{"id":35847,"date":"2017-06-16T14:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T14:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/queme.org\/en\/?p=35847"},"modified":"2017-06-21T17:26:16","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T17:26:16","slug":"at-unhrc-vchr-denounces-persecution-of-ubcv-and-call-on-un-experts-to-visit-vn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/at-unhrc-vchr-denounces-persecution-of-ubcv-and-call-on-un-experts-to-visit-vn\/","title":{"rendered":"At the UN, Vietnam Committee on Human Rights denounces persecution of UBCV Buddhists and calls on UN Experts to visit Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"

GENEVA, 16 June 2017 (VCHR) \u2013 Speaking on behalf of Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l\u2019Homme <\/em>at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, Mr. V\u00f5 V\u0103n \u00c1i, President of the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) denounced grave and consistent persecution of \u201cnon-recognised religions\u201d in Vietnam, citing one of the most salient examples, the case of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV).<\/p>\n

\"V\u00f5
V\u00f5 V\u0103n \u00c1i speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva (16.6.2017)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his statement to the 35th session of the Human rights Council, which is meeting from 6-23 June in Geneva, Mr. V\u00f5\u00a0V\u0103n\u00a0\u00c1i expressed deep concern about the situation of UBCV Patriarch Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9, 89, who has been detained almost without interruption in prison, internal exile or house arrest since 1982. He also denounced continuous harassments against L\u00ea C\u00f4ng C\u1ea7u, UBCV Secretary-general and leader of the Buddhist Youth Movement, who staged a one-week hunger strike in May 2017 to protest Police bans on his right to travel.<\/p>\n

On 14 May 2017, on hearing that the UBCV Patriarch was in very bad health, L\u00ea C\u00f4ng C\u1ea7u bought a plane ticket from Hue to Ho Chi Minh City, where Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9 is under house arrest. The next day, as he was about to leave his home, Security Police intercepted him and strictly prohibited him from leaving his home, even to buy food. Before the UN Human Rights Council, Mr. Ai called for Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u00f4\u2019s immediate release, an end to persecution against the UBCV and the lifting of all travel bans on L\u00ea C\u00f4ng C\u1ea7u.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plight of Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9 and L\u00ea C\u00f4ng C\u1ea7u gives a snap-shot view of the routine challenges confronting all UBCV followers\u00a0; isolation, surveillance, bans on visits to families and friends, denial of the right to basic comfort and care, harassments and intimidation\u201d<\/em><\/strong>, said Mr. Ai in the margins of the Human Rights Council. \u201cWhy does Vietnam unabatedly repress the UBCV\u00a0? Because the Communist Party tolerates no opposition. It feels threatened by a structured, popular movement such as the UBCV, with its steadfast commitment to human rights, democracy and social justice\u201d.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9 was one of the first to speak out for religious freedom, human rights and democracy in Vietnam. The Norwegian Rafto Foundation, who awarded him their 2006 Prize for Human Rights Defenders, described him as a \u201cunifying force\u201d and a \u201csymbol of the growing democracy movement in Vietnam\u201d. He is one of the rare figures to propose a global, democratic and humanist alternative to the one-Party state imposed by the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP). This is why the VCP has arbitrarily held him under detention for the past three decades.<\/p>\n

Not only is Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9 deprived of his freedom without any justification or charge, but his living conditions at the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) are no different from those of a prisoner. A locked, iron gate blocks the entrance to his upper-floor room. His visitors and communications are monitored and he is denied freedom of movement. After so many years of isolation and lack of adequate medical care, Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9\u2019s health has deteriorated recently. In mid-May, he fell ill and needed urgent care and medical treatment.<\/p>\n

The authorities deliberately banned L\u00ea C\u00f4ng C\u1ea7u from traveling in order to prevent him assisting Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9. Exasperated by the continuous harassments, Police interrogations and travel bans over several years, L\u00ea C\u00f4ng C\u1ea7u staged a hunger strike from 15 \u2013 22 May in protest and was hospitalized as a result.<\/p>\n

\u201cVietnam is cynically playing for time. They isolate UBCV leaders so that they will gradually pass away, in silence and unknown to the general public. We cannot let this happen to Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9\u201d <\/em><\/strong>said V\u00f5 V\u0103n \u00c1i. \u201cAt the same time, they seek to cut off all contacts between UBCV leaders and the population, who strongly follow the UBCV. This is why, year after year, the authorities crack-down on UBCV celebrations of important Buddhist festivals such as the Vesak (Birth of Buddha)\u201d.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Indeed, during the Vesak celebrations in April-May 2017, security police systematically visited the homes of UBCV followers, threatening them with reprisals if they attended UBCV Vesak celebrations. They also summoned key members of the UBCV and the Buddhist Youth movement for interrogations, coercing them to renounce the UBCV and cease participation in Vesak preparations, e.g. youth leaders Ng\u00f4 \u0110\u1ee9c Ti\u1ebfn and Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n \u0110\u00ea in Hu\u1ebf, and L\u00ea V\u0103n Th\u1ea1nh and Nguy\u1ec5n Anh Tu\u1ea5n in Nha Trang.<\/p>\n

In face of these grave and consistent human rights abuses, Mr. V\u00f5 V\u0103n \u00c1i called on the UN Human Rights Council to urge Vietnam to extend a standing invitation to the Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders, Freedom of Opinion and Expression and Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association to visit Vietnam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GENEVA, 16 June 2017 (VCHR) \u2013 Speaking on behalf of Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l\u2019Homme at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, Mr. V\u00f5 V\u0103n \u00c1i, President of the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) denounced grave and consistent persecution of \u201cnon-recognised religions\u201d in Vietnam, citing one of the most …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":35848,"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":[137,113,98,64],"tags":[250,353],"class_list":["post-35847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-latest-posts","category-news","category-press-release","category-vchr","tag-aedh","tag-human-rights-council"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35847","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\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}