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Vietnam in octobre 2013
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HANOI

La liberté ou la mort

Lutte non-violente de Nguyen Van Ly en faveur de la liberté religieuse et politique au Vietnam

 

“En décembre 2000, Nguyen Van Ly suspend à la tour de son église paroissiale de Nguyet Bieu le slogan La liberté religieuse ou la mort. Nombreux ont été ceux qui ont critiqué son engagement politique. Une petite rétrospective me pousse toutefois à avouer maintenant humblement que Van Ly a trouvé la solution à la question fondamentale de la survie du peuple vietnamien.”
5 janvier 2010. Nguyen Ngoc Tihn, frère franciscain.


Contenu
Prologue: une main de fer
1. Le Vietnam, colonie chinoise et française (jusqu'en 1945)
2. La Première Guerre d’Indochine prend fin par une paix armée (1946-1964)
3. Les Etats-Unis perdent la Deuxième Guerre d’Indochine (1965-75)
4. Régime totalitaire communiste au Vietnam du Sud (1975-78)
5. Le Vietnam au bord de l'abîme (1979-1986)
6. Débuts difficiles du libre marché (1986-1997)
7. Une approche plus dure génère un succès économique (1997-2004)
8. Poursuite de la lutte non-violente pour la liberté (2005-2007)
9. L’église du peuple prend la barre (2008-2014)
10. La liberté ou la mort
11. Bibliographie

Prologue: main de fer
La visite que  le président américain Bill Clinton rend du 16 au 18 novembre 2000 au Vietnam confirme un quart de siècle après la fin de la Deuxième Guerre d'Indochine  la normalisation des relations commerciales entre les deux pays. Présidente américaine du Comité pour la Liberté Religieuse, Helen Ngo Thi Hien,  fait partie de la délégation américaine. Elle rencontre le prêtre dissident catholique, Nguyen Van Ly, dans sa paroisse d’An Truyen. Comme Van Ly est placé en résidence surveillée et ne peut donc pas s’exprimer librement, Helen Ngo a donné à son cousin, Nguyen Vu Viet une série de trente questions. Elle lui a aussi demandé d'envoyer quelques photos de la jeunesse de Van Ly en vue de la publication d'un livre. Vu Viet a envoyé ses réponses aux questions via trois courriels. Il y décrit comment Van Ly a trompé les communistes à l’occasion d’un vote du conseil épiscopal. Mais le TC2, service secret militaire vietnamien, parvient à intercepter ce courrier électronique et accuse Vu Viet de faire de la propagande et de déformer la politique religieuse du parti et du gouvernement.
Sa sœur, Nguyen Thi Hoa, veuve de 44 ans et mère de quatre enfants, est également accusée pour une critique de la situation religieuse faite sur Que Hong, une station de radiodiffusion californienne, qui diffuse ses émissions en vietnamien. Nguyen Cuong Truc, frère ainé de Vu Viet, est lui aussi pris pour cible. On l’accuse d’avoir reçu de l'argent pour un téléphone mobile et l’achat de la pierre tombale de Tran Thi Kink, sa grand-mère et mère décédée de Nguyen Van Ly.
Sept mois plus tard, c'est-à-dire en juin 2001, un mois après la condamnation de Van Ly à quinze ans de prison, ses deux neveux et sa nièce sont arrêtés à leur tour. Le volumineux acte d'accusation auprès du ‘Grand Procurateur du Peuple’ à Hanoi contient les moindres détails de toutes les communications par courriel, téléphone et fax. L'organisation des droits de l'homme Amnesty International, chapitre ces méthodes de recherche du service secret TC2 sur base de la loi vietnamienne relative à la protection de la vie privée. Amnesty accuse l’interception illégale du courriel et des messages via l’Internet, ainsi que l’écoute tout aussi illicite de conversations téléphoniques.
En application de l'article 80 du Code Pénal relatif à la collecte d'informations que des pays étrangers pourraient utiliser contre le Vietnam, Vu Viet, Thi Hoa et Nguyen Cuong Truc sont accusés d'espionnage. Ils risquent la peine de mort parce que le gouvernement vietnamien considère le Comité pour la Liberté Religieuse et la Radio Que Hong comme des organisations réactionnaires, alors que leur objectif est la liberté et le respect des droits de l'homme au Vietnam. Sous la pression internationale, le dossier est renvoyé aux calendes grecques. Amnesty International argumente que ce dont on les accuse est selon le droit international parfaitement légal dans la plupart des pays: “Les lourdes accusations d'espionnage abusent de la notion de ‘sécurité nationale’ pour restreindre les droits fondamentaux de la liberté d'expression.” Amnesty exige la libération immédiate et inconditionnelle des trois détenus.
Le 24 octobre 2002, seize mois plus tard, le dossier est à nouveau initié auprès de la Cour Suprême Populaire de la capitale. L’audience est une fois de plus suivie d’une suspension. Presqu’un an plus tard, le 10 septembre 2003, les trois accusés comparaissaient enfin devant le tribunal. Ils ne sont plus accusés d'espionnage, mais selon l'article 258, alinéa 2 du Code Pénal ‘d’abus des libertés démocratiques pour nuire aux intérêts de l'État’. Que le contenu d’une accusation change en cours de procès était du jamais vu dans la jurisprudence vietnamienne. Au cours d’une session à huis clos, qui a duré trois heures, Vu Viet et Nguyen Cuong Truc sont condamnés à respectivement cinq et quatre ans de prison. Leur sœur Thi Hoa écope quant à elle de trois ans. Le 28 novembre 2003,  la Cour Suprême Populaire de Hanoi réduit le châtiment des deux frères à 32 mois et celui de Thi Hoa à quatre mois et six jours. Elle peut rentrer chez elle et ses frères sortent de prison quelques jours plus tard. Les deux frères ont en effet déjà passé deux ans et demi en détention provisoire, leur sœur en résidence surveillée.
Cette décision de la Cour Suprême Populaire illustre la main de fer du régime. En réduisant en appel des peines très sévères, le gouvernement fait d'une pierre deux coups. D'une part il apaise les adeptes de la ligne dure au sein du parti communiste et neutralise d’autre part les esprits critiques en faisant apparemment des concessions.
Il n’y a d’ailleurs rien de nouveau  sous le soleil. La main de fer agit comme un fil rouge à travers toute l'histoire du Vietnam. Elle a déjà écrasé à grande échelle tout type de résistance aux occupants chinois, aux colonialistes français, et après 1954 au régime communiste au Vietnam du Nord et au gouvernement du Vietnam du Sud soutenu par les États-Unis.

Synthèse
La liberté ou la mort
L’idée de la lutte pacifique pour la liberté est non seulement le fil rouge dans la vie de Nguyen Van Ly, mais est également ancrée dans l’identité vietnamienne suite à des siècles de colonisation chinoise et française. Depuis son ordination en 1974, Van Ly défend cette cause dans les camps de concentration où il est détenu pendant 18 ans, dans les paroisses perdues où il a vécu pendant 14 ans en résidence surveillée, et dans ses écrits polémiques diffusés via l'Internet. À partir de 2000, ses opinions se radicalisent et il plaide pour la liberté de toutes les religions et pour l'abolition du monopole du pouvoir du parti communiste. Comme ce géant aux pieds d’argile conserve toute sa vigueur grâce à une répression impitoyable, Van Ly s’engage à partir de 2006 dans la politique et lutte pour le respect des droits civils. Mais il est une fois de plus emprisonné. Enfermé dans la solitude de sa cellule d'isolement, cette icône de la résistance pacifique, à moitié paralysée par quatre attaques d’apoplexie, se sent aujourd’hui seul et incompris, par ses collègues de l'église, mais aussi par la communauté internationale. Son combat n’a toutefois pas été vain. Surgie de catacombes essentiellement nord-vietnamiennes, une église du peuple poursuit en effet depuis décembre 2007 sa lutte de façon plutôt inattendue.

Une histoire imbibée de sang
Le Vietnam est l'un des rares pays dont l'histoire est littéralement imbibée de sang. Ses habitants n'ont jamais connu un moment de liberté. Ils se sont battus pendant des siècles contre la domination chinoise et à partir du milieu du 19ième siècle contre le colonisateur français. Les nouvelles institutions, l’économie, la langue et la religion imposées par les Chinois et les Français étaient en contradiction avec les valeurs traditionnelles et les coutumes vietnamiennes. La confrontation d’abord Est-Est et plus tard Est-Ouest a abouti d’une part à l’adoption de nouvelles valeurs, mais d’autre part aussi à l’opposition contre celles-ci. La recherche d'indépendance et de liberté est un des pierres angulaires de l’identité vietnamienne et explique la résistance tenace aux envahisseurs étrangers.
Au cours du troisième quart du siècle dernier, le Vietnam est le théâtre d’une des plus grandes tragédies du 20ième siècle. La Première Guerre de l’Indochine (1946-54), qui représente la fin de la colonisation Française, fait un quart de million de victimes. La division du pays (en Nord et en Sud) avec sa ligne de démarcation à hauteur du 17ième parallèle nord tracée lors de la Conférence de Genève résulte en une paix armée. Face au régime communiste au Vietnam du Nord, qui est soutenu alternativement par l'Union soviétique et la Chine, les États-Unis  reprennent le rôle de la France au Sud. Le pays est à nouveau colonisé. Cette fois pas pour le sucer jusqu’à la moelle, mais pour servir  d’avant-poste dans la Guerre Froide entre le communisme et le capitalisme. Au fil des années, la lutte devient de plus en plus horrible. La Deuxième Guerre d’Indochine (1965-75) fait trois millions de morts et de blessés au Vietnam, et deux autres millions de victimes dans les pays voisins que sont le Cambodge et le Laos, et qui ont été entraînés dans le conflit. Les États-Unis, qui se retirent du Vietnam après l'accord de paix de Paris en 1973, continuent la Guerre Froide à d'autres endroits du globe.

Un régime totalitaire communiste au Vietnam du Sud
Quand le régime du Vietnam du Nord conquiert le sud du pays le 30 avril 1975, il n’y trouve qu’un gâchis. Le Vietnam est devenu un des pays les plus pauvres au monde. Et la fin de la guerre n'apporte aucune liberté. Bien au contraire. Les nouveaux dirigeants ne veulent pas la réconciliation, mais le châtiment. Tous les chefs de l'ancien régime sont éliminés et environ 2,5 millions d'autres croupissent dans des camps de rééducation. Y compris des intellectuels dont on a pourtant besoin pour reconstruire le pays. Le réseau de contrôle invisible du parti communiste tient entre-temps tout le monde à l’œil. La réforme agraire, tout comme la création de Nouvelles Zones Économiques, rencontre une forte résistance. En 1978 commence un exode sans précédent de boat-people.
En 1979, le Vietnam occupe son voisin, le Cambodge, et mène une guerre contre la Chine. L'isolement international qui s’ensuit conduit le pays au bord du précipice. Une porte de sortie se présente en 1986 sous forme de la politique ‘doi moi’ ou d’introduction, à l'exemple chinois couronné de succès, d'une économie de marché libre dirigée par un gouvernement communiste resté au pouvoir. La situation ne change hélas que lentement. Ce n’est qu’à partir des années 1990 que l'économie vietnamienne prend son essor avec une croissance annuelle de sept pour cent. L'Europe occidentale rompt l'isolement international et après la levée de l'embargo commercial des Etats-Unis, les deux pays concluent un accord commercial.
Le Vietnam ne devient malgré tout pas un ‘tigre asiatique’ en raison de sa pesante bureaucratie, de sa corruption tenace, de sa monnaie faible et de sa mauvaise infrastructure. Le capitalisme occidental, qui investit massivement de l’argent au Vietnam, devient le plus grand bienfaiteur de l'économie communiste vu que la majeure partie du produit intérieur brut est réalisé par des sociétés subventionnées par le gouvernement.
Lorsque le Vietnam rejoint l'Organisation Mondiale du Commerce, l'opposition politique s’exprime pour la première fois à visage découvert. Grâce au soutien étranger, le Parti Populiste du  Vietnam (VPP), le Parti de l’Action du Peuple du Vietnam (PAP), et le Parti Réformiste Vietnamien (VRP ou Viet Tan) deviennent opérationnels. Au Vietnam proprement dit, le Manifeste pour la démocratie et la liberté au Vietnam du 8 avril 2006 est à l’origine du Bloc 8406 et l’on y assiste également à la naissance du Parti du Progrès du Vietnam (VNPP). La création de la Coalition Lac Hong, une fusion du VNPP et du VPP qui nourrissait l’ambition de prendre la direction du pays, marque le début d'une répression sans merci contre tous les partis, les bloggeurs sur l’Internet et les avocats qui défendent les dissidents. Le régime communiste totalitaire ne desserre pas sa poignée de fer.

