giving party to disabled soldiers of the old Republic of Vietnam at Lien Tri Pagoda, Saigon. Only could a group of about 20 members of the family of the invited come closer to the pagoda. Nevertheless, they were either held back or disbanded  under threat.  Others were forced to stay away. Police checkpoints were posited along the road to the pagoda. The Patriarch Thich Quang Do was also barred at Thanh Mint Monastery. Communication by phone to the Venerable Thich Khong Tanh, the Superior monk at Lien Tri, was inaccessible. The dignitary asked in vain permission of the police through loudspeaker to allow his guests to come to attend the party.

Also in Saigon,  on March 25, 2012, the security police surrounded Giac Hoa Pagoda, where the Unified Buddhist Church has its seat.  The raid was carried out following the Decision 63 of March 24 of the People’s Council of Ward 7, Binh Thanh Precinct to force the Pagoda to voluntarily destroy the construction on the flat roof of the pagoda it had built without the authority’s permission. In reality, on March 1, when the Pagoda began to repair the flat top of the pagoda, roofing the floor with tin sheets and paving it with brick. Officials and inspectors of the precinct’s Office House Constructions of Ward 7 had come to inspect. Verbal authorization had been given as “light constructions requires no permission.”  However, on March 24, the chairman of the People’s Council of Ward 7 Ho Ky Lan, by the Decision 63, severely warned the Pagoda. The authorities would cut off electricity and water supply if it would not voluntarily destroy the construction on the flat roof within ten days.  And,  if the Pagoda persisted resisting the order, the authorities would have contractors destroyed the construction. and the Pagoda would also have to pay a fine of 12 million $VN “dong.”

On August 6, 2012, a hundred plainclothes police agents surrounded Lien Tri Pagoda while the monks were preparing to provide disabled Vietnam War veterans with relief aids. They  blocked the participants  among whom were religious dignitaries and priests from entering the pagoda. A minister of Evangelical Christianity was beaten and taken to the police station for interrogation. Two Catholic priests were blocked at the entrance. Activists for democracy, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, the lawyer Nguyen Bac Truyen, and the Journalist Truong Minh Duc were on close watch at home and could not come to the place.  Sources said that “the Most Venerable Thich Khong Tanh, the head monk at Long Tri Pagoda, has long been the target for repression due to his humanitarian services, and commitments to religious freedom and human rights.”  Previously, in July, when anti-China movement was on the rise, activities of monks and believers in Saigon were keenly monitored. Out of caution, the authorities took preventive measures to prevent them from staging anti-China demonstrations in Hanoi and Saigon. The Most Venerable Thich Khong Tanh was blocked from joining in the event. He had been trailed wherever he traveled ever since.  

During May 6-7. 2013, some 50 agents including plainclothes policemen laid siege on Giac Hoa Pagoda and barred the monks in residence from leaving the place. The action came as activists for freedom and democracy began to launch campaigns of “picnic demonstrations” calling for protection of human rights. A group of thugs blockaded the entrance and forced the Most Venerable Vien Dinh and the Venerable Thich Vien Hy to go back to their monastery. Guardian monks were restricted to isolation at  the pagoda.
 Visitors were forbidden to come to the pagoda. The police put Unified Buddhist Church pagodas under strict control, particularly during July 2012 when  the Patriarch Thich Quang Do called on the Buddhists to support anti-China rallies. The authorities, for fear of an involvement on the part of monks in the “picnic demonstrations, launched raids and blockades at the Unified Buddhist Church pagodas as a preventive measure.

     Dong Nai

On June 10, 2012, the traffic police stopped the Venerable Thich Quang Thanh of Dong Nai Province for not wearing a helmet while he was riding his motorbike. They pulled him over, punched him in the face, and threw his motorbike in their truck although the monk prepared to pay a fine. While awaiting for backup, a group of policeman, pinned him down and  beat him with a truncheon’ stopping him from calling for help. The monk was taken for questioning and released several hours later without an explanation.

     Phu Yen -  Binh Thuan

In Phu Yen Province, prominent monks, nuns, and believers of the Unified Buddhist Church Youth Movement were summoned for interrogation. In Binh Thuan Province, the Venerable Thich Thong Hai was repeatedly summoned for interrogation. During a “working session” that lasted two hours, the monk was questioned on his performance of religious services and told he was not allowed to hold the Buddhist Holiday celebration. If he failed to comply with the order, he would face “preventive measure.” The monk said that he only obeyed the order of the Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church Thich Quang Do, who called on the Sangha and believers to serve faith, regardless of oppression.

     Da Nang  

In Da Nang, for two weeks prior to the celebration of the Buddhist Holy Day of July 15th of the Lunar Calendar (2012), the monks at Giac Minh Pagoda met with constant harassment. The worship place was laid in a siege crowded with policemen and cadres. No believer could come inside to pay respect to Buddha. Police checkpoints were posited at both ends of the entrance to the pagoda. No sooner had a  believer left the worship place than he or she was stopped by uniformed security police for interrogation. Many believers were subjected to detention at the police station. Frightened, many others could only venture to the pagoda in the early morning, placed offerings in the front gate, then ran away. Monks were summoned for interrogation. A camera was placed on the entrance post to intercept the activities in and around the pagoda. Security police checkpoints were posited in the surrounding area. The believers had to wait until nightfall to come to supply the monks with provisions.

