Thầy Thích Không Thánh trở về Chùa Liên Trì chỉ còn là đống đổ nát. Chùa Liên Trì bị nhà cầm quyền Việt Nam cưỡng chế ngày 8/9/2016
Political situation
Vietnam’s legislative body National Assembly is discussing draft law on religion and beliefs and the recent versions are considered as a setback on the right of freedom of religion and beliefs. In its recent feedback, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam pointed out a number of regulations of the draft law which would be violations of the right on freedom of religion and beliefs, and noted that “There are number of matters relating to activities of religious groups but have not been addressed in the draft so we expect the parliament to pay attention to them.”
- Article 57 states about “re-construction, upgrading and build facilities for religious groups.” We understand it refers to old facilities which are needed to be upgraded for rebuilt. However, the draft has not addressed building of new religious facilities in new places. In the market economy, the geographical areas have experienced big changes. In some new residence areas there are no Christian monasteries or Buddhist pagodas where many Christians and Buddhist migrants have come and they need new monasteries or pagodas. The parliament should pay attention to the need of those people and issue specific regulations, for example, allow a group of 50 or 100 individuals with the same religion or belief to build a religious facility to serve themselves.
- Under the current state’s regulation, when people want to build a new religious facility, their religious group has to buy a land parcel for it and give to the state which will give back to the group for building their religious facility. We think the procedure is complicate and illogical. If the state recognizes religious groups then the parliament needs to review the procedure and build alternative regulations.
In addition, many foreign governments are concerned about the demolition of Lien Tri Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, considering the move as a serious violation of freedom of religion and belief.
U.S. Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Lower House voiced about the pagoda’s demolition and violation of religious freedom. He has asked the U.S. Department of State to re-designate Vietnam into the list of countries in particular concerns (CPC) on religious freedom.
Numerous civil societies in the country have signed a joint petition to condemn the demolition of Lien Tri Pagoda by authorities in HCMC.
Part 1: Violations of freedom of religion and beliefs
Violations of freedom of religion and beliefs and suppression against religious practioners in July 2016
The illegal seizure of land of Saint Paul Monastery: In our report in the second quarter, we reported the illegal grabbing of land of the Saint Paul Monastery in Quang Trung Street No. 5 in Hanoi. The situation remained unsettled in July and the monastery’s nuns had continued to complain that the investors were conducting construction activities although the local authorities demanded them to halt their works in the land of the monastery.
In the second half of July, the monastery nuns and followers continued to hold praying in the land area, however, the investors did not stop their building works. Their illegal construction has affected the monastery’s kindergarten nearby and the kids as some walls of classrooms broke. In order to protect the kids, nuns had to hire people to upgrade the broken walls.
The monastery filled a letter to request Hanoi’s authorities to stop the building activities of the investor on the land of the monastery. The letter was sent to the People’s Committee and the police of Tran Hung Dao ward where the monastery is located, and the People Committee and the communist party’s Committee in Hanoi.
The Saint Paul monastery affirmed that it has legal documentation proving its ownership of the disputed land parcel; however, Hanoi’s authorities granted the certificate for land use of the parcel to Ms. Tran Huong Ly.
Since mid-June, the news on the land dispute had been continuously updated, and the investor continued construction works despite strong protest from nuns and followers.
In order to ask authorities in Hanoi to settle the dispute and stop illegal construction, nuns from the monastery had to go many times to submit the request to the district and ward levels. They refused to leave the local government building until the People’s Committee of Hoan Kiem district ordered the People’s Committee in Tran Hung Dao ward to issue a decision to stop the construction on the land on July 28.
Violations of freedom of religion and beliefs and suppression against religious practioners in August 2016
The first case: The land dispute between Saint Paul Monastery and Ms. Tran Huong Ly on the land parcel No. 5 in Quang Trung continued. The inspectorate authorities in Hoan Kiem district sent a team to the monastery on Hai Ba Trung No. 37 to review documentation of the land parcel and denunciations of nuns in the monastery. The inspection team had pledged to settle the case soon. However, at the end of the meeting, Phan Trong Khanh, head of the team refused to sign in in the working minute but later he did it as nuns strongly demanded.
On the afternoon of August 18, the nuns of the monastery continue to demand for land return. They went to the Hanoi city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Huynh Thuc Khang No. 18 to work with the inspection team according to the document No. 4815/VP-DT dated June 14, 2016 of the city’s People’s Committee.
