PARIS, 1st November 2008 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS) – The wives of five pro-democracy activists in Vietnam whose husbands were arrested in September 2008 have written to the Vietnamese leadership calling for their release and “safe return” to their families. In a letter dated 30.10.2008, Mrs Nguyen Thi Nga, …
Read More »STRASBOURG, 22 October 2008 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS) – In its plenary session in Strasbourg today, the European Parliament passed a “Resolution on the new EU-Vietnam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and Human Rights”. Adopted by an overwhelming majority of 479 in favour with 21 against and 4 abstentions, the …
Read More »PARIS, 9 October 2008 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS) – 664 people were executed in Asia in 2007, more than in any other region in the world. In Vietnam, 104 people received death sentences, including 14 women. Last year, the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution calling on all countries …
Read More »PARIS, 4 October 2008 (IBIB) – Prominent dissident and leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam Thich Quang Do has sent a letter to Buddhist leaders in South Korea supporting their peaceful protests against anti-Buddhist intolerance. Buddhists in Korea have complained that the administration of President Lee Myung Bak, …
Read More »NEW YORK, 26 September 2008 (IBIB) – Addressing Ministers of over 100 member-states of the United Nations Democracy Caucus meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York today (Friday 26th September), the Non-governmental International Steering Committee of the Community of Democracies (ISC/CD) condemned the recent arrests and repression of …
Read More »PARIS, 15 September 2008 (IBIB) – On the 50th Anniversary of a diplomatic note by North Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong accepting China’s claims of sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, the new leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), Patriarch Thich Quang Do has called …
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PARIS, 12 September 2008 (IBIB) – The International Buddhist Information Bureau is pleased to introduce the following article by Jared Roscoe, “Buddhism, Under Vietnam’s Thumb”, published online by the Tricycle Buddhist Review in August 2008. The article discusses two different approaches on how to tackle religious repression in Vietnam. On …
Read More »PARIS, 3 September 2008 (IBIB) – A delegation of U.S. officials including Ms Katia Bennett, Political Officer of the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Laura Carey of the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour in Washington DC visited the new UBCV …
Read More »PARIS, 2nd September 2008 (Vietnam Committee on Human Rights) – From 25-29 August 2008, Vo Van Ai, President of the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights and International Spokesman of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) met European Commission officials and members of the European Parliament in Brussels to press …
Read More »Paris, 1st September 2008 (International Buddhist Information Bureau) – Mr. Vo Van Ai, Director of the International Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB) and International Spokesman of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), warmly welcomed the “Vietnam Policy Focus” issued by the US International Commission on International Religious Freedom. This …
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Quê Me Quê Me: Action for democracy in Vietnam & Vietnam Committee on Human Rights