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European Union deplores “mismatch” between government rhetoric and reality on religious freedom in Vietnam
PARIS, 7 May 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – Baroness Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy has expressed concern about violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief in Vietnam, and in particular the “apparent mismatch between the information provided by the [Vietnamese] authorities and the actual situation”.
The head of the EU External Action Service (EEAS) expressed particular concern about the case of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam’s (UBCV) leader (...) continue
PARIS, 7.5.2013 (IBIB) – The International Buddhist Information Bureau has received an urgent report from Venerable Thich Vien Hy of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) stating that 50 Security Police surrounded the Giac Hoa Pagoda, secretariat of the outlawed UBCV, on Sunday 5 May 2013 and prohibited the monks from leaving the building.
At 8.00am on Sunday, as Thich Vien Hy and the UBCV’s Deputy leader Venerable Thich Vien Dinh set out to visit UBCV Patriarch Thich (...) continue
ULAANBAATAR, 29 April 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – Foreign Ministers, parliamentarians, global media representatives, democracy and human rights activists from over 100 countries gathered in Ulaanbaator, for the VII Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies from 27-29 April 2013, hosted by Mongolia, the Community’s current President. Opened by Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj, government participants included the Prime Minister of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra, UN Under-Secretary-general Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, US Deputy Secretaty of State William Burns, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, Vice President (...) continue
STRASBOURG, 18 April 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – At its plenary session in Strasburg today, the 754-member European Parliament adopted an Urgent Resolution on Vietnam strongly condemning a wide range of human rights violations and asking the EU to “assess the compatibility” of these violations with the new EU-Vietnam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) which conditions trade and diplomatic relations on the respect of democratic principles and human rights.
The resolution was (...) continue
WASHINGTON, 11 April 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – Mr. Vo Van Ai, President of Paris-based Vietnam Committee for Human Rights and International Spokesman of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) called on the United States today to raise issues of religious repression against the UBCV at the coming U.S.-Vietnam human rights dialogue that takes place in Hanoi this week. The annual dialogue, which is held alternately in Washington D.C. and Hanoi, was scheduled for late 2012, but postponed by the (...) continue
PARIS, 6 April 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) – Prominent Buddhist blogger and writer Huynh Ngoc Tuan informs the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights ( VCHR) that on 3 April 2013, he was the victim of harassment by unknown men, presumably hired hands of the local security forces. At midnight, he suddenly heard a motorbike pull up outside his home, which is next to the village road. Several buckets of foul-smelling water containing a mixture of rotten shrimps, fishes’ guts and excrement were (...) continue
PARIS, 4 April 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) - The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights ( VCHR) strongly denounces the grossly flawed legal process and unfair trial of fish farmer Doan Van Vuon and his family which began on 2 April and ends on 5 April in the northern province of Hai Phong. Doan Van Vuon and three male relatives, Doan Van Quy, Doan Van Sinh and Doan Van Ve are accused of “murder of persons on public duties” under Article 93, paragraph (...) continue
PARIS, 25 March 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) - The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights ( VCHR) is extremely disturbed by reports that political prisoner Nguyen Huu Cau is seriously ill in Z30A Xuan Loc prison camp in Dong Nai Province. According to his daughter, Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, he is suffering from a heart condition, low cerebral blood flow (ischemia) and is virtually blind in both eyes. He is also very deaf and extremely weak as a result of harsh detention conditions (...) continue
Attn: President Truong Tan Sang, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Communist Party Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong
Paris-Geneva, March 22, 2013
Re: Concerns over risks of prosecution of Buddhist Youth leader and human rights defender Le Cong Cau in Vietnam
Excellencies,
The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) call for the end of the judicial harassment of Buddhist Youth (...) continue
PARIS, 19 March 2013 (VIETNAM COMMITTEE) - The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights ( VCHR) is deeply concerned for the security of prominent Buddhist youth leader and writer Le Cong Cau who has been threatened with prosecution by Security Police after his articles criticizing the Communist Partys policies on Buddhism and territorial disputes with China were posted on the Internet. He is accused of violating Article 87 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code on “undermining the unity policy” and Article 88 on (...) continue
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