La lutte pacifique de Nguygen Van Ly se radicalise
Nguyen Van Ly (° 1947) grandit dans la paroisse catholique de Ba Nguet, qui déménage collectivement en 1955 à La Vang Trung, au sud de la ligne de démarcation. Fils cadet d'une famille de cinq enfants, il développe au cours de sa formation au séminaire de Huê une capacité de pensée critique aiguë. Il s’épanouit pleinement au cours de son stage dans les bidonvilles de Saigon. Après son ordination en 1974, il travaille dans la capitale, mais retourne à la demande de Mgr Nguyen Kim Dien à Huê pendant l'offensive finale de l'armée nord-vietnamienne en avril 1975. Que Van Ly effectue ce voyage en sens inverse du flot de réfugiés qui veut rejoindre Saigon illustre son comportement humble, linéaire et respectueux envers les autorités. Secrétaire un peu trop zélé de Monseigneur Nguyen Kim Dien, Van Ly est condamné en 1977 à vingt ans de travaux forcés.
Quatre mois plus tard, il est toutefois libéré et envoyé en résidence surveillée dans la paroisse isolée de Doc So. En 1978 et 1983, il écrit ses premiers manifestes critiques, mais l'organisation de pèlerinages illégaux au sanctuaire de La Vang se termine par une condamnation à dix ans de prison. Malgré les lourds travaux forcés, la faim inassouvie et l'endoctrinement permanent, Van Ly tient le coup dans les camps de concentration de Cam Thanh et Nam Ha grâce à une vie intérieure intense et à son engagement envers ses codétenus.
Après sa libération en 1994, Van Ly trace dans son Programme à dix points une image poignante de l'état de l'Église vietnamienne. Comme le rayonnement international de ce manifeste lui offre la reconnaissance des organisations internationales des droits de l'homme, il renforce bien sûr sa position dans son propre pays. En 1995, il est transféré dans la paroisse perdue de Nguyet Bieu. Il y est assigné à résidence et est toujours privé de dire la messe ou de prêcher. Il donne par contre des cours de français et d’anglais, de musique, d’astrologie et d’informatique. Techniquement doué et conscient que l'ordinateur et l'Internet peuvent jouer un rôle clé dans son combat, Van Ly se familiarise avec ces médias en parfait autodidacte. Quand sa paroisse est sévèrement touchée par des inondations en 1999, sa priorité va à la reconstruction des maisons des habitants les plus pauvres. Van Ly n'est pas seulement une des voix les plus critiques opposées au régime, il s'engage aussi pleinement dans le soulagement des besoins de ses paroissiens. Son mode de vie à lui reste d’une grande sobriété.
Puisque la situation ne s'améliore pas, Van Ly impose en 2000 à sa lutte pacifique pour plus de liberté un régime supérieur. Un flot de lettres, de manifestes et d’appels sur l'Internet radicalisent ses points de vue. Il milite pour la liberté de toutes les religions et exige l'abolition du pouvoir monopolisé par le parti communiste. Il est en outre à l’origine de la première rencontre interreligieuse et organise avec trois collègues l’Association des Prêtres Nguyen Kim Dien, âme de la dissidence catholique vietnamienne. Le 5 février 2001, il est transféré à la paroisse perdue d’An Truyen. À la demande du Congrès Américain, il écrit deux témoignages sur la situation religieuse au Vietnam. Ceux-ci ont engendré dix-neuf convocations à l’encontre du gouvernement vietnamien. Du jamais vu dans un pays communiste! Van Ly est à nouveau arrêté et condamné à quinze ans de travaux forcés. Après deux réductions de peine sous la pression internationale, il est une fois de plus libéré le 31 janvier 2005. Six mois plus tard, il lance du palais archiépiscopal de Huê, où il est placé en résidence surveillée, une nouvelle kyrielle de lettres, de protestations et d’appels. Il y met l'accent sur le respect des libertés civiles. Van Ly est le cofondateur du mouvement Bloc 8406, du magazine clandestin Tu doo Ngon luan – La liberté d'expression, du Parti du Progrès Vietnamien ou VNPP, et de la Coalition Lac Hong.
Le gouvernement en a toutefois ras le bol. Le 30 mars 2007, Van Ly est condamné à huit ans de réclusion. Dans la solitude de sa cellule d'isolement au camp de Nam Ha, il est frappé entre mai et novembre 2009 de trois attaques d’apoplexie. Il est à moitié paralysé et les médecins découvrent une tumeur dans son hémisphère cérébral gauche. Sous la pression internationale persistante, Van Ly est installé le 15 mars 2010 pour des raisons humanitaires et pour une durée d’un an dans la maison de repos des prêtres de l'archevêché de Huê, d'où il poursuit sa lutte de sa plume acérée. Quand la campagne mondiale de Human Rights Watch pour sa libération s’arrête, il est ramené au camp de Nam Ha (25 juillet 2011), où cinq ans d’emprisonnement isolé l’attendent encore.

La pression étrangère diminue
Combien de temps peut-elle encore tenir, la combinaison d'une économie de marché libre et une administration communiste? Depuis les années 80, des économistes prédisent l'échec de cette approche. Mais trois décennies plus tard ce modèle s’avère être un des plus réussis de l'histoire. Le régime vietnamien reste pourtant un géant aux pieds d'argile. L'idéologie du marxisme-léninisme a cédé la place à une recherche de richesse matérielle. La bureaucratie et la corruption s’imposent de plus en plus. La force du régime est l'absence d'une alternative. L'armée s’imbrique dans le système. Entre-temps l'influence de la Chine augmente rapidement. Les Chinois espèrent, comme jadis, contrôler l'Indochine. Le bouddhisme, de loin la religion la plus importante, est le principal mouvement à pouvoir jouer un rôle significatif. Les cadres de l'Église Bouddhiste Unie souterraine sont hélas depuis des années infiltrés par les communistes. Quand un parti bouddhiste parviendra à percer, il  sera lui aussi une créature communiste.
La pression étrangère sur le régime diminue en outre et ne permet pas d’imposer des changements ou d’apporter un soutien international aux dissidents. Cela est en partie dû au glissement vers l’Est du centre de gravité géopolitique, où le respect des droits de l'homme n’est pas prioritaire. Les pays asiatiques et africains utilisent à tout bout de champ leur position majoritaire au sein du Conseil des Droits de l'Homme des Nations Unies. Situation à laquelle il faut ajouter que l’imbrication dans la politique internationale fait de plus en plus la part belle à l’argent. Suite à la crise de 2008, le respect des droits de l'homme n’est plus approuvé que pour la forme. La chaîne britannique BBC et le canal Français RFI ont arrêté leurs émissions radiophoniques en vietnamien.

Le changement vient du bas
Y a-t-il une différence entre un Nguyen Van Ly enfermé dans une cellule d’isolement dans un camp de concentration où assigné à résidence? Comme le gouvernement veut à tout prix éviter que Van Ly ne meure en captivité, ce dernier est bien soigné et jouit d’une liberté relative. Languissant dans sa solitude, Van Ly se sent toutefois incompris: par la communauté vietnamienne et internationale mais aussi par ses collègues catholiques, ce qui le touche peut-être le plus. Seuls ses collègues âgés Nguyen Huu Giai (70 ans) et Peter Phan Van Loi (61 ans) de l’Association des Prêtres Nguyen Kim Dien continuent la lutte pour la liberté et la vérité. Stephen Chan Tin est décédé récemment à l’âge de 92 ans. En vietnamien, les mots Ly Chan signifient non seulement ‘vérité’, mais aussi littéralement ‘les pieds de Ly’.
Le combat de Van Ly n’a pourtant pas été vain. Malgré le laminage continuel de toute résistance, la couche d'humus chrétien est en effet restée fertile dans la société grâce à une lutte pacifique à toute épreuve des dissidents. Pour l’église du peuple, elle forme, contre toute attente, le sol nourricier d’où elle poursuit depuis décembre 2007 son combat acharné. Ou pour utiliser une autre métaphore: le petit ruisseau dont Van Ly a durant toute sa vie modelé obstinément le cours s’est soudainement transformé en  une rivière large que même l'un des régimes les plus répressifs au monde ne peut pas endiguer.
L’histoire nous apprend que ceux qui ouvrent le chemin aux changements ne foulent pas le tapis rouge lorsque la victoire est atteinte. Cette loi s'applique également à Van Ly, même si la lutte pour un Vietnam libre sera un jour couronnée de succès. Nguyen Van Ly, l'icône vivante de cette lutte, sera-t-il ce jour-là encore des

 

Selection des écrits de Nguyen Van Ly (en anglais):
Déclarations, Appels, convocations, lettres, témoignages et conseils

1. November 24, 1994 – Declaration – On the situation of the Vietnamese catholic church in the diocese of Huế.
2. December 3, 2000 – Appeal no. 1 – Appeal made in the closing days of 2000.We Need Real Religious Freedom In Vietnam.
3. December 7, 2000 – Appeal no. 2 – We need real religious freedom in Vietnam.
4. December 14, 2000 – Appeal – Religious Freedom or Death.
5. December 20, 2000 – Appeal no. 3 – We must create genuine religion for ourselves.
6. December 27, 2000 – Statement – On the communists’ policy towards religion in Vietnam.
7. December 31, 2000 – Appeal no. 4 – Churches of all faiths, let us cry together.
8. January 11, 2001 – Letter – A few words of explanation.
9. January 15, 2001 – Letter – Letter addressed to the Archbishop of Huế.
10. January 15, 2001 – Letter – Letter addressed to his eminence, President of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam.
11. January 25, 2001 – Appeal no. 5 – Would the international organizations please stop letting the Vietnamese Communists sign international covenants.
12. January 25, 2001 – Appeal no. 6 – Professors, teachers and students in vietnam: please stop studying communism and the history of the Vietnamese communist party!
13. January 28, 2001 – Appeal no. 7 – Vietnamese communists, please let others do their fair share in Serving the country.     Vietnamese people in Vietnam and other countries, please unite in Rebuilding and defending our nation.
14. February 13, 2001 – Appeal no. 8 – Communist party, please disband for the nation’s sake!
15. February 13, 2001 – Testimony – First Testimony by Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
16. February 20, 2001 – Appeal no. 9 – Let us unite because we are about to win.
17. March 3, 2001 – Citation no. 1 – Issued to the Vietnamese communists for serious human rights violation.
18. March 16, 2001 – Citation no. 4 – Issued to the Vietnamese communists for violence against An Truyen Catholics.
19. March 19, 2001 – Letter – Precautionary statement.
20. March 24, 2001 – Citation no. 7 – Issued to the Vietnamese communists for serious human rights violation.
21. March 28, 2001 – Letter – Letter addressed to his eminence, president of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam.
22. March 30, 2001 – Citation no. 8 – Issued to the Vietnamese communists for banishing all human rights.
23. April 6, 2001 – Citation no. 13 – Issued to the Vietnamese communists for unrestrained libel and slander.
24. April 9, 2001 – Citation no. 15 – Issued to the Vietnamese communists for using physical force on a member of the Norwegian parliament and beating his taxicab driver.
25. April 30, 2001 – Statement – Joint declaration by Vietnamese Interfaith Council and Overseas Vietnamese Interfaith Council. Rev. Thaddeus nguyễn văn lý, Rev. Peter nguyễn hữu giải & rev. Peter phan văn lợi.
26. May 4, 2001 – Citation no. 19 (high priority) – Issued to the Vietnamese communists for infringing on a bishop’s rights.
27. May 16, 2001 – Testimony – Second Testimony by a Prisoner of Conscience, Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý  to the United States House Of Representatives.
28. August 28, 2001 – Statement – Second request to the Episcopal conference of Vietnam. Rev. Thaddeus nguyễn văn lý, Rev. Peter nguyễn hữu giải & rev. Peter phan văn lợi.
29. August 10, 2005 – Letter – Protest And Support Letter.
30. August 24, 2005 – Advice – How To Overcome Fear?
31. August 30, 2005 – Letter – Protest, Discussion And Support Letter.
32. November 22, 2005 – Statement – Boycotting The 2007 Single-Party Election. Will be a lethal blow to the totalitarian communist Regime in Vietnam.
33. December 30, 2005 – Statement – Ten necessary conditions for the 2007 national Assembly elections to be multi-party, free and fair and to avert a general boycott.
34. February 20, 2006 – Appeal – Appeal For Freedom of Speech and Expression “we are no longer afraid. We need to know the truth“.
35. April 30, 2006 – Advice – Profile of Today's Peace Warrior in Vietnam.
36. March 2, 2007 – Statement – Clarification Issued by the Nguyễn Kim Điền Group of Catholic Priests.