According to the city’s regulation, the inspection team must give answers within 30 days (from July 18 to August 18), however, as of August 18, Saint Paul Monastery had yet to receive any response from the inspection unit of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Although the Hanoi People’s Committee stated in its letter “Request the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to settle the denunciation of nuns from the Saint Paul monastery regarding issuance of land use on the parcel No. 5A-5B in Quang Trung street in Hoan Kiem district according to the law…”, when the nuns came to the department, they always received the same answers that the officials assigned to work on the case were absent.
On August 26, the monastery’s nuns came to the department to ask about the result of the settlement. Officials from the department did not answers and wait until the end of the working day to ask the nuns to leave the department. When the nuns refused to leave the department building, the leaders of the department ordered guards to close the building gates and switched off electricity.
Around 6PM, a group of around 100 thugs and officials of the department came in the building to ask the nuns leave the building. They threatened the nuns and insulted them. Later, they forcibly detained the nuns out of the building while police officers witnessed without taking intervention.
The second case: the demolition of Lien Tri Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City.
After sending a number of notices asking monks of the pagoda to leave the facility, authorities in the city gradually isolate the pagoda during the month. Their acts included using barriers from August 15 to block all the roads to the pagoda, not allowing followers to visit the facility, saying the area is under construction.
Venerable Thich Khong Tanh, head of the Lien Tri Pagoda said:
- The pagoda’s leadership agreed to meet with representatives of the local authorities to ask them to respect the religious freedom so they will halt seizing the land on which the pagoda is located for building urban project. The pagoda which was built 70 years ago should remain to serve for followers in Thu Thiem urban areas along with Thu Thiem Catholic Church, the monks said.
- In case that Ho Chi Minh City’s authorities were determined to remove the pagoda to another place, the pagoda should be settled in Thu Thiem-An Khanh areas but not in other places and the local authorities or the investor must build another facility for relocation. The leadership of the pagoda do not want to receive land and money compensation at any prices.
- None of monks has said that he/she will fight to death for remaining in the pagoda. All the monks said if the authorities evict them for land clearance, they will pray and go to exile in other places.
Violations of freedom of religion and beliefs and suppression against religious practioners in September 2016
The first case
Authorities in HCMC fully isolated the Lien Tri Pagoda in early September. The People’s Committee in District 2 issued a decision to demolish the pagoda for the second time on September 6-20. On other hand, the committee sent a letter to invite the pagoda’s representatives to attend a meeting about dialogue relating to the pagoda’s demolition in Thu Thiem ward building on September 6. However, the pagoda refused to send its representatives to the meeting, arguing the invitation was too late (on September 5).
On September 7, uniformed police officers and plainclothes agents blocked all roads to the pagoda, not allowing people to go in the areas, including workers of the facility.
Authorities in District 2 sent numerous police officers and militia to invade the pagoda on early morning of September 8. They took Venerable Thich Khong Tanh and Venerable Thich Thien Minh to an ambulance car to unknown direction, and forced other monks and workers into a bus and took them to Cat Lai, a remote place set for resettlement for the pagoda.
Monk Phap Vien, who witnessed the land revoke, said “They came at 7 AM and announced the revoking decision. All monks were sitting and peacefully protested the decision. Police took Venerable Thich Khong Tanh and Venerable Thich Thien Minh into an ambulance car and forced the remaining monks to a bus with many police officers to another place. Representatives from state-controlled Buddhist association in the district received the pagoda’s assets. The health of Venerable Tanh and Venerable Minh was not good and the authorities sent medical staff to check their health. Both were sitting to protest peacefully.
Monk Phap Vien said the local police blocked the road to the pagoda and prevented members of the Inter-faith Council from coming to support the monks.
The Lien Tri Pagoda is a religious facility and an asset of the unsanctioned United Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam. The pagoda was built more than 70 years ago.
The second case
On September 21, 2016, former prisoner of conscience Bui Van Trung held a ceremony to mark the day of his father’s death. At 6 AM, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Nam and Mr. Le Van Canh went to Mr. Trung’s house to attend the event. On their way, they were stopped by traffic policemen. Around 20 thugs and three police officers beat Nam and tried to detain him to a police station. However, Nam protested and said he would like to die but not to go to police station. After causing severe injuries to Nam, the attackers let him go.
Meanwhile, Mr. Canh was detained in a police station where he was interrogated for over an hour.
During the past ten years, local authorities have harassed Hoa Hao Buddhist followers when they gathered in Mr. Trung’s private residence.
The third case
Land parcel of Saint Paul Monastery continues to be illegally occupied
The settlement of the disputes over the land parcel in Quang Trung street No. 5 has not been completed but local authorities have helped the other side occupy the monastery’s land illegally. In late September, the monastery’s nuns are threatened by a group of numerous thugs who said they would fight if the nuns try to trouble construction carried out by the investor.
