Press Release

APEC meeting in Hanoi, 12-19 November 2006 : Just Free Trade, no Free Speech : Hanoi dissidents are “off-limits” to foreigners during APEC meeting

PARIS, 15 November 2006 – As thousands of participants meet to discuss free trade and open markets at the APEC meeting in Hanoi, Security Police have received strict orders to prevent any free discussion between dissidents and foreign diplomats or media visiting the Vietnamese capital. Over the past week, Security …

Read More »

“Sacrificing principles for profits” : Vo Van Ai regrets US State Department’s decision to withdraw Vietnam from list of Countries of Particular Concern

PARIS, 14 November 2006 (IBIB) – Mr. Vo Van Ai, Director of the International Buddhist Information Bureau and International Spokesman of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) expressed his deep regret at the US State Department’s decision to withdraw Vietnam from the blacklist of “Countries of Particular Concern” …

Read More »

Open Letter to Heads of State at the APEC Summit in Hanoi, 17-19 November 2006 : “Sustainable development requires a free press, free trade unions and independent NGOs” : World leaders at APEC Summit must press Vietnam to initiate a process of political reform

Mr. Vo Van Ai, President of the Paris-based Quê Me : Vietnam Committee on Human Rights has sent an Open Letter to the Heads of State of 21 Member Economies meeting in Hanoi for the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit from 17-19 November 2006. The members are Australia ; Brunei Darussalam ; …

Read More »

Vo Van Ai receives 2006 Rafto Prize in Bergen, Norway on behalf of Buddhist dissident Venerable Thich Quang Do

PARIS, 6 November 2006 (BIIB) – The Rafto Foundation in Bergen, Norway, awarded the 20th 2006 Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize to Venerable Thich Quang Do, Deputy leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) “for his personal courage and perseverance through three decades of peaceful opposition against …

Read More »

Thich Quang Do cannot travel to Norway to receive the 2006 Rafto Prize

PARIS, 31 October 2006 (IBIB) – Venerable Thich Quang Do, Deputy leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), has sent a letter to the Rafto Foundation in Bergen, Norway, to say that he cannot travel to Norway to receive the 2006 Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize, awarded …

Read More »

Dissidents in Vietnam welcome Norway’s Rafto Prize 2006 for Thich Quang Do

PARIS, October 27, 2006 (IBIB) – The Norwegian Rafto Foundation announced on 21st September that Venerable Thich Quang Do, Deputy leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), will receive the 2006 Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for his contribution to human rights and as a “unifying force” …

Read More »

UBCV Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang leaves hospital today

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), …

Read More »

UBCV Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang is transferred to a private clinic in Ho Chi Minh City

PARIS, 1st October 2006 (IBIB) – The Supreme Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) was transferred from the Cho Ray State hospital to a private clinic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) today, 1st October 2006. UBCV Deputy leader Thich Quang Do and a …

Read More »

Venerable Thich Quang Do visits UBCV Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang in Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City

PARIS, 29 September 2006 (IBIB) – Venerable Thich Quang Do, second-ranking leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), paid a visit to UBCV Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang at the Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) this afternoon, Friday 29th September at 4.00 pm. The …

Read More »

UBCV Supreme Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang is travelling to Ho Chi Minh City today for hospital treatment

PARIS, 28 September 2006 (IBIB) – The International Buddhist information Bureau is informed that the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) Supreme Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang is being taken to a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for treatment today. The UBCV Patriarch left Binh Dinh Hospital in an …

Read More »