 

1. November 24, 1994
DECLARATION ON THE SITUATION OF THE VIETNAMESE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE DIOCESE OF HUẾ

Dear Reader and All Other People of Good Will,
I do not intend to discuss the situation of the Catholic Church and other religions throughout Vietnam because I do not have all the facts. However, after hearing about the Catholic Church’s situation in the Diocese of Huế, I believe you will have an accurate picture of the Catholic Church and the other faiths throughout Vietnam.
The Vietnamese Communist Government recently approved for the Diocese of Huế an Apostolic Administrator Sede Plena after a six-year wait, the ordination of five priests after an eighteen-year wait, and the re-opening of its seminary after being shuttered for more than eighteen years.  Is religious life vibrant and buttressed by religious freedom? Not at all!

The following facts serve to make my point:
1. Hoan Thiện Junior Seminary, 11 Đống Đa Street, City of Huế, was confiscated and has been used by the government from December 1979 as Nguyễn Chí Diễu Secondary School. Currently there are three hundred young people – would-be junior seminarians - who study theology at home while waiting for the government to decide if a handful of them may enroll in the re-opened seminary after an extensive background check. All Huế residents and Catholics in the diocese knew that the junior seminary served the Church’s mission of training young people who hope to be ordained.  However, the government argued that the school was just a private secondary school in order to justify its seizure.
The government dismissed over a hundred seminarians and junior seminarians when it seized Hoan Thiện Junior Seminary and virtually closed down Huế Seminary.  The dismissed trainees have dispersed, including a handful who left the country in order to become priests elsewhere.  Approximately  fifteen trainees remain in Huế, hoping to enroll at the seminary, but not knowing when. What crimes did they commit? What should we call this if not religious persecution?
2. In theory, the Church may consecrate and assign bishops to dioceses, perform the sacrament of Confirmation, ordain priests and select and enroll seminarians, for Mr. Đỗ Mười had said: "The government does not interfere".  In reality, the government reserves the right to decide – “…may conduct all legitimate activities provided the government has given its approval". During the first persecution period lasting 261 years (1625-1886), bishops, priests and seminarians had to dissimulate their activities and were at times arrested and executed. However, the Church did not lose its sacred responsibilites and could ordain and assign duties to its clergy. Today, religions officially enjoy “freedom”.  However, the Church has been reduced to a most passive state and dependence on the government’s whims for She no longer can ordain, consecrate and assign duties to the persons that She deems worthy and necessary.  The government decides on the number of seminaries, of seminarians in each diocese, and the frequency of admission examinations as if seminaries were the government’s schools for public servants! How can the government justify its authority to make such decisions? The Lord calls whomever He wants to serve Him whereas the Church accepts as many seminarians as she can handle, and ordains those that she deems worthy.  This is God’s domain and not the domain of Marxism and Communism! The government’s restrictions have robbed the Diocese of Huế of approximately 80 new priests that could have been trained and ordained under normal circumstances.
The government interfered blatantly in Church affairs and forced its will based on the totalitarian principle of “Control by the State of All Aspects of Life”.  Invoking an overly self-serving concept of authority, “the government’s law is paramount”, the Communists intend to turn the church into a malleable instrument, a loyal slave and an obedient servant. The government framed their treatment of religions in mottos such as “Good citizenship is necessary for good religion”, "Freedom within bounds", and "Worshipping God and love for Socialism must go hand in hand”.  The Church is being oppressed because she has not been able to embrace socialism. Paradoxically, the more she is oppressed, the less the Church is inclined to embrace a despotic doctrine that demands to be loved. Every student, from the first grade to college level, is required to fully absorb the fundamental “truth”: “You can only love your country through loving Socialism".  A dictatorship aiming at controlling one's mind is the most dangerous and insidious kind of totalitarianism!
3. In 1990 the Board of Counselors elected Bishop Jacob Lê Văn Mẫn Apostolic Administrator sede vacante of Huế. Over the past four years the diocese have been following his direction, yet the government has not approved his position, causing many difficulties to the Church. Isn’t this gross interference in Church affairs? If Msgr. Mẫn had committed a crime, the government would have brought him to justice. If he were not qualified, the Board of Counselors would not have elected him and the Vatican would not have approved his election. Why is the government not satisfied? Does Msgr. Mẫn have to show his devotion to Socialism before the government accept him? The Apostolic Administrator of Saigon, Bishop Nicholas Huỳnh Văn Nghi, has not been approved either. What is the basis of the government’s authority in rejecting their nominations?
4. The novices who joined religious orders have had to dissimulate their activities using various means. Over the past nineteen years, how many were allowed to formally join their respective orders through adding their names to the orders’ household registries even after the novices have completed all the requirements for attaining the status of monks and nuns?  Why does the government force them to be clandestine monks and nuns? Any religious order that wants to establish a new branch based on the Church’s need would find that this can be a herculean undertaking. The government still uses on a rent-free basis the building belonging to the Order of Immaculate Mary’s Daughters in Phú Xuân, Kim Long, oblivious to the order’s request for the return of their property after nineteen years of confiscation. The government maintains that it is ready to relinquish the property – but when? The religious sisters have no place to serve God!
5. Catholics in New Economic Zones and remote parishes such as Quảng Bình, Khe Sanh, Bình Điền, Nam Đông, and A Lưới long for a Mass at Christmas and Easter. The government has been dragging its feet with respect to granting them permission to build a church and in allowing priests to come to celebrate Mass or perform sacraments. How could anyone call this a thriving and normal religious scene?
6. The Church is extremely desirous to collaborate in education, health care, communication, and social activities. When can She expect to regain the use of schools, clinics, orphanages, homes for the disabled, and cultural centerss that the government seized outright of compelled the Church to offer public use?
Does the Church currently publish a newspaper or own a print shop that could be used for religious education? A pre-condition is “firm belief in Socialism" or, at least, abstention from criticizing the government.  When can the people expect to see freedom of thought, of expression, of teaching the gospel and truth, to send their children to the schools of their choice and for students to select their majors?
7. Due to Archbishop Philip Nguyễn Kim Điền’s resolute opposition, the government could not establish a Committee for the Solidarity of Patriotic Catholics in the Diocese of Huế.  The government is now inviting a number of priests, monks and nuns to participate in People's Committees (units of the government with executive power), or the Vietnam Patriotic Front. The government’s agenda is to use a number of priests, monks, nuns and believers to support its objective of justifying its rule.                                                                                                       
I would like to describe the Catholic Church in Vietnam and espress my private thoughts:
8. I dare not label any bishop or priest “State-sponsored” because I believe that you also desire that the Church can grow and conduct her mission under more favorable circumstances.  However, what you gain in the short term can never offset the long-term damage to the Church, her legacy and image. Your actions would contribute to the image of a Church that is weak, increasingly compromising, and aiming for a few immediate advantages in contrast to a Church bent on building God’s Kingdom, speaking her conscience, and criticizing injustice and misdeeds. Instead of “collaborating while resisting” as Pope John Paul II had done, collaborating without resisting would be demoralizing to the Christian community at large and all the people who traditionally hold the Vietnamese Catholic Church in high esteem.  Is it worth to flatter with words such as “motivated”, “joyful”, “wise”, “admire”, etc. in order to facilitate transactions with the government or to obtain favors?
9. Others may accuse me of focusing solely on religious freedom at the expense of education, healh and social work.  It is rather obvious that religious freedom is the pre-condition for the Church to have the capability to stop evil, bring good to society and produce more believers who can serve in various capacities.  Freedom of conscience and religious freedom are the basis for the other legitimate freedoms. Although I truly want a peaceful life so that I can serve, I must struggle for genuine religious freedom until Vietnam experiences a normal religious life like the vast majority of nations because I love the Lord and humanity. In those countries, the people have no need to demand freedom and the government does not find it necessary to constantly say “the government guarantees religious freedom” and “the policy towards religions is well defined”.  The Episcopal Conference of Vietnam’s petitions of October 18, 1992 and October 26, 1993 to the Prime Minister clearly show that the Catholic Church has been deprived of many rights. She has no recourse other than wait and wait.
What basic rights is the Vietnamese Catholic Church enjoying when one uses the yardsticks from Articles 18 and 19 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10, 1948 (and ratified by Vietnam when she joined the United Nations in 1977), the Declaration on Religious Freedom of December 7, 1965, and the Declaration on Christian Education of October 28, 1965 of the Vatican II Council (see addendum)?
10. Some may wonder why several other priests keep doing their tasks, including a few who appear to be content, while I constantly demand religious freedom (I was imprisoned twice and am currently placed in the “restricted movement” status on account of my struggle for religious freedom).  There are many others who have engaged in this struggle, using different means, perhaps working as hard or even harder than I can. Perhaps there are priests who wisely avoid confrontation in order to serve their parishioners because if all of us were in prison, who would be left to serve?
I hope that authentic Christians and all other well-intentioned people will agree with my ten points. I also believe that many Christians of my generation and future generations are resonating or will resonate with statements by prophets such as Moses, Jeremiah, Ezekiel... over the past 3,000 years: “Let my people go, that they may worship God in freedom” (Exodus 5,1) và "You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them…" (Jeremiah 1,7; Ezekiel 2,6).
While I am unworthy, I am determined to follow in the footsteps of Vietnam’s Martyrs; of Friar Joachim Marcel Nguyễn Tân Văn who died in prison on July 10, 1959 in Camp No. 2 in Yên Bình (near Hà Nội); of China's Catholic Church and her underground bishops; and, more recently, Archbishop Philip Nguyễn Kim Điền who suffered and died for his faith on June 8, 1988 in Saigon. Those who harm me would violate Article 19 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Please pray for me everyday so that I have the strength to accomplish the task that the Lord has assigned me and that I cannot pass on to anyone else. "The Lord has shown me my place; I may not disobey Him." (Letter to Diognetus, Para. 1)
I place this declaration under the protection of Jesus Christ, Our Lady of La Vang, Saint Joseph, the Martyrs of Vietnam, and International Human Rights Organizations. Please distribute this material widely so that my country may see religious freedom and freedom of conscience soon. I am grateful to you. Good bye.
Diocesian Compound in Huế, Vietnam Martyrs’ Day (November 24, 1994)
A humble priest in Huế, Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
(On the sixth anniversary of this declaration (Vietnam Martyrs’ Day, November 24, 2000) Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, then the advisor of the Committee for Religious Freedom for Vietnam, re-issued this declaration from the Catholic church in Nguyệt Biều, Thủy Biều District, Huế, to mark the start of his intense struggle)

 