On September 28, nun Phuc from Saint Paul Hang Bot monastery (Ton Duc Thang, Dong Da district, Hanoi) announced that on the evening of September 27, people from the Hanoi Pharmaceutical Company used barbed wire to block the road from the monastery building to its garden where nuns plant vegetables. The nuns and followers of Hang Bot parish and other parishes nearly protested the blockage. Later, numerous thugs appeared and threatened the protestors. The Hanoi Pharmaceutical Company is located on the land belongs to saint Paul Hang Bot monastery. The company’s facility was the monastery’s workhouse. Decades ago, Hanoi’s authorities asked the monastery to temporary use the workhouse but refused to return but gave to the company. Recently, the company has a plan to move to another place and sell the land of the monastery to private buyers.
In order to protect the monastery’s property, nuns filled urgent letter to the police in Hang Bot ward in the late evening of September 29 amid threats of dozens of thugs.
At 10AM of September 30, people from the company continue to use high-capacity speaker to cause noise in the monastery. In order to settle the disputes, the monastery called Mr. Phuong from the company to invite him for talks. During the meeting, Mr. Phuong always affirmed that the company wants to settle the land dispute peacefully based on the law and mutual respect. He also unveiled that the local authorities asked the company not to use forces to settle the disputes.
The monastery’s nuns told him that the land on which his company is located belongs to the monastery and the monastery has documents to prove it. Since 1993, the company failed to pay rental fees, however, the land still belongs to the monastery, nuns said. The talks lasted over an hour and Mr. Phuong and his entourage left, saying he did not want to argue more.
On October 1, the Hanoi Pharmaceutical Company continues deployment of bodyguards to the disputed land. It installed cameras and made measurements of the land parcel, and sent people to the vegetable gardens of the monastery.
Given the happened incidents, people have questioned whether the Hanoi Pharmaceutical Company is very rich so it cannot be punished for hiring thugs to terror the monastery’s nuns in a land dispute case?
Why authorities in Hang Bot ward and Dong Da district have not taken measures to stop illegal acts of the company?
Part 2: Evaluation and Assessment on religious situation in the third quarter of 2016
According to the above statistics, the violations of freedom of religion and belief have become more and more serious despite the fall of the number of violations. Numerous religious PR actioners have been suppressed while properties of many religious facilities have been illegally seized such as Lien Tri Pagoda in HCMC and two Catholic monasteries in Hanoi. Buddhist monks and monastery’s nuns have been under terror and suppressed even when they went to state agencies to prevent illegal land grabbing and protect religious properties.
Saying it is striving to improve religious freedom, Vietnam’s government has showed that it has no goodwill with unsanctioned religious groups.
Part 3: Recommendations to Vietnam’s government
All agencies of Vietnam’s government must respect the right of freedom of religion and beliefs.
Stop all activities which aim to grab properties of religious groups. According to Vietnam’s 2013 Constitution, all religious properties are protected by the state.
Return all properties of religious organizations which had been seized by local authorities.
Respect religious clerics.
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October 9, 2016
Report on freedom of religion and beliefs Report No.3/2016- Third quarter of 2016 By Association to Proect Freedom of Religion Hanoi, September 30, 2016
by HR Defender • [Human Rights]
Thầy Thích Không Thánh trở về Chùa Liên Trì chỉ còn là đống đổ nát. Chùa Liên Trì bị nhà cầm quyền Việt Nam cưỡng chế ngày 8/9/2016
Political situation
Vietnam’s legislative body National Assembly is discussing draft law on religion and beliefs and the recent versions are considered as a setback on the right of freedom of religion and beliefs. In its recent feedback, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam pointed out a number of regulations of the draft law which would be violations of the right on freedom of religion and beliefs, and noted that “There are number of matters relating to activities of religious groups but have not been addressed in the draft so we expect the parliament to pay attention to them.”
In addition, many foreign governments are concerned about the demolition of Lien Tri Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, considering the move as a serious violation of freedom of religion and belief.
U.S. Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Lower House voiced about the pagoda’s demolition and violation of religious freedom. He has asked the U.S. Department of State to re-designate Vietnam into the list of countries in particular concerns (CPC) on religious freedom.
Numerous civil societies in the country have signed a joint petition to condemn the demolition of Lien Tri Pagoda by authorities in HCMC.
Part 1: Violations of freedom of religion and beliefs
Violations of freedom of religion and beliefs and suppression against religious practioners in July 2016
The illegal seizure of land of Saint Paul Monastery: In our report in the second quarter, we reported the illegal grabbing of land of the Saint Paul Monastery in Quang Trung Street No. 5 in Hanoi. The situation remained unsettled in July and the monastery’s nuns had continued to complain that the investors were conducting construction activities although the local authorities demanded them to halt their works in the land of the monastery.