Giac Minh Pagoda is the central office of the of the Buddhist Youth Movement of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam as well as the main office of the Church in Quang Bam- Da Nang Province.The Venerable Thich Thanh Quang, the Quang Nam - Danang  head of Quang Nam - Da Nang Provincial Committee, who had been targeted with violence by plainclothes police, disclosed to  Kathkeen Peoples, an official of the U.S. of the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, on her visit to the pagoda on October 30, 2013, that the pagoda had been sealed off until then. Police surveillance outside the pagoda was lifted on this day. Nevertheless, plainclothes police officers could be seen behind the windows of the police headquarters across the street filming the meeting. 

Giac Minh Pagoda had come under harsh surveillance since 1981 when the State-created Vietnam Buddhist Church came into being.

     Thua Thien - Hue

In Thua Thien - Hue, on the Buddhist Holiday of May 5, 2012, senior monks and believers faced pressure and threat from the authorities. Members affiliated with Unified Buddhist Church, in particular, were forced to destroy logos symbolizing Buddhism. Guardian monks were summoned for interrogation and told to sign a prepared text to denounce the Unified Buddhist Church’s “vile scheme” on  this holy day. The Shanga and  laity nevertheless nevertheless efused to comply with he order and continued to proceed with the celebration. The authorities deliberately tightend control on them.

On January 14, 2014, the Venerable Thich  Chan Tam, secretary-general of the Sangha Institute of the Unified Buddhist Church, was the target of violence. The monk was stopped by Ho Chi Minh  City police at a red traffic light while he was riding his motorcycle. A car rammed  his motor car from behind, and a gang of plainclothes agents rushed out and assaulted him. The monk cried out for help from passersby. As the crowd gathered, a man who appeared to be the chief of the assailants got out from another car and intervened in the incident.

A statement issued by the Paris-based Buddhist Information Service noted that the Venerable Chon Tam was expelled from Thua Thien - Hue Province and ordered to return to Saigon for attempt to attend a commemoration service by the Most Venerable Thich Nhu Dat, the newly-appointed Head of the Institute of Propagation for Buddhist Faith  of the Unified Buddhist Church. He had been ever since the target of “close police surveillance and harassment.” Meanwhile, the security police threatened to imprison Le Cong Cau, unless he stepped down from his position as the leader of the Buddhist Family organization

Still, the authorities kept a close watch on prominent members of the Unified Buddhist Church. Most of the Church’s leaders were summoned to police stations or kept inside their houses. Repression was increasingly harsh.  On January 10, 2014, the security police forbade the Most Venerable Thich Nhu Dat, the Head of Institute for the Propagation for Buddhist Faith, from organizing commemoration services at Lam Quang Pagoda. Police checkpoints were posited along the roadf to the pagoda to prevent people coming to the ceremony. Buddhists in the area were “invited” to attend an assembly to be explained that joining  the Church s activities would commit violation of the law as the Church is an outlawed organization and that  “Thich Nhu Dat is a reactionary element.”

Harassment

By the end of March 2013, the police in Thua Thien -Hue Province convoked for interrogation Le Cong Cau, the Head of the Buddhist Family, which is an organization affiliated with the Unified Buddhist Church. Le Cong Cau was charged with “undermining and conducting anti-State propaganda.” After three days under interrogation, the fervent Buddhist affirmed that he had written articles in which he advocated political pluralism, accused the Communist Party of Vietnam of religious persecution, of repression of activists of freedom, democracy and human rights. This Party nevertheless failed to stand up against China aggression on the Vietnam seaislands Paraceis and Spratlys in the East Asia Sea. Le Cong Cau contended that his reactions were self-evident and were in agreement with the Constitution of Vietnam. Sources said that Le Cong Cau might  face criminal charges under Article 87 of the Criminal Code “for sowing religious division” and under Article 88 of the same code for “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

On the Lunar New year Day [January 2014], Le Comg Cau was barred at Phu Bai Airport, Thua Thien - Hue Province, when he was about to take  a flight to Saigon. to meet with the Patriarch Thich Quang Do. The authorities seized from him documents and a laptop computer. He was then placed under house arrest, having been detained and interrogated for 13 hours at Truong An police station, Thua Thien – Hue Province. He was accused of breaching various laws and forbidden to leave home and meet anyone. Plainclothes and uniformed policemen were all around his home.  During interrogation, Le Cong Cau refuted all allegations by the police. His relationship with the Buddhist Church of Vietnam is right. The Church is legal, but the present government has deprived of it its rights and legal status. 

The security police threatened to imprison Le Cong Cau unless he stepped down from his position as the leader of the Buddhist Family organization. Under harassment and house arrest were prominent Buddhists. Among them were. Recognized Ho Nguyen Minh, Ho Van Nich, Hoang Nhu Dao, Hoang Tanh, Hoang Thi Hong Phuong, Le Nhat Thinh, Le Van Thanh, Ngo Duc Tien, Nguyen Chien, Nguyen Dinh Mong, Nguyen Duc Khoa, Nguyen Sac, Nguyen Tat Truc, Nguyen Thi Huong, Nguyen Van De, Troung Dien Hieu, Truong Minh Dung, Truong Trong Thao, Van Dinh An, Van Dinh Tat, Van Thi Hieu, and Van Tien Nhi.

International Support

The Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, who had been under house arrest since 2005. on 19 November, 2015, expressed gratitude to the international community for advocating for his release from house arrest. He affirmed his commitment to his cause for democracy, saying he greatly appreciated the the calls for U.S. President Barrack Obama to push for freedom in Vietnam at the international meetings in the Philippines and Malaysia by Nobel peace laureates and scholars who had paid attention to human rights situation in Vietnam. He stressed that it was a calamity to the Unified  Buddhist Church of Vietnam that had been under government oppression. For this reason the Vietnam Unified Church and he himself raised voices and advocated freedom not only for the Church but also for all the people of Vietnam.