2. December 3, 2000 – Appeal No. 1
Appeal Made in the Closing Days of 2000. We Need Real Religious Freedom In Vietnam

1. Whereas: From 1954 through 2000, the Vietnamese Communist Government’s policy towards religious organizations in Vietnam (particularly the Catholic Church) has been nothing more than a NOOSE DESIGNED TO STRANGLE RELIGIONS.  In early 1983 Archbishop Philip Nguyễn Kim Điền said to the People’s Committee of Thừa Thiên Huế: “The Communist Government’s policy on religious freedom is nothing more than a noose that is strangling our Church”.  Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý repeated those words twice during his trial in the City of Huế in late 1983.  The trial was triggered by Rev. Ly’s leading the faithful to the La Vang Conference pilgrim  1981 and the ensuing difficulties caused by this activity.
2- Whereas: Throughout 261 years of persecution from King Cảnh Thịnh - Tây Sơn (1625) through the Văn Thân Movement (1886), bishops, priests, lectors, deacons, seminary students and believers were killed or persecuted in many ways. The basic functions of the Church such as recruiting and appointing members of the clergy, selecting and training seminary students, etc. had to be carried out in secret. Yet we managed to continue our activities. In 1954 those God-given rights were abrogated by the Vietnamese Communist Authorities who reserved the right to approve each of those activities. Nearly all orders of priests and nuns have had to resort to underground ordination.
3- Whereas: the Government confiscated or forced the Church to cede much of its property.
4- Whereas: Catholics and Other Faiths are being intensely discriminated against, and the believers in new economic zones and other remote areas are having a hard time practicing their faith.
5- Whereas:  In contrast to Articles No. 18 and 19 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 12-10-1948; Articles No. 2, 4, 5 and 13 on Religious Freedom of the Vatican II Council, and Articles No. 6 and 8 on the Teaching of Catechism of the Vatican II Council; the Vietnamese Catholic Church is essentially being bound in chains aimed at preventing it from carrying out its mission in accordance with the Vatican II Council.
6- Whereas: “Wherever there is oppression, there will be resistance” and “Free people must actively preserve their freedom”.
7- In the name of the martyred Vietnamese saints, over 130,000 martyrs who gave their lives during Vietnam’s first persecution period (1625–1886), and numerous (a tally is yet to be made) bishops, priests, deacons, and believers who suffered or perished for their belief in many prisons throughout Vietnam during the second persecution period under the Vietnamese Communist Party’s rule (from 1954 on);
As a Christian and ordained priest entrusted with the task to spread God’s Word; following the example of Moses who bravely said to the Pharaoh: “Let my people go, that they may worship God in freedom” (Exodus 5,1); and, as an advisor of the Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam (CRFV) established by Overseas Vietnamesee in Washington DC, United States of America,

I appeal to:
1- All Christians in Vietnam: please note that our Church is being systematically and skilfully persecuted. Please do not let the pitiful favors that you may have been granted mislead you into thinking that the so-called “freedom” is acceptable.
2- All Christians in Vietnam: please pray, spread awarenes, and act to achieve genuine religious freedom, using the means that Divine Providence granted you.
3- All Vietnamese Christians who live outside of Vietnam, all other Vietnamese in Vietnam and overseas, and all other compassionate people and human rights adovcates in the world: please help bring basic freedoms to our people and the right for all religions to practice their faith.
4- All of you: please help me spread this appeal.
This appeal was made in Nguyệt Biều Parish, Thủy Biều District, Huế, where I am being held under observation for my activities on behalf of religious freedom from 1975 until now, on the first Sunday of Advent in the Year 2000 of our Lord, the first year of the 21st century and of the third millennium of the Christian Era.
12-03-2000
Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý

 

3. December 7, 2000 – Appeal No. 2
We Need Real Religious Freedom in Vietnam
 
1- Whereas: The Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference and other religions’ conferences have repeatedly petitioned the Vietnamese Communist Government using a variety of vehicles; the meager “favors” offered by the government were merely attempts to pacify; and the Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference have had to wait for a meaningful response for so long.
2- Whereas: From 1954 through 2000, the Vietnamese Communist Government’s policy towards religious organizations in Vietnam (particularly the Catholic Church) has been nothing more than a NOOSE DESIGNED TO STRANGLE RELIGIONS.  In early 1983 Archbishop Philip Nguyễn Kim Điền said to the People’s Committee of Thừa Thiên Huế: “The Communist Government’s policy on religious freedom is nothing more than a noose that is strangling our Church”.  Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý repeated those words twice during his trial in Huế in late 1983. The trial was triggered by Rev. Lý’s leading the faithful to the La Vang Conference in  1981 and the ensuing difficulties that the government caused him. This policy has prevented the Vietnamese Catholic Church from engaging in normal religious activities and serving the country in accordance with our legitimate desire.
3- Whereas: Throughout 261 years of persecution from King Cảnh Thịnh - Tây Sơn (1625) through the Văn Thân Movement (1886), bishops, priests, lectors, deacons, seminary students, and believers were killed or persecuted in many ways. The basic functions of the Church such as recruiting and appointing members of the clergy, selecting and training seminary students, etc. had to be carried out in secret. Yet we managed to continue our activities. In 1954 those God-given rights were abrogated by the Vietnamese Communists who reserved the right to approve each of those activities. Nearly all orders of priests, monks and nuns have had to resort to underground ordination.
4- Whereas: “A person with free will must work to regain his freedom” in the manner of the saintly Gandhi’s non-violent struggle.
5- Whereas:  In consideration of Articles No. 18 and 19 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 12-10-1948, with Vietnam being a member of the UN from 1977 on.
6- Whereas:  In consideration of Articles No. 2, 4, 5 and 13 on Religious Freedom of the Vatican II Council and Articles No. 6 and 8 on the Teaching of Catechism of the Vatican II Council.
7- In the name of the martyred Vietnamese saints, over 130,000 martyrs who gave their lives during Vietnam’s first persecution period (1625–1886), and numerous (tally remains to be done) bishops, priests, deacons, and believers who suffered or perished for their belief in many prisons throughout Vietnam during the second persecution period under the Vietnamese Communist Partýs rule (from 1954 on),
As a Christian and ordained priest entrusted with the task to spread God’s Word, following the example of Moses who bravely said to the Pharaoh: “Let my people worship God in freedom” (Exodus 5,1); and, as an advisor of the Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam (CRFV) established by Overseas Vietnamesee in Washington DC, United States of America,

Until the Vietnamese Communist Government amends its policy and grants genuine freedom to all religions, including the Catholic Church, I appeal to:
1: The Cardinal, Archbishops, and Bishops in the Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference: please refrain from organizing future meetings and conferences, as Cardinal Joseph Mary Trịnh Như Khuê, the first cardinal of Vietnam, had wished.  On September 1, 1975, Cardinal Khuê said to Archbishop Philip Nguyễn Kim Điền and me (I was Msgr Philip Điền’s secretary in Hà Nội): “The bishops should not organize conferences as long as we may not express what our conscience demands us to express. The more we meet, the weaker our position will be while we create a false picture of the Vietnamese Catholic Church under the Vietnamese Communists’ rule”.  By voluntarily refraining from meeting, the Bishops’ Conference would generate strong pressure on the Government and convince it to change its policy towards all the religions and return all the property that they had seized from the Catholic Church and the other religions.
2: The Cardinal, Archbishops, and Bishops in the Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference: Please stop attending international conferences, including those convened by the Holy See.  By refraining from submitting applications for overseas travel, you would put strong pressure on the Vietnamese Communist Government to change their policy on religious freedom.  Please stay in the country and continue to minister to the needs of your dioceses. The faithful will provide you with the means to do so. You need not travel anywhere to seek such means.
3: The Cardinal, Archbishops, and Bishops in the Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference: Please stop asking for the authorities’ approval to conduct church business that should normally be carried out without secular interference, including ordaining priests and assigning them to parishes. The appointed clergy should go without reservation to your parish to apply for residency papers.  If the government refused, you could attempt to stay there and discharge your sacred duties in service of the Resurrected Christ.  Have no fear of retributions from anyone.  The believers will take care of your accommodations and other physical needs.
4: To the administrators of seminaries: please stop letting the government review the background of applicants. You should only help applicants apply for temporary residency and absence papers when the seminary sessions begin. If the students were denied these papers, they could go underground in parishes near the seminaries in order to attend classes during the day and rest at night among the parishioners. Many local families would volunteer to host the underground students. I also implore monasteries and convents to arrange for your novices to go underground in various ways.
5:  To all priests, monks, nuns, seminary students, lectors and believers: please practice your faith through worships and preaching without asking for governmental approval. The government will make your life difficult for some time, but this will pass. Please boycott all religious meetings and conferences organized by the Communist Government.
6: To all the priests, monks, nuns and believers who are partipating in government-sponsored religious organizations: please find the best route to withdraw as quickly as possible from such organizations.
7:  To all Christians in Vietnam: to pray, sacrify, spread awarenes, and act to achieve genuine religious freedom, using the means available to each and those that Divine Providence granted you.
8: To all Vietnamese Christians who live outside of Vietnam, all other Vietnamese in Vietnam and overseas, and all other compassionate people and human rights adovcates in the world: please help bring basic freedoms to our people and the right for all religions to practice their faith.

The preceding material comprises the “EIGHT NEW BEATITUDES" of the Vietnamese Catholic Church at the beginning of the 21st Century, as we hunkder down until we achieve complete freedom in worhipping God on the new Mount Sinai of the THIRD MILLENNIUM, i.e., the Holy Mountain of Genuine Freedom.
Please help me spread this Second Appeal, a very important message.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank all who are engaged in promoting religious freedom, freedom of thought, freedom to follow one’s conscience, and all the other basic freedoms that mankind is entitled to. May God, the Crucified and Resurrected Christ, Our Lady of La Vang, and the martyred Vietnamese saints always protect you.
This appeal was made in Nguyệt Biều Parish, Thủy Biều District, Huế, where I am being held under observation for my activities on behalf of religious freedom from 1975 until now, on December 7 in the Year 2000 of our Lord, the first year of the 21st century and of the third millennium of the Christian Era.

Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
Postal Address: Administration Building, Diocese of Huế : 37 Phan Đình Phùng – Huế
Tel : 054. 846429 or 054. 881061
E-mail : nvlgph@dng.vnn.vn or  nguyenvanly@dng.vnn.vn

 

4. December 14, 2000
Religious Freedom or Death

Excerpt from Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý’s entry on the Communist Government’s citation issued to him when he put up three signs demanding religious freedom.

I affirm that I made the signs with the words “Religious Freedom or Death”, determined to risk everything, including my life, to force Vietnam’s Communist Government to decide.  I will maintain this position until death.

Nguyệt Biểu, December 14, 2000
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý

 

5. December 20, 2000 – Appeal No. 3
We must create genuine religion for ourselves

1- Whereas: By their nature, authoritarian regimes have never shown the inclination to grant more freedom to any individual or organization deemed to be a potential threat to the regimes’ illegitimate power.
2- Whereas: If all the religious organizations in Vietnam resigned ourselves to wait passively for the Communists’ Atheist Government to issue decrees that provide insignificant concessions to religious freedom, we would never see a decree that is responsive to our needs.
3- Whereas:  If any of the religious organizations in Vietnam resigned itself to practicing its faith within the bounds imposed by an authoritarian regime, that religious organization would subject itself to a controlling entity that has no legitimacy.  That religious organization would also cause its faith’s shining light, a light that guides its faithful towards freedom and salvation, to be dimmed for the duration of its subversience.
4- Whereas: As long as a totalitarian regime imposes its will on a country, religions should be the main support, if not the only support, for all those who thirst for justice and freedom.  This support would strengthen the people’s indomitable spirit, a spirit that is naturally present in all beings endowed with a  conscience and a cultural heritage.
5- Whereas: If a religion in Vietnam did not assert its superior value and salvation power to the people, the world community, and to define its legacy, that religion would lose its basic values.If so, those who long to look towards that religion as a guiding light would be discouraged.  Eventually that religion would start losing its vigor and may even cease to exist.
6- Whereas: The period of waiting, nurturing strength and avoiding direct action should have a reasonable, limited duration. An overly long period of inaction means lost opportunities and could weaken the organization.
7- Whereas: Individual freedom is the most sacred and valuable right that the Creator has granted to human beings (Article No. 1 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 12-10-1948); and the fact that one knows how to regain one’s freedom is a great blessing and an unending source of pride for the individual and the organization.
As a person who has unceasingly worked for religious freedom for Vietnam over the past 25 years through many actions, notably the Ten-Point Declaration for religious freedom on November 11, 1994; the Declaration Marking the Sixth Anniversary of that declaration on November 24, 2000;  the first Appeal made in the closing days of 2000 (on December 3, 2000) - "WE NEED REAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN VIETNAM"; and Appeal No. 2 of December 8, 2000, and the Explanation of December 12, 2000 that was transmitted via the Internet,

