{"id":57475,"date":"2026-09-19T15:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T15:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queme.org\/?p=57475"},"modified":"2026-09-19T15:59:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T15:59:58","slug":"vchr-joins-tribute-to-olivier-dupuis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/queme.org\/en\/vchr-joins-tribute-to-olivier-dupuis\/","title":{"rendered":"VCHR joins tribute to Olivier Dupuis, champion of human rights, democracy and religious freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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, <\/strong>former Secretary-general of the Italian Transnational Radical Party <\/strong>(TRP), Member of the European Parliament<\/strong> and a life-long advocate of freedom, democracy and human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Ath, Belgium, Olivier Dupuis died in Brussels<\/a> on 4, May 2026 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 67.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His political activism was not without risks, and he was arrested in many countries \u2013 including Vietnam.<\/strong> In a video <\/strong>shown at the memorial in Rome today, VCHR recalled Dupuis\u2019 spectacular demonstration in 2001 outside the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City where Buddhist dissident Th\u00edch Qu\u1ea3ng \u0110\u1ed9 was under house arrest \u2013 the very first demonstration staged by a Westerner in Communist Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOlivier Dupuis\u2019 action marked a turning point in the movement for human rights, democracy and religious freedom in Vietnam\u201d<\/em><\/strong> said VCHR President Penelope Faulkner. \u201cAt 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\u2019s 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\u201d, <\/em><\/strong>she said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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