October 20, 2001
Free Vietnam Alliance
Press Release
Paris - In the face of worsening religious and human rights violations in Vietnam, the Free Vietnam Alliance calls on governments and organizations of democratic countries to pressure the Vietnamese communist authorities to end their repressive activities.
With world attention focused on the international fight against terror, the Vietnamese authorities quietly brought Father Nguyen Van Ly to trial in a closed-door proceeding without the presence of a defense lawyer or independent witness. Father Nguyen Van Ly had peacefully called on the Vietnamese authorities to respect religious freedom. His efforts received the support of Vietnamese and international friends. In May 2001, authorities sent over 600 security police into An Truyen church, located in Hue city, to arrest this Catholic priest. Since then, despite protests from the U.S. State Department, European Parliament, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other bodies, the Vietnamese authorities on October 19, 2001 sentenced Father Nguyen Van Ly to 15 years in prison and 5 years of house arrest.
The harsh sentence against Father Nguyen Van Ly is part of an escalating pattern of religious and human rights repression over the last five months. On May 31, 2001, Venerable Thich Quang Do, the second highest leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) and a Nobel peace prize nominee, was put under house arrest. Three other high ranking monks in the UBCV, Venerables Thich Khong Tanh, Thich Quang Hue, and Thich Tan An were also arrested. Meanwhile, Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, supreme patriarch of the UBCV, continues to be held under house arrest in Quang Ngai province where he has been detained for the last 20 years. This heavy repression led one Buddhist man, Ho Tan An, to commit self-immolation in protest on September 2nd. Other dissidents in Vietnam have also been targeted by authorities. On September 5th, over 20 dissidents in Hanoi were briefly detained by security police and since then have been continually harassed, had their phones disconnected, and residences surrounded. On September 20th, one dissident, Tran Khue, was formally put under house arrest.
With its determination to rid the terrorist scourge, the world cannot remain indifferent before the terror-like actions of the Vietnamese authorities against their own people. Hanoi's policy of terror aims to eradicate independent religious practices, the basic rights of citizens, and the democratic aspirations of Vietnamese people.
The Free Vietnam Alliance appeals to governments and organizations of democratic countries to pressure the Vietnamese authorities to cease the policy of terror against the Vietnamese people. The Free Vietnam Alliance calls on the U.S. Senate to enact the Vietnam Human Rights Act, which would promote fundamental rights in concrete ways. The Free Vietnam Alliance calls also on the nations of Europe to implement the European Parliament's Resolution of July 5, 2001 regarding religious freedom in Vietnam.