I continue to appeal:
1: To all religious organizations and churches in Vietnam: please follow the example set by the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (also known as Buddhist Monks Association).  The organization established a seminary at Từ Hiếu Temple, Thượng II Village, Thủy Xuân District, City of Huế. From 1975,  Từ Hiếu Temple was the site of an independent Buddhist seminary. Seminary students do not ask the government for permission to attend. If the government checked the household registry and made them leave, the students would comply, but returned later to continue their training. The temple hosts Tỳ Kheo ceremonies to promote monks to the rank of Venerable without submitting their names to the government for approval, nor does the temple report the names of the promoted monks to the government.  Similarly, the promotion of monks to the higher ranks of Thượng Tọa and Hòa Thượng did not involve approval by, or reporting to, any secular entity. The preceptor and training supervisor at the seminary believe that religion is a private matter between Buddha and an individual who studies Buddha’s teaching and has interactions with monks and the religious organization, and secular authorities have no role in this relationship. The resident monks believe that meditation and writing poems expressing one’s religious understanding do not lend themselves to governmental approval. These types of spontaneous awakening would not be possible under such an arrangement. The temple’s way of going about its business should be able to be replicated at all seminaries, monasteries, convents, and houses of worship, shouldn’t it? If Từ Hiếu Temple tries to operate as an independent religious entity and we dare not try the same thing, our spiritual strength would be called into question. The adoption of others’ righteous behavior is in itself an indicator of courage.
2:  To all monks, nuns, and priests of all faiths: As long as genuine religious freedom is lacking in Vietnam, please do to lower yourselves in seeking permission to study abroad and other favors.  It is better for us to forgo the scientific training that we would get from abroad than to lose our inherent value and independence. The huge loss would be a permanent blemish in the eyes of future generations.
3: To all the religious organizations, monasteries, convents and seminaries: please document the property that the Communist Government had forcibly seized, and request international recognition that such property must be restituted to you. You could do this on your own or we could help you.  No government may take private property and funnel them to a few privileged members of that government. If the communist cadres truly “serve the people” and “are objective in their duties” (their repeated claims) how do they explain their quick financial gains and lavish lifestyles when their official incomes are so low? It is obvious that the class struggle launched by the Vietnamese Communists only replaced the old capitalists with new capitalists who are shielded by their own laws. All the Vietnamese people saw through this.
4: In my ardent desire for religious freedom for all faiths, I have been direct and did not attempt to be diplomatic, somewhat like a surgeon using a scalpel while feeling reluctant to cut into the patient’s body. If some of my words were too strong and caused displeasure to certain religious figures, please forgive this humble Catholic priest.

This appeal was made in Nguyệt Biều Parish, City of Huế, December 20, 2000, near the advent of the first year of the 21st century and of the third millennium of the Christian Era.

Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý

 

6. December 27, 2000
Statement on the Communists’ Policy Towards Religion in Vietnam

After their 4-30-1975 victory in South Vietnam, the Vietnamese Communists started applying an incredibly harsh policy towards religions:

• The Communists issued numerous decrees with the purpose of constraining and stripping religious organizations of their ability to function with an intensity the like of which had never been seen in Vietnam.
• The Communists have been using deceit and tricks to falsely accuse and imprison clergy and lay people who oppose the government’s religious restrictions. Even those who want only to practice their faith through teaching others, singing in a choir, or joining a religion suffer the same harsh treatment in concentration camps. This crual policy has been implemented continuously from 1954 to 2001.
• The Communists used all kinds of tricks to divide religious organizations and politicize issues related to those, including Cao Đài adherents, Catholics, Evangelicals, and Buddhism. For example, the government established a parallel Buddhist Church, the Buddhist Church of Vietnam, as an instrument against the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. More recently, in May 1999, the communists established a puppet Hoà Hảo Buddhist Board consisting of eleven communists for the purpose of controlling five million Hoà Hảo Buddhists.
• The Communists seized countless properties from the various Churches - Cao Đài, Hoà Hảo Buddhism, Catholic Church, Buddhism, Evangelical Churches – and put them to official use as the government saw fit.”

Vis-à-vis the Catholic Church, the Vietnamese Communists have taken away the Church’s most basic rights, an issue that the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam has been raising without reservation through many petitions from 1980 until now.  My Ten-Point Declaration of 11-24-1994 and Declaration of 11-24-2000 that I sent you addressed this problem. I will summarize the issue as follows:

1. The Communists have been violating the right of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam to plan and conduct their annual meetings. The bishops must seek permission to hold each meeting and the agenda must be approved by the government. After the meeting, the bishops must submit the meeting minutes and the text of any message that they want to send to the Catholic community so that the government can censor it.
2. The Communists have been interfering in a major way with the Church’s selection and ordination of bishops and priests. The Holy See must spend years negotiating with the Vietnamese Government whenever the Church wants to ordain bishops. The government always rejects the Church’s nominees until the Church proposes names that the government prefers. After years of vacancy in a diocese, the Holy See tended to yield to the government’s demand in order to minimize the negative effects of long vacancies. To illustrate, there has been no bishop in the dioceses of Hưng Hoá, Hải Phòng and Bùi Chu for at least eight years.

Anyone who wants to attend a seminary or anyone selected by the Church for ordination as a priest must have his dossier reviewed by the provincial police. The candidate must be docile and not show any sign of opposition to the regime. If he agreed to collaborate with the government while studying in the seminary, the government would approve his nomination even more quickly. A bribe offered to the police would help his chance further. If the candidate was related to an official in the former South Vietnamese Government or showed any sign of being potentially a critic of the communist regime, they would never approve his application even if he was eminently qualified and valued by the Church. I could cite the names of many promising applicants who scored the highest two to three years in a row on entrance tests administered by the Church and were still denied by the authorities. A bishop who wants to ordain someone or who wants to assign a task to a priest must file a request and discuss the matter with the communists over a long period of time. In some cases nothing was resolved after close to twenty years of negotiations. The communists specify qualifications that have no relevance to a priest’s work. Consequently, the number of ordained priests have shrunk considerably, leaving numerous vacancies when older priests retire or pass away.  Several priests are now responsible for up to ten parishes each in a number of remote areas, and simply cannot provide the faithful with a normal religious experience. It is very difficult to transfer a priest to another parish.

3. The faithful in New Economic Zones and other remote areas dream of being able to attend only one Mass per year, for Christmas or Easter, but frequently do not get even that. The atheist communists in Vietnam prefer that the residents of remote areas forget completely about religion, something that the Communists truly fear and distrust.
4. The Communists’ approval must be sought for occasions when the faithful from different parishes attend Mass together, or when a priest celebrates Mass outside of his parish.
5. The Communists still hold many clergymen and lay believers in prisons or restrict their movement while having them under surveillance.
6. The Communists violate the Church’s freedom of speech and communication by forbidding the Church from publishing newsletters at both the local and central level. This has severely hampered the Church’s efforts on religious education. While a dozen Catholic newsletters co-existed in South Vietnam before 1975, only two weekly newsletters are in circulation now, Catholicism and the People and Vietnamese Catholics, both created and sustained by the Communist Party.  The Episcopal Conference of Vietnam tried to issue its newsletter. After six “illegal” issues, three additional ones were published between February 2000 and September 2000 with the Communists’ approval before they suspended the publication in October 2000. There is no trace of freedom of speech in my country, especially for the various Churches. Material with content similar to my speech can never be circulated in Vietnam because no photocopy shop would dare reproduce it.  Except for willing martyrs, no one would dare keep such material for fear of painful retributions against himself and his family.
7. The Vietnamese Communists force students at all levels to study communism and  profess their love of communism when hardly anyone wants to teach or study the subject. It would be better if only the 3 million Communist Party members and 5 million party associates study communism (if they still believe in it) and channel it towards the goal of  bringing prosperity and happiness to the people. The people must be allowed to judge the party’s attempt at building a communist society – to say whether this is chimeric or not.  Communism is not necessary as evidenced in the wealth of the other Southeast Asian nations (much wealthier than Vietnam) that do not want communism. Over 2.5 million Vietnamese risked death during their escape by sea in search of freedom, proving that communism is not so great. In forcing its citizens, including religious persons, to study and love a doctrine that went bankrupt in its birthplace, Russia, and failed miserably in Vietnam, the party has shown that it was willing to apply forceful means of thought control.
8. The government seized or forced the Catholic Church to “cede” thousands, if not tens of thousands, of facilities used for educational or social activities and as medical clinics. This expropriation that started in North Vietnam in 1954, and in South Vietnam in 1975, has not been reversed.  The Church has no longer adequate means for training seminary students and novices, helping students, orphans, and the poor, sick, and crippled. Church members who want to serve the disadvantaged in government facilities are not welcomed.  The Saint Pius X Papal Seminary in Dalat, a case in point, used to be run by Jesuits and graduate highly qualified priests for South Vietnam. In 1976 the Communists seized the facility and turned it into a Communist Party training center. The Hoan Thiện Junior Seminary at 11 Đống Đa Street in Huế City, a Middle School-level preparatory institution, was seized in December 1979. The three priests who taught there and over 80 students were forced to go back to their homes. There are numerous other examples that I do not have time to mention.

Confronting the Vietnamese Communists’ ruthless anti-religion policy, the religious organizations have been demanding the restoration of RELIGIOUS FREEDOM in a resolute but peaceful manner until we have a GENUINE version like all the developed countries:

1. We demand GENUINE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, notably the right to recruit, train and place priests and other church officials based on each Church’s needs and aspirations; FREEDOM FOR PEOPLE TO PRACTICE THEIR FAITHS, i.e., the government should no longer require citizens to declare their religion on any official forms. This change would allow all the people to stop fearing that their faith would lead the government to persecute them, and assure them that they no longer have to dissimulate their beliefs.
2. We demand the restitution of all the properties that the government had confiscated or forced the Churches to cede to the State. In some cases, papers showing evidence of the Churches’ ownership may be missing as a result of the past wars. However, the people can easily testify to the pedigree of such properties.
3. We demand that the Communists stop plotting the destruction of religions, stop interfering with the Churches’ internal affairs, and disband the committees that they had set up in the guise of religious organizations but are nothing more than the Communist Party’s instruments.
4. We demand the unconditional release of clergymen, monks, nuns, and administrative personnel and elders of various Churches.
5. We demand that the government implement the the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (12-16-1966) signed by Vietnam on 9-24-1982.

                                                                                  Vietnam, December 27, 2000

 

I certify that I co-authored this statement.                I certify that I co-authored this statement.
Rev. Nguyễn Văn Ly's signature                                          Rev. Chân Tín’s signature

I certify that I co-authored this statement.
Mr. Lê Quang Liêm’s signature

We wrote many times to the government about religious freedom but they have not shown good will. I am pleased with this statement jointly prepared by the representatives of the other religions.
Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hạnh’s signature with date of 12-28-2000

 

7. December 31, 2000 – Appeal No. 4
Churches of All Faiths, Let Us Cry Together.

- Whereas: Through my Ten-Point Declaration (11-24-1994/11-24-2000) and Appeals, including the one made in the closing days of 2000 (12-3-2000), Appeal No. 2 (12-8-2000), and Appeal No. 3 (12-20-2000), whose focus was the need for genuine religious freedom, and through the Declaration of December 27, 2000 signed by Mr. Lê Quang Liêm (Director of the Hòa Hảo Buddhist Church’s Central Administration), the Most Reverend Thích Thiện Hạnh (Head of the Buddhist Clergy in Thừa Thiên – Huế of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Church), the Rev. Chân Tín (Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris) and me, it is obrious to anyone that the Vietnamese Communist Government is controlling the various churches through a LARGE AND TOUGH NOOSE AROUND EACH CHURCH’s NECK.  This objective fact has been revealed at our personal risk.  No one should ignore it and remain fast asleep, no matter what position he or she holds in the various Vietnamese churches!

- Whereas: As elaborated in the Explanation of Strategic Appeal No. 2, Items 6, 7, and 8:
"6- There is a subtle, hard to explain, and yet important point, namely man’s natural desire for comfort and absence of strife. Our will to resist tends to be easily weakened by a devious tactic that gives us a few morsels of non-essential privileges, whether intended for the individual or for the larger community. In particular, when we apply the canons of kindness and compassion to our interactions with the other party, it is easy for us to overlook FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS that ought to be ours and to be content with what is GIVEN TO US AT THE MOMENT.  Kindness and compassion should be based on TRUTH instead of weakness. We love the communists only when we reveal the tricks that they play on us and thereby help them attain true salvation. The churches’ loss of BASIC RIGHTS is manifested through their inability to SELECT AND PROMOTE THEIR CLERGIES, TO ASSIGN THEM TO VARIOUS LOCATIONS, TO TRANSFER THEM, AND TO SELECT AND TRAIN SEMINARY STUDENTS AND NOVICES. Superficial activities should not be seen as evidence of a vigorous religious life.  Frequently I asked communist officials: “If an entity higher than the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) claimed that your party is free to operate, subject to the entity’s approval of your recruiting, promoting, and appointment activities, would your party consider itself in control of its own fate?”  No official has been able to answer my question.
“7- A long enslavement tends to lull its victims into accepting the status quo, preventing them from rising up. Moses had to work hard to rouse the Lord’s People from their acceptance of their enslavement in Egypt (13th century BC). Later, during the Babylonian captivity (6th century BC), Erza and Nehemiah had to work hard in convincing the Lord’s People to end their servitude and return to Israel.
“8- We ought to look into French history to see how Emperor Napoleon I (1769 – 1821) used discrimination to cleverly sow discord and distrust aimed at weakening the Catholic Church in France. Fortunately the emperor failed in his attempt and eventually returned France to the Catholic Church. Napoleon finally said: “All the thrones have crumbled. Only the Church endures.” Learning from history, the communists are masters at discrimination aimed at weakening the churches. Only the Holy Ghost, the Martyred Vietnamese Saints, and the Buddhist qualities of no fear, no desire, and no self can help us overcome the party’s trickery.

