Press Release
Oslo, April 14 2001

Lars Rise, Member of Parliament from Norway, visited Vietnam in the period of April 8-11 and during his stay he met with religious leaders in Ho Chi Minh City and Hue. He had also confirmed meetings with representatives of Vietnamese authorities in Hanoi but was arrested in Hue on Monday April 9 and sent back to Ho Chi Minh City and then out of the country with his delegation and all the meetings in Hanoi were cancelled.

On April 8 he met with the 73 year old Nobel Peace Price nominee Thich Quang Do in Ho Chi Minh City, the deputy leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). During this meeting the conditions for Buddhism in Vietnam was discussed. Mr Thich Quang Do stated that Vietnamese Buddhists have limited abilities to practice their religion freely and independent of Vietnamese authorities. He is currently under house arrest in Ho Chi Minh City and is not allowed to move out of his temple. He expressed worry concerning his leader, Mr. Thich Huyen Quang, who has been imprisoned for more than 21 years and has now reached the age of 82. On April 9 Mr. Rise met with Buddhist leaders for UBCV in the Hue' province, Thich Thien Hanh and Thich Thai Hoa in the temple Tu Hieu. They told that they belong to a newly established group of multi religious cooperation in Vietnam. A common purpose for all religious organizations is to gain more freedom to move freely, both domestically and internationally and the possibility to teach their religion independent of the influence of the authorities.

The same night Mr. Rise paid a visit to the Catholic church of An Truyen in Hue. When he arrived at the church he met a large crowd of people outside the main entrance. Several persons, who may have been civilian police, tried to stop him from entering the church, but did not identify themselves as police and did not succeed. Several hundreds people filled the church and sung and worshiped together. Lars Rise with company took part in the service and were greeted by the catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly.

Father Ly invited him to his office in a separate building behind the church and they talked about their faith and also his present situation as priest. He told Mr. Rise that he is under house arrest and that he is currently being watched by the police from buildings nearby. The authorities have tried to isolate him from surroundings by closing his phone line, denying him access to e-mail and internet and stop deliverances of his mail. He told that his faith in God has given him inner peace which does not leave him no matter what circumstances he is brought into and he feels protected from tension and fear concerning what may happen to him in the future. They prayed together.

After about 20 minutes of the meeting one of Father Ly's assistants reported that the church was surrounded by approximately 100 policemen. As they walked out of the office Lars Rise and company were arrested by the police and brought down to the police station for interrogation. The interrogations lasted from around 20.30 till 3.00 and continued the day after from 8.00 till 13.00. An order to search all luggage was also executed and some documents confiscated. After the interrogations Lars Rise and company were escorted to Danang, sent by plane to Ho Chi Minh City, locked into a prison and then a hotel and from there sent out of the country.

"We do not appreciate the way we have been treated by Vietnamese authorities and we will now report the incident to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We know that Vietnam has signed the international convention on human rights and we are concerned about how the paragraphs in the convention is being followed up," says Lars Rise.

Lars Rise
Member of Parliament Norway Stortinget Karl Johans gt. 22 N-0026 Oslo, Norway
Tel: +47 23 31 31 92 - Fax: +47 23 31 38 55

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