In the second half of July, the monastery nuns and followers continued to hold praying in the land area, however, the investors did not stop their building works. Their illegal construction has affected the monastery’s kindergarten nearby and the kids as some walls of classrooms broke. In order to protect the kids, nuns had to hire people to upgrade the broken walls.
The monastery filled a letter to request Hanoi’s authorities to stop the building activities of the investor on the land of the monastery. The letter was sent to the People’s Committee and the police of Tran Hung Dao ward where the monastery is located, and the People Committee and the communist party’s Committee in Hanoi.
The Saint Paul monastery affirmed that it has legal documentation proving its ownership of the disputed land parcel; however, Hanoi’s authorities granted the certificate for land use of the parcel to Ms. Tran Huong Ly.
Since mid-June, the news on the land dispute had been continuously updated, and the investor continued construction works despite strong protest from nuns and followers.
In order to ask authorities in Hanoi to settle the dispute and stop illegal construction, nuns from the monastery had to go many times to submit the request to the district and ward levels. They refused to leave the local government building until the People’s Committee of Hoan Kiem district ordered the People’s Committee in Tran Hung Dao ward to issue a decision to stop the construction on the land on July 28.
Violations of freedom of religion and beliefs and suppression against religious practioners in August 2016
The first case: The land dispute between Saint Paul Monastery and Ms. Tran Huong Ly on the land parcel No. 5 in Quang Trung continued. The inspectorate authorities in Hoan Kiem district sent a team to the monastery on Hai Ba Trung No. 37 to review documentation of the land parcel and denunciations of nuns in the monastery. The inspection team had pledged to settle the case soon. However, at the end of the meeting, Phan Trong Khanh, head of the team refused to sign in in the working minute but later he did it as nuns strongly demanded.
On the afternoon of August 18, the nuns of the monastery continue to demand for land return. They went to the Hanoi city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Huynh Thuc Khang No. 18 to work with the inspection team according to the document No. 4815/VP-DT dated June 14, 2016 of the city’s People’s Committee.
According to the city’s regulation, the inspection team must give answers within 30 days (from July 18 to August 18), however, as of August 18, Saint Paul Monastery had yet to receive any response from the inspection unit of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Although the Hanoi People’s Committee stated in its letter “Request the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to settle the denunciation of nuns from the Saint Paul monastery regarding issuance of land use on the parcel No. 5A-5B in Quang Trung street in Hoan Kiem district according to the law…”, when the nuns came to the department, they always received the same answers that the officials assigned to work on the case were absent.
On August 26, the monastery’s nuns came to the department to ask about the result of the settlement. Officials from the department did not answers and wait until the end of the working day to ask the nuns to leave the department. When the nuns refused to leave the department building, the leaders of the department ordered guards to close the building gates and switched off electricity.
Around 6PM, a group of around 100 thugs and officials of the department came in the building to ask the nuns leave the building. They threatened the nuns and insulted them. Later, they forcibly detained the nuns out of the building while police officers witnessed without taking intervention.
The second case: the demolition of Lien Tri Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City.
After sending a number of notices asking monks of the pagoda to leave the facility, authorities in the city gradually isolate the pagoda during the month. Their acts included using barriers from August 15 to block all the roads to the pagoda, not allowing followers to visit the facility, saying the area is under construction.
Venerable Thich Khong Tanh, head of the Lien Tri Pagoda said:
Violations of freedom of religion and beliefs and suppression against religious practioners in September 2016
The first case
Authorities in HCMC fully isolated the Lien Tri Pagoda in early September. The People’s Committee in District 2 issued a decision to demolish the pagoda for the second time on September 6-20. On other hand, the committee sent a letter to invite the pagoda’s representatives to attend a meeting about dialogue relating to the pagoda’s demolition in Thu Thiem ward building on September 6. However, the pagoda refused to send its representatives to the meeting, arguing the invitation was too late (on September 5).
On September 7, uniformed police officers and plainclothes agents blocked all roads to the pagoda, not allowing people to go in the areas, including workers of the facility.
Authorities in District 2 sent numerous police officers and militia to invade the pagoda on early morning of September 8. They took Venerable Thich Khong Tanh and Venerable Thich Thien Minh to an ambulance car to unknown direction, and forced other monks and workers into a bus and took them to Cat Lai, a remote place set for resettlement for the pagoda.
