Viet Nam
28.05.01
Urgent Interventions
Vietnam: Repression against three defenders of religious freedom
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
VTN 001/0105/OBS 042
Forced disappearance/Arbitrary detention/Harassment
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
21 May 2001
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Vietnam :
Description of the facts :
The Observatory has been informed of new acts of repression against three defenders of religious freedom and human rights in Vietnam.
According to information received from the Vietnam Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, the Vietnamese authorities have substantially reinforced their surveillance around the domicile of Thich Quang Do, President of Vien Hoa Dao - Institute for the Propagation of Dharma of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (EBUV) in Ho Chi Minh Ville, as well as around the place of detention of Thich Huyen Quang, another member of EBUV, who is forced to live in the shed of a pagoda in the province of Quang Ngai. All visitors are minutely searched and Thich Quang Do's telephone was cut off on 9 April. According to him, "the secret police surround the Zen Thanh Minh Centre [where he lives] 24 hours a day and the atmosphere is extremely tense".
These events were in response to a letter that Thich Quang Do wrote to the authorities on 29 March 2001, in which he asked for the release of Thich Huyen Quang who has been in detention without being charged since 1982 for having defended fundamental freedoms and democracy.
Thich Quang Do recalled in particular that on 27 November 1997 members of the security forces of the Quang Nai province informed Thich Huyen Quang that he was officially "released" from administrative detention, however, the security forces continue to prevent Thich Huyen Quang from returning to his home, in contradiction with decree 51/CP according to which a person who has completed his sentence can return to the place in which his residence permit had previously been established. While claiming that Thich Huyen Quang is free, the security forces are trying to "legalise" this detention by forcing him to request a residence permit for the "pagoda prison" in which he is currently living.
In his letter, Thich Quang Do announced that if Thich Huyen Quang remained in detention, he would head a EBUV delegation to bring Thich Huyen Quang back to his home in Ho Chi Minh Ville.
The Observatory reminds readers that the EBUV monks have been subjected to systematic repression on the part of the Vietnamese authorities for many years because of their commitment to religious freedom, human rights and democracy in Vietnam (Cf. Annual Report of the Observatory and appeal VTN 001/9909/OBS 061). Thich Quang Do, who was nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, has been in detention for over 20 years and has been arrested twice since October 2000.
On the other hand, the Observatory has been informed that Father Nguyen Van Ly was arrested in his church at An Truyen, near Huê at about 5 a.m. on 17 May 2001 as he was preparing to say Mass. He was taken to an unknown destination by members of the security forces.
Father Nguyen Van Ly was held in administrative detention for nearly three months for having conveyed a report on religious freedom in Vietnam to members of the International Commission on Religious Freedom of the US Congress which was in session on 13 February 2001. This measure was taken according to decree 31/CP of 1997 which permits the placing in administrative detention for 6 months to 2 years of any person suspected of endangering national security, without any prior legal proceedings. Since transmitting this report, Father Van Ly has been the victim of a real smear campaign orchestrated by the authorities and broadcast by the media.
On 10 May 2001 he was served with an order forbidding him from exercising his religious functions "throughout the period of his house arrest".
The Observatory considers that these facts constitute a blatant violation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1998, whose Article 1 states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels" and whose Article 6(b)states that "Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others ... to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms".
Action requested :
Kindly write to the authorities of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, requesting them to :
i. Immediately release Thich Huyen Quang and of Father Nguyen Van Ly, in view of the arbitrary nature of their detention;
ii. Put an end to all forms of harassment to which Thich Quang Do and all other human rights defenders inn Vietnam have been subjected;
iii. Respect the terms of the Declaration of defenders of human rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1998, and in particular its Articles 1 and 6(b) mentioned above;
iv. Respect the terms of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international instruments ratified by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Addresses :
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Ministry of Foreign Affairs : Fax: + 844 825 9205
Ministry of the Interior : Fax : + 844 826 0774
Presidency : Fax : +844-804 4940
You may also wish to write to the Vietnamese Embassy in your country.
