Thursday - September 3, 1998

Radio Free Asia Airs First Statement to the Media by the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, Highest Buddhist Leader So Far Released by Hanoi

Washington D.C. - Arthritic with a variety of illnesses (migraine, chest pains, stomach ulcer, and possibly a lung condition), the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, Secretary General of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, was released Monday morning, August 31, from Thanh Liet Prison Camp near Hanoi.

In the first interview granted to a media whether in Vietnam or abroad and speaking from the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery where he is staying in Ho Chi Minh City, Venerable Quang Do declared to RFA Vietnamese Service Senior Editor Khanh Nguyen that "after many years in jail, I am more used to a prison condition than a state of freedom." But he said this does not bother him, since "they can imprison my body but my mind, during all that time, was flying everywhere. So when I am in meditation I feel no constraint whatsoever."

Asked whether he considers the current amnesty granted by the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to be a change of policy, he said: "All I know is that whatever they do is sort of opportunistic, according to prevailing circumstances. They will do whatever is necessary for the moment, so it's hard to tell. If they have to be open to a degree, they will open themselves up to that point. As for what will happen afterward it's too early to tell."

Crediting the release of himself and other Buddhist leaders and dissidents to "international pressure," the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do asked RFA to relay his thanks to the overseas Vietnamese-irrespective of religion-and the international community for helping in that release. He also asked that the overseas Vietnamese consolidate their unity and agreement so that one day, sooner than later, "they can bring what they enjoy abroad home to benefit all of their compatriots inside the country."

The Most Venerable Thich Quang Do is now 70. He was imprisoned the first time by the Communists in 1977 and was released 20 months later, in 1978, under mounting international pressure. In 1982 he was re-arrested for protesting the government expropriation of the Unified Buddhist Church property throughout South Vietnam, then was exiled to his native province of Thai Binh. In 1992, claiming that his exile was illegal since he was never put on trial he defied the government ban and went back to Saigon. In 1995 he was arrested for the third time and sentenced to five years of hard labor. Venerable Quang Do is considered one of the top Buddhist scholars of Vietnam, and last year was nominated for the Nobel peace prize by four of the former winners of the same prize.

The interview was aired in its entirety to Vietnam on September 3rd in the evening broadcast from 9 to 10 p.m., Vietnam time.

Radio Free Asia is a private corporation that was established in 1996 to provide news and information to listeners in China, Tibet, Vietnam, Burma, North Korea, Laos and Cambodia. It is funded by grants from Congress. RFA's mission is to be a forum for a variety of opinions and voices from within Asian nations whose people do not have full freedom of expression. Listener confidence in the quality and credibility of its broadcasts is RFA's highest priority. RFA is a journalistically independent organization whose autonomy is key to providing objective domestic news and information.