Quê Me Quê Me: Action for democracy in Vietnam & Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
ROME, 19 September 2026 (VCHR): The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) joined members of the Italian Parliament, former MEPs, friends and democracy activists from all over the world in Rome today to honour the memory of Olivier Dupuis, former Secretary-general of the Italian Transnational Radical Party (TRP), Member of the European Parliament and a life-long advocate of freedom, democracy and human rights.
Born in Ath, Belgium, Olivier Dupuis died in Brussels on 4, May 2026 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 67.
A proponent of nonviolence and civil disobedience, he devoted his life to the fight for civil rights and democracy worldwide, supporting dissident movements, indigenous peoples and victims of oppression in Eastern Europe, Chechnya, Tibet, Xinjiang, China, Southeast Asia and beyond.
His political activism was not without risks, and he was arrested in many countries – including Vietnam. In a video shown at the memorial in Rome today, VCHR recalled Dupuis’ spectacular demonstration in 2001 outside the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City where Buddhist dissident Thích Quảng Độ was under house arrest – the very first demonstration staged by a Westerner in Communist Vietnam.
“Olivier Dupuis’ action marked a turning point in the movement for human rights, democracy and religious freedom in Vietnam” said VCHR President Penelope Faulkner. “At a time when Vietnam was perceived as a tourist haven and an attractive business venue, Dupuis revealed the grim reality on the ground. If Hanoi’s Security Police would not hesitate to arrest, interrogate and expel a prominent MEP from the country simply for staging a peaceful demonstration, how would they treat ordinary Vietnamese? The international community could no longer say it did not know”, she said.
Olivier Dupuis went to Vietnam at the request of then VCHR President Võ Văn Ái. The plan was to accompany Thích Quảng Độ, Deputy head of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) on a trip to Quang Ngai (Central Vietnam), to bring UBCV Patriarch Thích Huyền Quang to Ho Chi Minh City for urgent medical treatment. Since both monks were under effective house arrest, they risked heavy prison sentences if they travelled alone.
Dupuis and Võ Văn Ái agreed that the presence of an MEP would draw attention to their plight, provide some measure of protection and alert international opinion to Hanoi’s brutal repression of all dissenting voices. On his arrival in Vietnam, Dupuis told the media: “My presence here as a European citizen and TRP Secretary-general is an act of solidarity with all those in Asia in general and particularly in Vietnam who have struggled for decades for the establishment of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental freedoms”.
Unfortunately, when Dupuis entered the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery at 8:00am on 6 June 2001, he was prevented from meeting Thích Quang Độ. Police locked the monk in his room and plain clothed Security agents obstructed Dupuis’ every movement. He stayed for several hours, but was eventually obliged to leave without meeting Thích Quang Độ.
In protest, he staged a demonstration outside the monastery, brandishing banners in Vietnamese marked “Free Venerable Thích Huyền Quang”, “Free Venerable Thích Quảng Độ” and“Religious freedom for Vietnam”. His assistant, Martin Schulthes, who filmed the scene until Police seized his camera, said that hundreds of people witnessed the demonstration before the two men were arrested, interrogated for several hours and finally expelled from Vietnam.
Olivier Dupuis supported the cause of democracy in Vietnam throughout his tenure at the European Parliament from 1996-2004. He spearheaded several key resolutions on Vietnam, including an important “Resolution on Religious Freedom” in November 2003, condemning repression against the UBCV and all religious communities, including Christian Montagnards, Catholics and Hoa Hao Buddhists. Just one day earlier, a similar resolution was adopted by the US Congress (House Resolution 427). Olivier Dupuis was also one of the many MEPs who nominated Thích Quảng Độ for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Olivier Dupuis was a true friend of Vietnam and an inspiration to us all. We miss him deeply” said Faulkner. On the website “Olivier’s Memorial” which was unveiled at the event in Rome today, Belgian poet and singer Julos Beaucarné said of him : “Olivier Dupuis is one of those salmon-men who swim against the current of conventional ideas”. This perfectly describes the exceptional man who VCHR was privileged to know.
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