Vietnam: About a million believers of the beseiged Hoa Hao Buddhism flocked to Phu My, An Giang province, a remote Mekong Delta township for their first reluctantly permitted major festival in 24 years. The faithful held a week-long religious service beginning July 1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of their indigenous sect.
The U.S.-based Overseas Hoa Hao Buddhist Association (OHHBA) said the influx of Hoa Hao faithful to Phu My had reached a critical mass, and government authorities invoked security reasons to flex their control, going back on promises to allow multiple food supply sites. The restriction of food supply created particular problems for the gathering. In addition, the OHHBA indicated that Hoa Hao followers were required to go through a long sign-in procedure to discourage attendants.
The document added that many people had ignored the demand, and flooded to To Dinh--the birthplace of the sect's founder--with truck- and boat-loads of food to help feed the pilgrims.
Hoa Hao--which counts three to four million adherents in Vietnam--is a neo-Buddhist sect which emphasizes home worship, and amalgamates Buddhism, Confucian doctrine and other indigenous practices. The sect is particularly known for its advocacy of patriotism.
The sect was persecuted by French colonial rulers prior to 1945. Later, the Viet Minh--Vietnamese communists--executed Hoa Hao's founder, Prophet Huynh Phu So.
Since the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975, communist authorities confiscated thousands of Hoa Hao properties, abolished its management structure and banned its major celebrations, including the annual Founder's Day festival.
Permission for the gathering came after Hoa Hao was finally given its official status in May. The authorities also appointed the 11-person so-called Hoa Hao Buddhism Representative Committee, which includes a number of communist party members, but excluded Le Quang Liem, the sect's chosen leader.
Venerable Pham Van Kham, a representative of the Interfaith Committee at the May 18 meeting of nearly 700 members and guests in Vietnam strongly protested the Hanoi regime for orchestrating the state-controlled Hoa Hao Buddhism Representative Committee, and for assigning party member Muoi Ton to chair the Committee. Muoi Ton held a long record of killing many Hoa Hao Buddhists. Ven. Pham Van Kham also denounced decree 26/199/NDD/CP which tightens control on religions and permits permanent confiscation of religious properties. This decree led to the order to reduce the Hoa Hao teaching bible from 480 pages down to 100 pages. Other cases of harassment against Hoa Hao members were also documented.
On June 1, Hoa Hao leaders sent out thousands of letters calling for their members to gather to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of their indigenous sect on July 1 regardless of government restrictions.
Local authorities had expected around 100,000 according to an official of the Fatherland Front, the Communist Party umbrella organization for mass movements. The large crowd posed a threat to the already unstable political situation in Vietnam. Many "hot spots" exist where religious followers and peasants have protested en mass for religious freedom and against government corruption.
Hanoi's limitations on freedom of worship and imprisonment of people for the peaceful expression of their religious or political beliefs have been widely condemned by the international community; most noticeably in an human rights report by UN representative Abdelfattah Amor, who visited Vietnam last year.
A big celebration of the anniversary of the Prophet Huynh Phu So's birth based on the lunar calendar is also planned for January 1, 2000.
Vietnamese overseas have joined the protest of Hoa Hao Buddhists against state oppression by demonstrations before the Hanoi consulate in San Francisco on July 9, 1999, and by raising awareness of religious oppression in Vietnam with petitions to the United Nations and international organizations.