Paris - Geneva, 21 May 2001
The Observatory, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and strives to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Fax: +033 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel: FIDH +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 - OMCT +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail: observatoire@iprolink.ch
VTN 001/0105/OBS 042
Forced disappearance/Arbitrary detention/Harassment
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
21 May 2001
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Vietnam :
Description of the facts :
The Observatory has been informed of new acts of repression against three defenders of religious freedom and human rights in Vietnam.
According to information received from the Vietnam Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, the Vietnamese authorities have substantially reinforced their surveillance around the domicile of Thich Quang Do, President of Vien Hoa Dao - Institute for the Propagation of Dharma of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (EBUV) in Ho Chi Minh Ville, as well as around the place of detention of Thich Huyen Quang, another member of EBUV, who is forced to live in the shed of a pagoda in the province of Quang Ngai. All visitors are minutely searched and Thich Quang Do's telephone was cut off on 9 April. According to him, "the secret police surround the Zen Thanh Minh Centre [where he lives] 24 hours a day and the atmosphere is extremely tense".
These events were in response to a letter that Thich Quang Do wrote to the authorities on 29 March 2001, in which he asked for the release of Thich Huyen Quang who has been in detention without being charged since 1982 for having defended fundamental freedoms and democracy.
Thich Quang Do recalled in particular that on 27 November 1997 members of the security forces of the Quang Nai province informed Thich Huyen Quang that he was officially "released" from administrative detention, however, the security forces continue to prevent Thich Huyen Quang from returning to his home, in contradiction with decree 51/CP according to which a person who has completed his sentence can return to the place in which his residence permit had previously been established. While claiming that Thich Huyen Quang is free, the security forces are trying to "legalise" this detention by forcing him to request a residence permit for the "pagoda prison" in which he is currently living.
In his letter, Thich Quang Do announced that if Thich Huyen Quang remained in detention, he would head a EBUV delegation to bring Thich Huyen Quang back to his home in Ho Chi Minh Ville.
The Observatory reminds readers that the EBUV monks have been subjected to systematic repression on the part of the Vietnamese authorities for many years because of their commitment to religious freedom, human rights and democracy in Vietnam (Cf. Annual Report of the Observatory and appeal VTN 001/9909/OBS 061). Thich Quang Do, who was nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, has been in detention for over 20 years and has been arrested twice since October 2000.
On the other hand, the Observatory has been informed that Father Nguyen Van Ly was arrested in his church at An Truyen, near Huê at about 5 a.m. on 17 May 2001 as he was preparing to say Mass. He was taken to an unknown destination by members of the security forces.
Father Nguyen Van Ly was held in administrative detention for nearly three months for having conveyed a report on religious freedom in Vietnam to members of the International Commission on Religious Freedom of the US Congress which was in session on 13 February 2001. This measure was taken according to decree 31/CP of 1997 which permits the placing in administrative detention for 6 months to 2 years of any person suspected of endangering national security, without any prior legal proceedings. Since transmitting this report, Father Van Ly has been the victim of a real smear campaign orchestrated by the authorities and broadcast by the media.
On 10 May 2001 he was served with an order forbidding him from exercising his religious functions "throughout the period of his house arrest".
The Observatory considers that these facts constitute a blatant violation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1998, whose Article 1 states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels" and whose Article 6(b)states that "Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others ... to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms".
Action requested :
Kindly write to the authorities of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, requesting them to :
i. Immediately release Thich Huyen Quang and of Father Nguyen Van Ly, in view of the arbitrary nature of their detention;
ii. Put an end to all forms of harassment to which Thich Quang Do and all other human rights defenders inn Vietnam have been subjected;
iii. Respect the terms of the Declaration of defenders of human rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1998, and in particular its Articles 1 and 6(b) mentioned above;
iv. Respect the terms of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international instruments ratified by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Addresses :
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Ministry of Foreign Affairs : Fax: + 844 825 9205
Ministry of the Interior : Fax : + 844 826 0774
Presidency : Fax : +844-804 4940
You may also wish to write to the Vietnamese Embassy in your country.
Paris - Geneva, 21 May 2001
The Observatory, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and strives to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Fax: +033 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel: FIDH +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 - OMCT +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail: observatoire@iprolink.ch