Quê Me Quê Me: Action for democracy in Vietnam & Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
The International Buddhist Information Bureau is happy to announce that the Supreme Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) Thich Huyen Quang left the French-Vietnamese hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) today. He is now under convalescence at the Giac Hoa Pagoda in Binh Thanh Ward (Saigon), where he continues to receive treatment. The UBCV Patriarch has been hospitalized since 25th September, when he fell seriously ill in Binh Dinh province. He has received treatment for heart and lung conditions, and underwent minor surgery last week on his prostate gland. Doctors expressed satisfaction with Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang’s current condition. A French doctor and a nurse accompanied him to Giac Hoa Pagoda in an ambulance at 11.40 this morning (Vietnam time).
UBCV Deputy leader Venerable Thich Quang Do and a delegation of 30 UBCV Buddhist monks from UBCV Representative Boards in Saigon and the southern provinces, as well as many local Buddhists followed the ambulance to escort the Patriarch from the hospital to Giac Hoa Pagoda, where he arrived at 12.20 (noon) local time.
UBCV Buddhists around the world are deeply moved to see 87-year-old Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang recover his health and return to Saigon after 24 years in exile in the remote central provinces of Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh. Hopefully, this marks the end of over two decades of detention under house arrest without trial, often under extremely harsh conditions, without adequate nourishment and medical care. Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang was arrested in Saigon in 1982 for protesting the creation of the State-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Church and the effective banning of the UBCV. He was sent into internal exile in Quang Ngai province. Thich Quang Do was also sent into internal exile in his native village in Thai Binh, Northern Vietnam. Neither monks were given any justification for their arrest. Security Police simply said that “by exercising religious activities, you are ipso facto engaged in political activities”.
Thich Huyen Quang became UBCV Patriarch in 1992, appointed in the testament of late UBCV Patriarch Thich Don Hau, former Superior monk of the Linh Mu Pagoda in Hue. The appointment sparked off anger from the Communist authorities as Thich Huyen Quang was under house arrest, and had become well known for his outspoken criticisms of State abuses of religious freedom and human rights. Secret Communist Party documents issued in 1992 called for the “suppression” of Thich Huyen Quang. Despite continuous harassment, surveillance and intimidation, Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang continued to appeal for the respect of human rights and political reforms. In 1993, he released a landmark “Declaration” calling for the abolition of Article 4 of the Constitution (on the political monopoly of the Communist Party), political pluralism and free elections under international supervision in Vietnam.
As he is still tired and weak, Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang asked Vo Van Ai, IBIB Director and UBCV International spokesman to convey his warm thanks to all those who visited him in hospital, to all Vietnamese and international friends who sent messages of sympathy, and to the international media for showing their kind concern about his health. He hopes to send his thanks in person when his health is fully regained.
