October 30, 2000
Mr. Speaker. I rise today to voice my outrage over the Government of Vietnam’s recent crackdown on the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, or UBCV.
I just concluded a telephone conversation with the Venerable Thich Tue Sy—a senior monk in the UBCV--who was just sentenced to 2 years of administrative detention for exercising the basic right of freedom of religion, as were 6 other of his colleagues.
Earlier this month, the UBCV held a meeting to discuss church affairs, elect new leadership, and verify the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s promise of a new era of “respect and understanding for religious freedom”.
In stark contrast to this promise of “respect and understanding”, Vietnamese authorities disrupted the meeting, intimated, and ultimately arrested the UBCV leadership. The Venerables Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do—both of whom have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize—are once again under house arrest. These actions are unconscionable.
Today, I will be introducing a resolution regarding the courageous leadership of the UBCV and the urgent need for religious reform in Vietnam.
It is an important resolution that not only supports the right to religious freedom, but alerts the Government of Vietnam that their actions are not going unnoticed.
Resolution 427 (English)
Resolution 427 (Vietnamese)