Monk Phap Vien, who witnessed the land revoke, said “They came at 7 AM and announced the revoking decision. All monks were sitting and peacefully protested the decision. Police took Venerable Thich Khong Tanh and Venerable Thich Thien Minh into an ambulance car and forced the remaining monks to a bus with many police officers to another place. Representatives from state-controlled Buddhist association in the district received the pagoda’s assets. The health of Venerable Tanh and Venerable Minh was not good and the authorities sent medical staff to check their health. Both were sitting to protest peacefully.
Monk Phap Vien said the local police blocked the road to the pagoda and prevented members of the Inter-faith Council from coming to support the monks.
The Lien Tri Pagoda is a religious facility and an asset of the unsanctioned United Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam. The pagoda was built more than 70 years ago.
The second case
On September 21, 2016, former prisoner of conscience Bui Van Trung held a ceremony to mark the day of his father’s death. At 6 AM, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Nam and Mr. Le Van Canh went to Mr. Trung’s house to attend the event. On their way, they were stopped by traffic policemen. Around 20 thugs and three police officers beat Nam and tried to detain him to a police station. However, Nam protested and said he would like to die but not to go to police station. After causing severe injuries to Nam, the attackers let him go.
Meanwhile, Mr. Canh was detained in a police station where he was interrogated for over an hour.
During the past ten years, local authorities have harassed Hoa Hao Buddhist followers when they gathered in Mr. Trung’s private residence.
The third case
Land parcel of Saint Paul Monastery continues to be illegally occupied
The settlement of the disputes over the land parcel in Quang Trung street No. 5 has not been completed but local authorities have helped the other side occupy the monastery’s land illegally. In late September, the monastery’s nuns are threatened by a group of numerous thugs who said they would fight if the nuns try to trouble construction carried out by the investor.
On September 28, nun Phuc from Saint Paul Hang Bot monastery (Ton Duc Thang, Dong Da district, Hanoi) announced that on the evening of September 27, people from the Hanoi Pharmaceutical Company used barbed wire to block the road from the monastery building to its garden where nuns plant vegetables. The nuns and followers of Hang Bot parish and other parishes nearly protested the blockage. Later, numerous thugs appeared and threatened the protestors. The Hanoi Pharmaceutical Company is located on the land belongs to saint Paul Hang Bot monastery. The company’s facility was the monastery’s workhouse. Decades ago, Hanoi’s authorities asked the monastery to temporary use the workhouse but refused to return but gave to the company. Recently, the company has a plan to move to another place and sell the land of the monastery to private buyers.
In order to protect the monastery’s property, nuns filled urgent letter to the police in Hang Bot ward in the late evening of September 29 amid threats of dozens of thugs.
At 10AM of September 30, people from the company continue to use high-capacity speaker to cause noise in the monastery. In order to settle the disputes, the monastery called Mr. Phuong from the company to invite him for talks. During the meeting, Mr. Phuong always affirmed that the company wants to settle the land dispute peacefully based on the law and mutual respect. He also unveiled that the local authorities asked the company not to use forces to settle the disputes.
The monastery’s nuns told him that the land on which his company is located belongs to the monastery and the monastery has documents to prove it. Since 1993, the company failed to pay rental fees, however, the land still belongs to the monastery, nuns said. The talks lasted over an hour and Mr. Phuong and his entourage left, saying he did not want to argue more.
On October 1, the Hanoi Pharmaceutical Company continues deployment of bodyguards to the disputed land. It installed cameras and made measurements of the land parcel, and sent people to the vegetable gardens of the monastery.
Given the happened incidents, people have questioned whether the Hanoi Pharmaceutical Company is very rich so it cannot be punished for hiring thugs to terror the monastery’s nuns in a land dispute case?
Why authorities in Hang Bot ward and Dong Da district have not taken measures to stop illegal acts of the company?
Part 2: Evaluation and Assessment on religious situation in the third quarter of 2016
According to the above statistics, the violations of freedom of religion and belief have become more and more serious despite the fall of the number of violations. Numerous religious PR actioners have been suppressed while properties of many religious facilities have been illegally seized such as Lien Tri Pagoda in HCMC and two Catholic monasteries in Hanoi. Buddhist monks and monastery’s nuns have been under terror and suppressed even when they went to state agencies to prevent illegal land grabbing and protect religious properties.
Saying it is striving to improve religious freedom, Vietnam’s government has showed that it has no goodwill with unsanctioned religious groups.
Part 3: Recommendations to Vietnam’s government
All agencies of Vietnam’s government must respect the right of freedom of religion and beliefs.
Stop all activities which aim to grab properties of religious groups. According to Vietnam’s 2013 Constitution, all religious properties are protected by the state.
Return all properties of religious organizations which had been seized by local authorities.
Respect religious clerics.