- Whereas: In the conclusion of the Explanation of Appeal No. 2, I wrote: "Consequently, the ongoing struggle for religious freedom is really a struggle to reform and purify ourselves. If a church…is not willing to risk everything for the Truth, who would want to join that church even if it survives under communist rule?...Who would care to seek the church’s guidance when negotiating the path of life? The real urgent task confronting us is establishing our worth for posterity. I pray that each of you devote serious thought to this issue and make the right choice. Concerning the Vietnamese Catholic Church, we still have time to redeem ourselves before we reach the point of no return and history judges us accordingly."

- Whereas: The churches should strive to liberate ourselves instead of waiting for the communists to issue new laws that would satisfy no one. The communists will never dig their own graves. In all spheres, trying to be “legal” vis-à-vis unreasonable laws automatically means accepting the noose around one’s neck. Individuals and organizations who dare risk to become “illegal” through ignoring unjust laws would find genuine freedom. The churches should have taken this commendable route in 1945, 1954, etc. Thus, my efforts are aimed at convincing the churches to purify ourselves and once again proudly carry the torch that guides the people and become again a pillar supporting all good souls.  My goal is not to seek behavioral changes on the part of the VCP, a hopeless quest. I only try to reveal the extent to which the government is disregarding religious freedom. If the churches liberated yourselves from these chains, the communists would lose the harbor that they had built for themselves, namely the illusion that they allow religious freedom. The churches have unwittingly played into their hand in this regard.

- Whereas: As Msgr. Philip Trần Văn Hoài said in Rome on 12-16-2000: "What one does not have, one cannot give.”  He meant that the Vietnamese Communists, being a secular and atheist group, is in no position to “grant” to the churches the right to ordain Buddhist, Christian and other religions’ prelates, priests and nuns, assign them to various locales, etc. (refer to his four-page article for the Workshop on Religious Freedom in Vietnam on the Occasion of Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý’s issuance of an Appeal for Religious Freedom in Vietnam" at the Vietnamese Catholic Center, Orange Diocese, U.S.A., on 12-17-2000).

- Whereas: Throughout humanity’s history, the Vietnamese Communists have shown that they are the most expert and effective group in terms of denying religious freedom while fooling the largest number of people.

- Whereas: I have described the situation in words so clear and so loudly that my messages cannot be misinterpreted. Any believer in any of the religions, any good person who has heard or read my appeals, and especially members of the lower ranks of the various religions’ clergies, would understand and empathize with me. Yet, a number of high-ranking clergy in some churches still ignore my pleas in order to preserve the privileges that they obtained through many years of accommodations with the persecuting regime.

- Whereas: The Communist Government’s focus on constraining religious freedom has caused their senior leadership to declare that, during the Christmas Season of 2000, they are determined to “squash at its earliest stage any demand for religious freedom made by individuals and organizations who work in concert with foreigners".

Thus, as the Lord wills, I may not be able to address all of you in a normal voice in the future.  Today, I tearfully implore you to:
1: Please note that all the religions in Vietnam are being squeezed by a noose, regardless of the velvet covering the rope. How could we accept nicely wrapped Christmas presents and lovely bouquets handed out by the Committee for the Vietnamese Fatherland Front and other governmental committees on Buddha’s birthday, Christ’s birthday, or holidays associated with other religions? Especially when our co-religionists in remote areas do not have facilities for celebrating mass; when students are forced to go to school and take exams during those holidays? Why does a nation that tries to be accepted by the international community as an equal engage in such treatment of internationally significant holidays such as Buddha’s birthday and Christmas? If we do not weep over these measures, what should we shed our tears on?
2: When one lives in an environment where unjust laws are created and enforced, no individual or organization should follow such laws and attempt to be “legal” and enslaved. Instead, we should be inventive, fearless and dynamic in circumventing those laws in order to be truly free. Churches are in a position to become “illegal” without much effort, provided our spirit is strong.
3: Please reflect on the impossibility for the communists to destroy Truth and Righteousness. How could force triumph over Truth? If the communists persisted in using force and trickery to fight Truth and threatened to come down hard on groups who demand religious freedom, such threat would lead to the demise of their party. We can hope that the communists will not engage in such foolish acts.  However, if they did so, history would show them how this will end.
Appeal made at Nguyệt Biều Church, City of Huế, on the last day of the 20th century, the last day of the second millennium (12-31-2000), hoping for "a quick end to the sad days without religious freedom in Vietnam.” When we enter the third millennium, may religious freedom return in all its glory.  If so: CHURCHES OF ALL FAITHS, LET US SING

Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý

 

8. January 11, 2001 – Letter

A Few Words of Explanation

Nguyệt Biều - Huế, January 11, 2001

Respectfully submitted to:
Most Holy Father John Paul II,
His Eminence – the Prefect of the Holy See's Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples,
The President and Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam,
The Leaders and Elders in the Buddhist and Hoà Hảo Buddhist Churches, in Vietnam and
Abroad,
The Leaders and Elders in the Cao Đài Church, in Vietnam and Abroad,
The Superiors of Monasteries, Convents, Temples and Institutes, in Vietnam and Abroad,
The Priests, Friars, Nuns and Sisters in Vietnam and Abroad,
My Friends, Relatives and Compatriots in Vietnam and Abroad,
And All Other Persons of Good Will,

I am a humble priest in the Catholic Church of Vietnam, Diocese of Huế.  From 1975 on, I have been engaged in a struggle for religious freedom for all religions in Vietnam. For example, beginning on November 24, 2000, Vietnam Martyrs’ Day, I re-issued my Declaration on the Situation of Religions in Vietnam (written on November 24, 1994) and my Appeal of Year-End 2000 (Appeal No. 1) and Appeals No. 2, 3 and 4 in which I demanded religious freedom for all the faiths in Vietnam.
Although as powerless as a child in a vast world, an irresistible urge drove me to bold actions that were beyond my humble stature. With God’s help, the internet has allowed the world to know about my struggle and many entities have reacted with sympathy and support.  There is visible, active support and also support through the silence maintained by knowing leaders of the various faiths and other people of good will. I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father, the leaders of the various faiths, and all the people of good will, for you have followed my work, and prayed and helped me in one way or another.  Please increase your prayers and sacrifices on my behalf so that I may remain humble, steadfast, clear-headed and courageous during this struggle for religious freedom, until all the faiths in Vietnam experience this freedom.
It is very difficult for me to communicate with the outside world.  Please excuse me for sending this to you via the internet.  If you have the means, please help me by translating, forwarding and disseminating this letter as widely as possible.
With gratitude and respect,
(Signed and sealed)
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý

 

9. January 15, 2001
Letter Addressed to the Archbishop of Huế

Respectfully submitted to Msgr. Stephen Nguyễn Như Thể, Archbishop of Huế.

We wish you and the Vietnamese Catholic Church a spring, a New Year (Tân Tỵ 2001), a New Century and New Millenium blessed with peace, happiness, virtue and God’s Grace.
We are grateful for your support - through sacrifices, prayers, and acquiescing silence - for our justified and necessary struggle for religious freedom for all the faiths in Vietnam. Please forgive us for not asking permission from you and your Representative for actions that we took in our struggle for religious freedom. We proceeded on the assumption that you would not disagree and therefore did not give the two of you advance notice of our planned actions, so that you would not be entangled unnecessarily.
From 1975 on, I have continuously struggled for this worthy goal through various venues.  The current struggle started almost two months ago, on Vietnam Martyrs’ Day, November 24, 2000, and involves a number of priests in the Diocese of Huế, over 200 Catholics in Nguyệt Biểu District, and me. With God’s help and the protection provided by Our Lady of La Vang and Vietnam’s Martyrs, our struggle has gathered public support from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Vatican; Bishop Philip Trần Văn Hoài in Rome; the Overseas Interfaith Council comprising the overseas branches of the Cao Đài, Catholic, Buddhist, Hòa Hảo Buddhist, and Protestant Churches; international religious freedom organizations; international human rights organizations; nearly all the overseas Vietnamese; many members of parliament  in various countries; the Unified Buddhist Church and Hòa Hảo Buddhist Church in Vietnam; several bishops and priests and a large number of Catholics in Vietnam; and silent acquiescence and prayers on the part of the Holy Father, the Holy See, the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; and all persons of good will in Vietnam and elsewhere.  The Communist Government of Vietnam has found itself in an embarassing situation with no reasonable solution and no coordinated response.  This should quickly lead to that government’s relinquishing its grip on religions through the revocation of unjust laws and regulations aimed at religious activities.
I implore that you continue to support us through all possible means so that we can be in a stronger position as we pursue this necessary struggle for not just the Vietnamese Catholic Church, but for all the faiths in Vietnam.
When the Episcopal Conference needs to meet, please convene a meeting without seeking the government’s approval. Would they dare to disrupt your meeting? When the Episcopal Conference wants a priest to serve as a bishop anywhere, please ask only for the Holy See’s approval. If needed, please notify the government of your action instead of negotiating as you have been compelled to do.  In case the Communist Government of Vietnam uses force to prevent your meetings from taking place, or use administrative means to block the Church’s consecrations and appointments of bishops, we would have nothing to lose.  Through its actions, the government would show to the world that the Church is being victimized and put in chains, and the government’s policy is nothing more than ruthless subjugation.
While the world reacts to this likely reaction from the Vietnamese Government, the Church could continue to meet, consecrate bishops and assign duties to them, disregarding any attempt by a totalitarian regime to exert unjust control.
On December 25, 2000 the government sent you a draft decree concerning religious activities.  It is our humble opinion that you need not comment on that draft. First, no civilized country would even dream of decrees aimed at controlling religious activities because each citizen is already governed by a national code of laws.  Second, our commenting on the wretched decree implies collaboration in instituting a velvet-wrapped noose that will be used to squeeze all the faiths in Vietnam. Could we bear the responsibility for helping the regime shackle us and the other faiths? How would history judge the Vietnamese Catholic Church? As I write these words, I cannot hold back tears.
What I outlined above are necessary and courageous actions for the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam to take in fighting for religious freedom for all the faiths. On my knees, I beg the Archbishop to heed our tearful implorations.
We are grateful and hope that you continue to sacrify and pray that we can continue to be sincere, brave, clear-headed and steadfast in our struggle until the Vietnamese Catholic Church experiences genuine religious freedom.
Respectfully,
Your humble son,
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Diocese of Huế
Nguyệt Biều, Huế, January 15, 2001

 

10. January 15, 2001
Letter Addressed to His Eminence, President of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam

