![\"AFP](\"..\/images\/AFP.gif\")
<\/a> Agence France Presse<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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HANOI, Jan 18 (AFP) – In the shadow of a large longan tree at a pagoda in Hanoi, an elderly Buddhist monk hopes to tell a few home truths\u00a0: Thich Nhat Hanh has returned to Vietnam after 38 years\u2019 exile in France — and has become the centre of a religious and political storm.<\/p>\n
As the head of a delegation of about 200 followers, mainly French and American, he is on a three-month visit to the tightly controlled communist country he left in 1967 and where his works and recordings have long been banned.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy trip is not political,\u201d says the 78-year-old, draped in a dark orange robe. But his comments seem to suggest quite the opposite.<\/p>\n
Until recently, \u201cThere was fear and suspicion here. There was a need for much communication to transform, to remove erroneous perceptions,\u201d Hanh tells AFP in an interview, surrounded by Vietnamese journalists and attentive officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been able to breathe easier these last years,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
But for some Buddhists in this country, life can still be difficult.<\/p>\n
The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) has been banned since 1981 for refusing to submit itself, along with all of its churches around the country, to the supervision of the Vietnamese Communist Party.<\/p>\n
Several of the UBCV\u2019s members, including its two most senior figures, have since spent most of their time in prison or under house arrest.<\/p>\n
Thich Huyen Quang, 87, and his deputy Thich Quang Do, 76, are accused by Vietnamese authorities of possessing \u201cstate secrets\u201d and are de facto under house arrest in two separate pagodas.<\/p>\n
Hanh chooses his words carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to listen carefully to understand the reality,\u201d the monk says in French. \u201cOur policy is to listen to everyone, the Buddhists who are not happy and the governmental agents who are facing difficulties.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday the monk held talks with members of the committee on religious affairs, a government body in charge with cultural and religious issues. \u201cI asked them to be patient (with UBCV),\u201d he says, smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, one needs months to sit down and talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will he be allowed to meet with members of the banned church\u00a0? \u201cI hope so,\u201d he says. \u201cOur enemy is discrimination and fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Constrained by exile in 1967 by southern Vietnam\u2019s pro-American regime, the monk obtained asylum in France, where he taught at Paris\u2019 prestigious Sorbonne University.<\/p>\n
In 1982 he settled in southwestern France and founded a new community. The author of 100 works, he preaches a new form of Buddhism, adapted for modern society and able to lure younger generations and to protect them from materialism.<\/p>\n
But not everyone is keen on his methods.<\/p>\n
For the Paris-based International Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB), the UBCV\u2019s communication arm, Hanh\u2019s visit amounts to a \u201cFaustian pact\u201d with the country\u2019s communist dictatorship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis highly publicized visit could be interpreted as a sign of increased religious tolerance in Vietnam,\u201d the IBIB complained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Faustian pact between Thich Nhat Hanh and the Vietnamese authorities enables (him) to promote the development of his own sect.\u201d<\/p>\n
On leaving Paris, one of Hahn\u2019s close associates had accused certain banned religions in the country of hiding \u201cflags of the old regime\u201d of southern Vietnam, which was beaten by the communist north in 1975.<\/p>\n
The statement was not very well received by IBIB, which said it smacked of propaganda.<\/p>\n
\u201cThich Nhat Hanh gives a precious propaganda bonus to the Vietnamese regime. But he does nothing for the cause of religious freedom and human rights in Vietnam,\u201d says Vo Van Ai, the group\u2019s president and sworn enemy of the Hanoi regime.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a matter of perception,\u201d the elderly monk answers.<\/p>\n
He will not say any more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s for the politicians and the journalists to say if there are enough religious freedoms in Vietnam. You can judge by yourself without needing a declaration from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday the state Vietnam News Agency welcomed the monk\u2019s visit, saying\u00a0: \u201cThich Nhat Hanh praises Vietnam\u2019s open-door policy on religious beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Agence France Presse HANOI, Jan 18 (AFP) – In the shadow of a large longan tree at a pagoda in Hanoi, an elderly Buddhist monk hopes to tell a few home truths\u00a0: Thich Nhat Hanh has returned to Vietnam after 38 years\u2019 exile in France — and has become the centre of a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-press-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/375"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}