HANOI, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Two leaders of a banned Vietnam Buddhist group were prevented from leaving their monastery on Wednesday by security forces who surrounded their vehicle, sparking a standoff, a Buddhist group said. The International Buddhist Information Bureau said in a statement that Thich Huyen Quang, patriarch of …
Read More »HANOI, Sept 19, 2003 (AFP) – Security forces have intimidated members of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) against attending an assembly overseen by the church’s highest leaders, the church said Friday. Only 10 monks attended the meeting at Nguyen Thieu monastery in central Binh Dinh province, including …
Read More »HANOI, Sept 16, 2003 (dpa) – A human rights group Tuesday disputed Vietnam’s assertion that a prominent dissident Buddhist monk was arrested last year in Vietnam, rather than being abducted from Cambodia as the group claims. Thich Tri Luc, also known as Pham Van Tuong, was abducted from …
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HANOI, June 19, 2003 (dpa) – One day after a court sentenced a leading Internet dissident to 13 years in prison, Vietnam defended its tight control over cyberspace and said the communist government does not suppress freedom of speech. “We don’t agree with critics saying that Vietnam restricts Internet usage,” …
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HANOI, June 19, 2003 (dpa) – Human rights groups, Vietnamese democracy activists and Hanoi-based diplomats on Thursday condemned Vietnam’s sentencing of a critic of the communist regime to 13 years in prison. Pham Hong Son, 35, was arrested in March 2002, and was convicted in Hanoi People’s Court Wednesday of …
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HANOI, June 5 (dpa) – A prominent dissident Buddhist monk currently under house arrest may be released before the end of his sentence in September, Vietnam’s spokeswoman said Thursday. Thich Quang Do, the deputy head of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (U.B.C.V.) was sentenced in 1995 to five …
Read More »Overseas congregations of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) in Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand have launched a pressing appeal to the Vietnamese authorities to release detained UBCV leaders Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do, re-establish the legitimacy of the banned UBCV, and adopt …
Read More »HANOI, May 16, 2003 (dpa) – The European Parliament has passed a resolution expressing alarm at Vietnam’s arrest of dissidents and a crackdown on non-approved religions, a day after a United States commission condemned Hanoi for its record on religious rights. The resolution, passed Thursday, calls on Hanoi to release …
Read More »In his traditional Message to Vietnamese Buddhists on the 2547th Anniversary of the Vesak (Birth of Buddha) on 15th May 2003, the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Patriarch of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) has launched a pressing appeal to monks, nuns and lay-followers to free themselves …
Read More »Prague Catholic Bishop Vaclav Maly, President of the Justice and Peace Commission at the Czech Bishop’s Conference, former dissident and signatory of the Czech Charter 77 has sent a letter to Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong calling for the immediate release of three prominent religious prisoners, Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, …
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Quê Me Quê Me: Action for democracy in Vietnam & Vietnam Committee on Human Rights