Nguyệt Biều - Huế
His Eminence, the Archbishop of Hà Nội and President, Episcopal Conference of Vietnam.
We wish you and the Vietnamese Catholic Church a spring, a New Year (Tân Tỵ 2001), a New Century and New Millennium blessed with peace, happiness, virtue and God’s Grace.
We are grateful to His Eminence for your support - through sacrifices, prayers, and acquiescing silence - for our justified and necessary struggle for religious freedom for all the faiths in Vietnam. Although desirous to meet you in person, I am not in a position to do so until all the faiths in Vietnam experience genuine religious freedom as described in the Declaration on Religious Freedom of December 7, 1965 issued by the Vatican II Council.
From 1975 on, I have continuously struggled for this worthy goal through various venues.  The current struggle started almost two months ago, on Vietnam Martyrs’ Day, November 24, 2000, and involves a number of priests in the Diocese of Huế, over 200 Catholics in Nguyệt Biểu District, and me. With God’s help and the protection provided by Our Lady of La Vang and Vietnam’s Martyrs, our struggle has gathered public support from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Vatican; Bishop Philip Trần Văn Hoài in Rome; the Overseas Interfaith Council comprising the overseas branches of the Cao Đài, Catholic, Buddhist, Hòa Hảo Buddhist, and Protestant Churches; international religious freedom organizations; international human rights organizations; nearly all the overseas Vietnamese; many members of parliament  in various countries; the Unified Buddhist Church and Hòa Hảo Buddhist Church in Vietnam; several bishops and priests and a large number of Catholics in Vietnam; and silent acquiescence and prayers on the part of the Holy Father, the Holy See, the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; and all persons of good will in Vietnam and elsewhere.  The Communist Government of Vietnam has found itself in an embarrassing situation with no reasonable solution and no coordinated response.  This should quickly lead to that government’s relinquishing its grip on religions through the revocation of unjust laws and regulations aimed at religious activities.
I implore that you continue to support us through all possible means so that we can be in a stronger position as we pursue this necessary struggle for not just the Vietnamese Catholic Church, but for all the faiths in Vietnam.
When the Episcopal Conference needs to meet, please convene a meeting without seeking the government’s approval. Would they dare to disrupt your meeting? When the Episcopal Conference wants a priest to serve as a bishop anywhere, please ask only for the Holy See’s approval. If needed, please notify the government of your action instead of negotiating as you have been compelled to do.  In case the Communist Government of Vietnam uses force to prevent your meetings from taking place, or use administrative means to block the Church’s consecrations and appointments of bishops, we would have nothing to lose.  Through its actions, the government would show to the world that the Church is being victimized and put in chains, and the government’s policy is nothing more than ruthless subjugation.
While the world reacts to this likely reaction from the Vietnamese Government, the Church could continue to meet, consecrate bishops and assign duties to them, disregarding any attempt by a totalitarian regime to exert unjust control.
On December 25, 2000 the government sent you a draft decree concerning religious activities.  It is our humble opinion that you need not comment on that draft. First, no civilized country would even dream of decrees aimed at controlling religious activities because each citizen is already governed by a national code of laws.  Second, our commenting on the wretched decree implies collaboration in instituting a velvet-wrapped noose that will be used to squeeze all the faiths in Vietnam. Could we bear the responsibility for helping the regime shackle us and the other faiths? How would history judge the Vietnamese Catholic Church? As I write these words, I cannot hold back tears.
What I outlined above are necessary and courageous actions for the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam to take in fighting for religious freedom for all the faiths. On my knees, I beg Your Eminence to heed our tearful implorations.
We are grateful and hope that you continue to sacrify and pray that we can continue to be sincere, brave, clear-headed and steadfast in our struggle until the Vietnamese Catholic Church experiences genuine religious freedom.
Respectfully,
Your humble son,
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Diocese of Huế
Nguyệt Biều, Huế, January 15, 2001

 

11. January 25, 2001 – Appeal No. 5
Would the international organizations please stop letting the Vietnamese Communists sign international covenants.

- Whereas: The Vietnamese Communists have persistently deceived the international community. The clearest example is the Paris Peace Talk that involved the 4 protagonists. After years of negotiations, no sooner was the agreement signed in 1972 when the communists ramped up their invasion of South Vietnam. They aimed at imposing communist rule over the entire country, a rule that was crushing the North Vietnamese people while it drove the South Vietnamese to flee in fear.  Still, the Vietnamese Communists bragged about their great achievement in liberating their Southern brethren! The communist troops were also hapless victims of communist propaganda;
- Whereas: The most basic human rights with regard to freedom of thought, speech, communication, to follow one’s conscience, and religious freedom as enunciated in Articles 18 and 19 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (12-10-1948), signed by Vietnam in 1977; and elaborated further in Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (12-16-1966), signed by Vietnam on 9-24-1982, have never been implemented by the communists. They continue to read and censor private correspondence; prevent mail from being delivered to targeted persons; destroy mail with content that they want to suppress; bug telephones at will; and cut phone and internet service to blacklisted individuals without regard for any international organization;
- Whereas: The most fundamental article concerning education and culture such as Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (12-16-1966) that Vietnam signed on 9-24-1982, has been ignored by the Vietnamese Communists;
- Whereas: The communists signed those important covenants with the intention of circumventing them while claiming that Vietnam has achieved democracy and freedom in order to deceive the international community.
- Whereas: If international human rights organizations continued to let the Vietnamese Communists sign international covenants, three major harms would continue to ensue: 1. Create a false impression about Vietnam’s human rights situation as the communists keep claiming that they respect human rights; 2. The perception that the international bodies can be easily deceived would hurt their standing; 3. Harm the Vietnamese people by indirectly assisting in the whitewashing of this totalitarian regime in their heavy-handed rule for many more years.

Consequently, I implore from the bottom of my heart that:
1- The international organizations, in particular those associated with human rights, do not let the Vietnamese Communists sign any covenant.
2- Be firm in demanding that they implement the agreements that they had signed, especially those dealing with human rights. Examples include the most basic human rights with regard to freedom of thought, speech, communication, to follow one’s conscience, and religious freedom as discussed in Articles 18 and 19 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (12-10-1948), signed by Vietnam in 1977; and elaborated further in Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (12-16-1966), signed by Vietnam on 9-24-1982; the most fundamental article concerning education and culture such as Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (12-16-1966) that Vietnam signed on 9-24-1982.
3- Use all means to pressure the Vietnamese Government to give genuine democracy and freedom to its people.
Please add your signatures to this urgent appeal if you are among the well-intentioned people who live on this planet.
Appeal Made in Nguyệt Biều, City of Huế. Vietnam
January 25, 2001
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý

Notes:

Article 18
§1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
§2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.

Article 19
§1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
§2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

Article 22
§1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests. (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (12-16-1966), signed by Vietnam on 9-24-1982)

Article 13
§2..... a- Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all;
§3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
§4. No part of this article shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions.....
            (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (12-16-1966) that Vietnam signed on 9-24-1982)

 

12. January 25, 2001 – Appeal No. 6
Professors, Teachers and Students in Vietnam: Please stop studying communism and the history of the Vietnamese Communist Party!

- Whereas: The most basic human rights to freedom of thought, speech, communication, conscience and religion, as specified in Articles 18 and 19 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (12-10-1948), signed by Vietnam in 1977; and elaborated further in Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (12-16-1966), signed by Vietnam on 9-24-1982, have never been implemented by the communists. They continue to read and censor private correspondence; prevent mail from being delivered to targeted persons; destroy any mail the content of which they want to suppress; bug telephones at will; and cut telephone and internet services to blacklisted individuals without regard for international opinion; forbid or authorize the dissemination of any document they please.  Who would dare to reproduce and print this appeal? Yet the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (12-16-1966), signed by Vietnam on 9-24-1982, specified:
“Article 19:
§1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
§2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. (International Human Rights Documents, published by Center for Human Rights Studies, HCM City Publishing, 1996, Page 117)

- Whereas: Ideally, Vietnamese citizens ought to be exercising their rights to seek, evaluate, and disseminate information and ideas similar to the content of this writing. However, the mere act of reading this appeal would result in prosecution and persecution in view of the Vietnamese Communists’ use of fear and suppression of thought, communication and speech over several decades; many Communist Party members and civil servants still do not know that Vietnamese citizens have such rights.  How backward and oppressive the Party’s rule has been!

- Whereas: When the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) announced the national goal of independence, freedom and happiness, it adopted communism as the foundation for its policy and activities. This contradiction has plagued the government from its first day. The national goal will never be attained as long as the communists follow the communist doctrine because its totalitarian underpinning is incompatible with the concept of true freedom. Many communists realize that this contradiction exists.

- Whereas: Communism is both theoretically appealing and completely infeasible in practice, meaning that a true communist has never been produced on this planet. This truth is reflected in the popular saying “Anyone in his twenties who does not love communism has no heart; anyone in his thirties who still loves communism has no brains!”  The Văn Nghệ VN Magazine published a complaint aired by Vietnamese mothers: “Party members are everywhere but not a single communist can be seen!”  Only four countries in the world still claim to be communist: China, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam.

- Whereas: Communism is not necessary as evidenced in the wealth of the other Southeast Asian nations (much wealthier than Vietnam) that do not want communism. Over 2.5 million Vietnamese risked death during their escape by sea in search of freedom, proving that communism is not so great!

- Whereas: The Vietnamese Communists force students at all levels to study and  profess their love of communism when hardly anyone wants to teach or study this doctrine. It would be better if only the 3 million party members and 5 million  party associates study communism (if they still believe in it) and channel it towards the goal of  bringing prosperity and happiness to the people. The people must be allowed to judge  the party’s attempt at building a communist society – to say whether this is chimeric or not. In forcing the citizens to study and love a doctrine that went bankrupt in its birthplace, Russia, and failed miserably in Vietnam, the party has shown that it was willing to apply forceful means of thought control.

- Whereas: The party’s version of its history in books and as taught in Vietnamese schools is thoroughly untrue, harming countless generations of students in Vietnam.

The facts are:
- While it is true that the VCP fought the French during the Vietnam’s war for independence, other Vietnamese political parties also did their share. After the war ended, the VCP eliminated its non-communist partners and claimed all the credit for itself (1);
- The VCP’s primary mistake is imposing communism on Vietnam, resulting in the country falling behind by a century and ranking near the bottom of the world’s list of nations in terms of prosperity;
- The VCP’s major crime is to use treachery in eliminating all the other patriotic groups who also fought against the French;
- The VCP implemented a bloody and violent land reform in Northern Vietnam in the  1950’s, causing the death of over 300,000 innocent victims (2);
- The VCP was the aggressor against South Vietnam from 1960 to 1975 in its scheme to impose communism on all of Vietnam, causing the tragic death of 2 million young men in both the North and South (3) while tricking the world into believing that the VCP was liberating South Vietnam from American occupation; the VCP’s murdered thousands of civilians in Huế in 1968 (4) through burying victims alive and other inhumane acts.  Yet the communists renamed a street in Huế “Spring 68”! Communist heavy guns killed many thousand civilians (5) during their 1972 siege of Quảng Trị and during the flight of civilian refugees on the highway between Quảng Tri and Diên Sanh (the Highway of Terror).
- The VCP persecuted and eliminated in cold blood hundreds of thousands of members of the opposition throughout Vietnam, notably in over a hundred concentration camps in both the North to South from 1930 until recent times.
- The VCP imposed on our country a doctrine based on lies and treachery that undermines the values that the Vietnamese people and their religions took centuries to establish. The effect in Vietnam is that one must lie in order to be left alone. Even a number of senior clergymen in various religious organizations have had to bend the truth to some extent in order to conduct their business.  For example, each form that one sends to the government must begin with the words “freedom – happiness” in spite of the knowledge that there is neither freedom nor happiness.
- The VCP imposed a doctrine that encourages hatred and mass “trials” that claimed many victims, including party members who did not adhere to the party line!
- The VCP imposed atheism on the people, depriving them of their ways of achieving human beings’ desire to be their best.                                                                                                        

Therefore, in the name of all the legitimate human rights accorded to civilized people on this earth, I appeal as we enter a new millenium:
Professors, Teachers and Students in Vietnam: Please stop studying communism and the history of the Vietnamese Communist Party!
Appeal made at Nguyệt Biều Church – An Truyền – City of Huế
            The 3rd Day of the Lunar New Year Tết Tân Tỵ (January 25, 2001)
           
            Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
             An Truyền Parish Priest
----------------------------
(1) Motive is to monopolize the credit and power.
(2) A credible number is over 400,000.
(3) A credible number is over 3 million.
(4) Over 4000  victims in Huế alone.
(5) Exact numbers are not available. Best estimate is under 50,000.

 

13. January 28, 2001 – Appeal No. 7
Vietnamese Communists, please let others do their fair share in
serving the country.
Vietnamese people in Vietnam and other countries, please unite in
rebuilding and defending our Nation.

