Quê Me Quê Me: Action for democracy in Vietnam & Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
The Very Venerable Thich Quang Do, Deputy leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) sent the International Buddhist Information Bureau today an exchange of letters between himself and Hanoi dissident Hoang Minh Chinh, VCP veteran and former Dean of the Institute of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy in Hanoi. Although these are private letters, IBIB is honoured to make them public to illustrate the common aspirations between democrats and human rights defenders in Vietnam. Despite the political barriers that separated North and South Vietnam since the 1954 Geneva Agreement, and the North-South discrimination that continued after the Communist victory and unification of Vietnam in 1975, dissidents in North and South Vietnam are now speaking out together to reject one-Party rule, and call for pluralism in democracy. Venerable Thich Quang Do was the very first to call for unity between North-South dissidents in his “New Year’s Letter for Pluralism and Democracy in Vietnam” (February 2005). Since then, the appeal has inspired a whole series of joint initiatives by democracy activists in Vietnam.
Venerable Thich Quang Do and Hoang Minh Chinh were jointly awarded the “Democracy Courage Tribute” by the World Movement for Democracy at its Fourth Assembly in Istanbul on 5 April 2006, before a gathering of 600 prominent democratic practitioners and academics from all over the world. Accepting the award on their behalf, IBIB Director Vo Van Ai expressed the significance of honouring these two men :
“For 2,000 years, Vietnam was one country, with one language and one culture. But conflicts of ideology split our country into two, North and South, separating our people and forcing them to live apart, under different political regimes. The two dissidents you are honouring today, Thich Quang Do and Hoang Minh Chinh reflect this political divide. Thich Quang Do in the South symbolises the peaceful struggle of the Buddhists, Vietnam’s largest civil society and democracy movement. Hoang Minh Chinh in the North speaks for a whole generation of Communist Party veterans and dissidents who are demanding democratic reform. After the end of the Vietnam warin 1975, the Communist Party re-united Vietnam into one country, but they failed to unite the people’s hearts. Today, by recognising these men as members of the global democratic community, you mark the emergence of a united democracy movement in Vietnam. Thus, you are succeeding where the Communist government failed, in unifying the hearts of the people of Vietnam”.
We publish the full text of these two letters below. The letter from Hoang Minh Chinh in Hanoi took one month to reach Thich Quang Do in Saigon.
Hanoi, 1 August 2006
Very Venerable Thich Quang Do,
On 1st June 2006, just two months ago, I re-established the former Vietnam Democratic Party. It is a reformed party with a new name, the Vietnam Democratic Party (XXI) – a party aimed to meet the demands of this new millennium. Thank you for your kind message of support on the launching of our party (1).
I vividly recall the very true words you wrote in your “New Year’s Message” in 2005 : “There is no way other than democracy and pluralism to bring our country out of poverty… We UBCV monks and nuns are not allowed to take up political posts. But we have a duty to take a political stand. This political stand is the practical expression of fundamental Buddhist philosophy, which teaches us to liberate all beings from suffering and bondage, and help them attain enlightenment… To realize pluralism, in my opinion, a tri-partite system, with one party on the left, another on the right, and a third middle-line party would be sufficient to represent the main currents of thinking in Vietnam… Democracy and pluralism are crucial for solving the grave problems that have beset our country for the past 30 years. They are also vital for the survival of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, for we shall never be free from religious repression until a process of democratization is under way…
“The government should not think that because it has a massive police force, a vast prison system and a strong army that it can remain in power forever. The best way to ensure political stability is to build a regime founded on the support of the people”.
The Vietnam Democratic Party wholly agrees with the just ideals you express. We believe they are the most apt current of thinking for our people in these troubled times, when our people have lost all hope in their country’s future under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, which maintains the whole population under the yoke of totalitarian dictatorship.
I thank you once again, Very Venerable Thich Quang Do, for fraying a path towards the truth. This is the path of tolerance and compassion towards all beings which you have followed yourself, and continue to follow until the end.
Sincerely,
Hoang Minh Chinh
Secretary General of the Vietnam Democratic Party (XXI)
Saigon, 28th August 2006
To Professor Hoang Minh Chinh
Secretary-general, Vietnam Democratic Party (XXI)
Dear Professor,
I am very happy to receive the letter you wrote on 1 August 2006 which I reached me only today (28 August 2006 !). I thank you for your kind words. I was especially moved that you quoted a passage from my New Year’s Appeal for democracy and pluralism (2005). This was the most important part of my message, and I am delighted to see that my Appeal has received such widespread support.
In today’s world, democracy and pluralism are global and inexorable trends. No force, however cruel or destructive, has the power to stem their advance. They are like a swelling current of water – if we let the current flow smoothly, it will spread nourishment and life. But if we persist obstinately in impeding its course, one day it will burst its banks, wreaking incalculable destruction and suffering in its wake.
Today, I can see this rising tide of pluralism and democracy in Vietnam. I sincerely hope that the Vietnamese Communist Party can see it too, and will take steps to allow this current to flow smoothly and develop in a peaceful and positive way. I also hope that different political currents will emerge in Vietnam alongside your Vietnam Democratic Party (XXI), so that all can work together in the interests of our country to bring true freedom, democracy and happiness to the people of Vietnam. I will wholeheartedly support all sincere efforts to realize this important mission.
I wish you health and happiness, and success to the Vietnam Democratic Party (XXI) in its endeavours for democratization in Vietnam.
Sincerely,
Sramana Thich Quang Do
(1) Hoang Minh Chinh was one of the founder members of the Vietnam Democratic Party, established in 1944 with the blessings of the Viet Minh Front, later with the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Democratic Party was used as a facade to prove the “unity” of all currents of opinion under the communist regime. In 1988, the CPV disbanded the Vietnam Democratic Party and the Socialist Party of Vietnam. In June 2006, Hoang Minh Chinh announced the re-establishment the Democratic Party outside the control of the CPV.
