INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST INFORMATION BUREAU
OFFICIAL INFORMATION SERVICE
OF Vien Hoa Dao, UNIFIED BUDDHIST CHURCH OF VIETNAM
25, rue Jaffeux - 92230 Gennevilliers (France) l Tel.: Paris (1) 47 93 10 81
Fax: Paris (1) 47 91 41 38 l E-mail: ubcv.ibib@buddhist.com
For Immediate Release
22nd August 20000
Buddhist leader Thich Quang Do urges UN Secretary-General to reconsider omission of the Dalai Lama from Millennium Peace Summit
Buddhist monk and prominent dissident Venerable Thich Quang Do, Head of the Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma (Vien Hoa Dao) of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) has written to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressing grave concern that the Dalai Lama will be absent from the Millennium World Peace Summit to be held at the United Nations in New York from August 28-31st. His Holiness was omitted from a list of 1,000 religious and spiritual leaders invited to take part in the Summit, the goals of which are "the quest for peace, global understanding and international cooperation". Following protests from many religious leaders, including Nobel Peace laureates such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (South Africa), Mairead Maguire (Ireland) etc., the Dalai Lama was invited to attend the last two days of the Summit which are held in a hotel, not in the United Nations, and to pronounce the closing address. He declined the invitation.
In a letter to Mr Kofi Annan sent via the International Buddhist Information Bureau from the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City where he is held under administrative detention, Thich Quang Do expressed support for the Summit's aims : "In a world torn by conflict, intolerance, increasing wealth polarity and discrimination, the spiritual dimension is the key to peace [...]. By gathering together 1000 religious and spiritual leaders from all over the world, this Summit will provide a unique opportunity to delve deep into the wisdom and conscience of humanity, and seek ways to heal the ills and solder the rifts that are devastating our modern world."
He drew particular attention to the situation in Asia,"where the clash between the ancient and modern, poverty and affluence, fast-growing economies and age-old traditions is provoking the gravest moral crisis of our history. The presence of great religious and spiritual figures from Asia at the Peace Summit is therefore of paramount importance."
Citing the Dalai Lama as one of Asia's "most respected and enlightened spiritual leaders", Thich Quang Do declared that "the absence of the Dalai Lama at this worldwide gathering will create a void that can never be filled. Worse, it will cause pain and bewilderment to millions of Buddhists all over the world who pin their hopes upon the achievements of the Summit". He called on Mr Kofi Annan to "reconsider this decision and use [his] good offices to ensure that an invitation is extended to His Holiness without delay."
Thich Quang Do also raised the case of Vietnam, where "the great religions are persecuted today and their followers are harassed and detained. The UBCV, which is adhered to by 80% of the population and has a two-thousand-year tradition in Vietnam is banned by the Government. Like many other UBCV monks, I have spent almost two decades in prison, exile and under house arrest. But unlike my less fortunate brothers, I had the good luck to be released in September 1998 thanks to pressure from world governments, international organisations and eminent international figures. One of these figures was His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who joined a Committee of Nobel Prize Winners to appeal for my release". Thich Quang Do regretted that, because of Government persecution, "the voice of repressed UBCV Buddhists will not be heard at the World Millennium Peace Summit".