Respectfully sent to:
- Venerable Thich Quang Do, Director of the Hoa Dao Institute, Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam
- Members of the U.S. Congress
- Mr. Elliott Abrams, Chairman of the Commission on International Religious
Freedom
- Member of Parliaments in Europe and Australia
- International Human Rights organizations
- Commission on Religious Freedom in Vietnam
- News agencies, broadcast and members of the Press inside and outside
Vietnam for distribution.
The week of prayers for "Favorable nature; World Peace; Soldiers having died for the Nation and Victims of disasters in the last century to be freed from this world; Religions to be untied in Vietnam; The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam to be allowed to resume its activities freely; the Vietnamese people to soon escape the current yoke; Human rights to be respected" was started at the Tu Hieu Temple in Hue with the enthusiastic participation of many clergies and lay Buddhists, members of other faiths, and the surrounding population in various forms.
- Many overcame difficulties, threats, and possible loss of privileges to arrive at the Tu Hieu Temple to join over 500 clergies and lay Buddhists in prayer sessions on the 16th and 17th of January of the Lunar Year Tan Ty (or February 8 and 9, 2001).
- Others could not physically come to the Temple due to various measures of terrorization. They had to pray at home or did so quietly at Government's workplaces. Many of them later called the organizing committee to tell stories of being obstructed or threatened with dismissal and to regretfully inform that they could only pray in their hearts.
- Clergies and lay Buddhists from other provinces also called the organizing committee and reported government's harassment of clergies and lay Buddhists who are loyal to the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Government's departments charged [with security authorities] did everything they can to prevent Buddhists from coming to Tu Hieu Temple to attend the prayer directly. However, from whatever corner of the sky, they will all focus their mind toward Tu Hieu and pray during this week.
- For days before the commencement of the Week of Prayer, all government's branches and offices in Thua Thien-Hue were summoned for urgent political indoctrination and put on high alert since February 6, 2001.
- From January 31 to February 7, 2001, undercover agents were sent by Public Security of Thua Thien-Hue province to all pagodas run by members of the League of Clergies and even private residence of lay Buddhists supporting the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam to collect information about the Week of Prayer and the detailed schedule of activities. Meanwhile, a number of [uniformed] Public Security cadres urged clergies from nearby pagodas to ask the organizing committee to apply for the government's permission for the event but all the clergies and lay Buddhists refused to comply.
Furthermore, on February 7, 2001, Mr. Quang, Deputy Head of Hue City Public Security in charge of Crime Department, and Mr. Linh, Public Security cadre for religious affairs, came to Tu Hieu Temple to demand Venerable Thich Chi Mau apply for the government's permission to hold the Prayer Ritual. Venerable Thich Chi Mau handed the Deputy Head of Hue City Public Security a suggestion form and said: "If you have a suggestion, please fill out this form and I will forward it to the organizing committee." The Deputy Head replied: "I am not a Buddhist. I am the government. I come here to suggest you apply for permission. If you refuse to do so, any trouble taking place will be your responsibility".
Venerable Thich Chi Mau listed the reasons for his refusal to apply for permission: "The Vietnamese government claimed to respect the right to freedom of religion and freedom of non-religion. I already told the organizing committee of the League of Clergies about the suggestion of the Deputy Head of the Hue City Public Security. The organizing committee determined that holding a prayer service is within the provision of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed by Vietnam as a member, the international covenants the Vietnamese government signed and promised to comply, the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Decree 26 signed by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on April 19, 1999 - particularly addressed under Article 1 of Chapter 1, Article 7 of Part 1 of Chapter 2, and Article 8 of Part 2 of Chapter 2. Had we applied for the permission and the government granted, both parties would have violated the Constitution."
Nevertheless, at 5 PM on the same day, Venerable Thich Chi Mau received a notice from the People's Committee of Thuy Xuan Ward, numbered 08/TB-UBND, signed by Chairwoman Do Thi Kinh on February 7, 2001. The Notice raised three issues:
1. "To organize the religious service at the Temple, you must acquire
permission from the local government and other authorized offices."
2. "During the religious service, security and order as well as
environmental sanitary condition must be guaranteed."
3. "During this time, all guests staying over at the Temple must register
their names at the Ward Public Security office for temporary residency
permission."
Issue no. 1 in the Notice alone is enough to prove the government has violated the Constitution.
Again, at 9 PM on the same day, Mr. Duong Viet Trinh, Chairman of the FatherFront Committee of Thua Thien-Hue, Mr. Cuong, Standing Member of the Party Committee of Hue City, Mr. Tam, former Party Secretary of Thuy Xuan Ward, Mr. Quang, Chairman of the FatherFront Committee of Thuy Xuan Ward, arrived at the Tu Hieu Temple to ask Venerable Thich Chi Mau about the content of the prayer service. Venerable Thich Chi Mau responded: "We are fasting with our food and our lives to pray. Any secular activities do not involve us."
On February 8 and 9, 2001, the organizing committee received phone calls and oral reports from Buddhists and people from the districts of Phong Dien, Quang Dien, Phu Loc, Phu Van, Huong Tra and from the Hue City that all branches of the government held political classes and resorted to all measures to keep Buddhists, high school students, and college students from attending the Week of Prayer at the Tu Hieu Temple. We are told the teachers and students will have to teach and study this coming Saturday and Sunday. Any teachers or students absent from schools during those days will be disciplined or expelled. Any government's workers attending the Week of Prayer at the Tu Hieu Temple will be disciplined or fired. Students [from poor families] are forbidden by the schools even to receive donation [from the Temple] during the Week of Prayer. Local military and Public Security force are placed on high alert 100%. Most of Public Securities cadres sent to the pagodas are undercover and young female, pretending to be Buddhist followers to closely observe the praying service.
Around 10 PM on February 9, 2001, I received phone calls from Buddhist followers reporting residential area-Public Security cadres went to houses of those having attending services at Tu Hieu Temple earlier today (February 9, 2001) for questioning: "Where were you today?". Most of them responded: "Today I went to Tu Hieu to pray for my parents." The cadres then ordered: "Tomorrow, report to the Public Security office."
It is this behavior [of the government] that have caused social disorder and insecurity on the population of Thua Thien-Hue and make it very difficult for them to practice their right to freedom of religion.
How sad and unfortunate! Vietnam is already among the poorest countries in the world in term of physical materials. Its people are not even allowed some spiritual compensation.
I know for sure the Vietnamese people are not poor in their faith and their spiritual lives. What they do not have are the condition to express that faith.
Therefore, I write this report to all of you, asking for your intervention to stop the Vietnamese government from terrorizing its own people and let them practice their right to freedom of religion. Please distribute this report to believers of all religions in the world and ask them to kindly pray for the return of religious freedom to our country.
I respectfully bid goodbye to all of you.
Hue City, February 9, 2001
On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the New Millennium Week of Prayer
Spokesperson and Commissioner for External Affairs
Bhikkhu Thich Thai Hoa