- Whereas: While it is true that the VCP fought the French during Vietnam’s war for independence, other Vietnamese political parties also did their share. After the war ended, the VCP eliminated its non-communist partners and claimed all the credit for itself;
- Whereas: The Vietnamese Communists claimed credit for liberating South Vietnam through their victory over America.  However, they should have refrained from fighting the Americans and invading the South in the first place because South Vietnam had the right to follow the path of freedom and democracy taken by South Korea, West Germany, etc.  North Vietnam had the right to rely on the Soviet Union and Communist China in building a communist nation.  If North Vietnam had not been the aggressor, South Vietnam would not have asked for military help from South Korea, Australia and the U.S. South Vietnam would have achieved the same level of prosperity and development as South Korea while North Vietnam would have remained at the same level of development as North Korea because it adopted communism as the foundation for its policy and activities for achieving freedom and happiness. The Communists’ goal will never be attained as long as they follow the communist doctrine because its totalitarian underpinning is incompatible with the concept of true freedom. These days, many true communists have realized that this contradiction exists;
- Whereas: The Vietnamese Communists are highly effective with respect to waging war, defense and security (needed to preserve their totalitarian rule), but lack the capacity to bring development and prosperity to the people. After 21 years of socialism in the North, North Vietnam turned out to be much poorer than South Vietnam, and after 25 years of socialism in a united Vietnam, the country now ranks near the bottom of the list of the world’s poorest nations. Yet the Vietnamese are among the most intelligent and hardworking people on earth. It is high time that all of us look at this fact objectively: how could we allow our Nation to remain in this backward state?
- Whereas: Nearly 3 million Vietnamese risked their lives to escape from communism. These expatriates have been shedding tears while waiting for the right time to return home and help in building a prosperous, civilized and happy homeland in order to catch up with the rest of the world;
- Whereas: The task of defending and rebuilding the Nation is the sacred duty of all the Vietnamese and not the exclusive domain of any group or individual. On the contrary, the government should objectively and fairly create conditions that allow each person the opportunity to contribute to the task, based on one’s capabilities and ethical views;
- Whereas: Once we know the positives and negatives of one’s organization, one should stop criticizing and badmouthing the other organizations in order to prevent further antagonism and division. Citing the past for the purpose of claiming the exclusive rights to certain functions or to blame others is doomed to failure and lack of resultsc nào;
- Whereas: LOVE, UNDERSTANDING, SOLIDARITY AND FORGIVENESS are the only elements of real strength that can help us make our Nation stronger and richer;

From the bottom of my heart, I appeal:
1- To the Vietnamese Communists: Please let others share in serving the Nation through the invalidation of Article 4 in Vietnam’s Constitution and the creation of favorable conditions for Vietnamese expatriates to return and contribute to the development of the Nation, and participate in free and fair elections under intenational observation;                                                                              
2- To the Vietnamese in Vietnam who have the needed capability and ethics:                                                                                                        please offer your talents and good qualities to the Nation and People through the formation of organizations that go public (instead of being clandestine);
3- To the Vietnamese expatriates: please return and work with us in rebuilding the Nation;
4- To all members of the larger Vietnamese family: please stop criticizing and accusing one another’s past deeds. Instead of focusing on our tragic past, let us focus on the present and towards the future so that we can reconcile, improve, and work towards the goal of turning our country into a modern nation on a par with the other nations.
Appeal made at Nguyệt Biều Church - An Truyền – City of Huế,
On the 5th day of the Lunar New Year Tết Tân Tỵ (January 28, 2001)
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
An Truyền Parish Priest

 

14. February 13, 2001 – Appeal No. 8
Communist Party, please disband for the Nation’s sake!

Vietnamese compatriots who live in Vietnam and elsewhere,
Persons of good will all over the world,
I, Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, present you with my eighth appeal. My failing voice and failing health required that another person read this appeal. I will add to the end with my own voice. This will convince you that this appeal indeed came from me.
Communist Party, please disband for the Nation’s sake!

- Whereas: The VCP has shown that it could wage war effectively but could not bring prosperity to the Nation.
- Whereas: Freedom and democracy are the two necessary pillars for personal happiness, national prosperity, family happiness, and individual dignity.
- Whereas: As long as the VCP holds power, there can be no real religious freedom in Vietnam, something that I said repeatedly in the past.

I firmly appeal to:
1- The VCP: please disband for the Nation’s sake.
2- The Vietnamese Congress: please invalidate Article 4 in the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
3-  The Vietnamese Congress, Executive Branch, and People’s Committees at all levels: please continue to govern while giving the people the rights that are due them. Please hold free and fair elections with monitoring by the United Nations, international observers and international media.

Appeal made in An Truyền on February 13, 2001
Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
An Truyền Parish Priest
Secretary, Committee for Religious Freedom for all the faiths in Vietnam

Ladies and Gentlemen,
What you just heard was an appeal that I prepared. Facing the prospect of imminent arrest, I could not go into more details for this short but very important appeal of mine.
I have been struggling to bring religious freedom, other freedoms and democracy to the Vietnamese people. However, as long as the Vietnamese Communist Party holds power, they will not grant us genuine religious freedom and other freedoms. Consequently I appealed to the VCP to disband willingly.
Second, after the VCP has relinquished power, the Vietnamese Congress, agencies of the Executive Branch, People’s Committees at all levels, and the Armed Forces should continue to govern and maintain peace and order on an interim basis while the Congress invalidates Article 4 of Vietnam’s Constitution, the article specifying that the VCP is the sole entity that may govern Vietnam. After invalidating that article, the Congress would supervise free and fair elections in the same way as many other nations have been holding elections.
After the VCP has given up their hold on power, Vietnam should continue to be governed in a manner that preserves law and order.  My emphasis on this last point is intended to preempt any VCP attempt to label me as an anarchist.
Therefore I appeal to the VCP members who are in the Executive Branch, Congress and Armed Forces to continue your work in order to maintain peace, law and order.
I would like to thank all those persons of good will who identify with, pray for, or listen to this frantic appeal.  I believe that this is the only way to restore enduring happiness and prosperity to our Nation. Thank you.
Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý

 

15. February 15, 2001 – Testimony
First Testimony by Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

Washington, DC, 2-13-2001

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I may be the first Vietnamese Catholic priest from a communist country to have the honor of sharing my ideas in this building, a noble symbol of freedom for the world.
From this noble platform, I send my new millenium greetings to you and all the people of this vast and advanced country. I wish all of you a New Year, New Century and New Millenium filled with truth, liberty, peace, happiness, and useful services to humanity.
On September 2, 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence was unveiled, revealing Mr. Hồ Chí Minh’s clever attempt to secure your country's support by borrowing these words from the second paragraph of the United States’ own Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
While your country was founded less than 250 years ago, your Declaration of Independence of 1776 made the U.S. one of the first countries to base your social and political life on the concept of Freedom.  Any entity living on earth who desires to understand the meaning of freedom and independence needs only to visit your country and people, and see the Statue of Liberty donated by France, for that entity to fully appreciate the meaning of each of the two words.
As an eyewitness who has spent over 25 years in Communist Vietnam, I will discuss without reservation the three topics outlined in your invitation letter:

• The situation faced by religious organizations in Vietnam in the first year of the Third Millenium.
• Should the bilateral trade agreement with Vietnam be ratified by Spring 2001? How would this affect religious freedom in Vietnam?
• How can the U.S. help bring genuine religious freedom to Vietnam in the near term and long term?

I. THE SITUATION FACED BY RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN VIETNAM IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE THIRD MILLENIUM

When Mr. Hồ Chí Minh announced the national goal of independence, freedom and happiness, he adopted communism as the foundation for his policy and activities. This contradiction has plagued his government from its first day. The national goal will remain unattainable for Vietnam and the goal of genuine religious freedom will remain unattainable for religious organizations as long as the communists adhere to the communist doctrine because its totalitarian underpinning is incompatible with the concept of true freedom. Many communists realize that this contradiction exists, i.e., communism would inevitably lead to totalitarianism rather than freedom and happiness.
In my beloved country nowadays, one can see everywhere banners and posters with the words: “Nothing is more precious than independence and liberty”.  Ironically, no one in my country truly knows what independence and liberty mean.  The evidence corroborating my statement is the fact that I never could participate in discussions that took place in this free country. Countless numbers of Vietnamese youths carried banners extolling independence and liberty at innumerable demonstrations. Yet they thirst for true liberty that has always eluded us.
The government’s interference in religious matters have robbed all religious organizations of their independence and freedom.  The best testimony to this situation is the December 27, 2000 joint declaration of the representatives of Vietnam’s religions, the Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hạnh, Head of the Buddhist Clergy in Thừa Thiên - Huế, Mr. Lê Quang Liêm, Director of the Hòa Hảo Buddhist Church’s Central  Administration, Reverend Chân Tín, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris – Saigon, and I.  The declaration is reproduced below.

“After their 4-30-1975 victory in South Vietnam, the Vietnamese Communists started applying an incredibly harsh policy towards religions:

• The Communists issued numerous decrees with the purpose of constraining and stripping religious organizations of their ability to function with an intensity the like of which had never been seen in Vietnam.
• The Communists have been using deceit and tricks to falsely accuse and imprison clergy and lay people who oppose the government’s religious restrictions. Even those who want only to practice their faith through teaching others, singing in a choir, or joining a religion suffer the same harsh treatment in concentration camps. This crual policy has been implemented continuously from 1954 to 2001.
• The Communists used all kinds of tricks to divide religious organizations and politicize issues related to those, including Cao Đài adherents, Catholics, Evangelicals, and Buddhism. For example, the government established a parallel Buddhist Church, the Buddhist Church of Vietnam, as an instrument against the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. More recently, in May 1999, the communists established a puppet Hoà Hảo Buddhist Board consisting of eleven communists for the purpose of controlling five million Hoà Hảo Buddhists.
• The Communists seized countless properties from the various Churches - Cao Đài, Hoà Hảo Buddhism, Catholic Church, Buddhism, Evangelical Churches – and put them to official use as the government saw fit.”

Vis-à-vis the Catholic Church, the Vietnamese Communists have taken away the Church’s most basic rights, an issue that the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam has been raising without reservation through many petitions from 1980 until now.  My Ten-Point Declaration of 11-24-1994 and Declaration of 11-24-2000 that I sent you addressed this problem. I will summarize the issue as follows:

1. The Communists have been violating the right of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam to plan and conduct their annual meetings. The bishops must seek permission to hold each meeting and the agenda must be approved by the government. After the meeting, the bishops must submit the meeting minutes and the text of any message that they want to send to the Catholic community so that the government can censor it.
2. The Communists have been interfering in a major way with the Church’s selection and ordination of bishops and priests. The Holy See must spend years negotiating with the Vietnamese Government whenever the Church wants to ordain bishops. The government always rejects the Church’s nominees until the Church proposes names that the government prefers. After years of vacancy in a diocese, the Holy See tended to yield to the government’s demand in order to minimize the negative effects of long vacancies. To illustrate, there has been no bishop in the dioceses of Hưng Hoá, Hải Phòng and Bùi Chu for at least eight years.

Anyone who wants to attend a seminary or anyone selected by the Church for ordination as a priest must have his dossier reviewed by the provincial police. The candidate must be docile and not show any sign of opposition to the regime. If he agreed to collaborate with the government while studying in the seminary, the government would approve his nomination even more quickly. A bribe offered to the police would help his chance further. If the candidate was related to an official in the former South Vietnamese Government or showed any sign of being potentially a critic of the communist regime, they would never approve his application even if he was eminently qualified and valued by the Church. I could cite the names of many promising applicants who scored the highest two to three years in a row on entrance tests administered by the Church and were still denied by the authorities. A bishop who wants to ordain someone or who wants to assign a task to a priest must file a request and discuss the matter with the communists over a long period of time. In some cases nothing was resolved after close to twenty years of negotiations. The communists specify qualifications that have no relevance to a priest’s work. Consequently, the number of ordained priests have shrunk considerably, leaving numerous vacancies when older priests retire or pass away.  Several priests are now responsible for up to ten parishes each in a number of remote areas, and simply cannot provide the faithful with a normal religious experience. It is very difficult to transfer a priest to another parish.

3. The faithful in New Economic Zones and other remote areas dream of being able to attend only one Mass per year, for Christmas or Easter, but frequently do not get even that. The atheist communists in Vietnam prefer that the residents of remote areas forget completely about religion, something that the Communists truly fear and distrust.
4. The Communists’ approval must be sought for occasions when the faithful from different parishes attend Mass together, or when a priest celebrates Mass outside of his parish.
5. The Communists still hold many clergymen and lay believers in prisons or restrict their movement while having them under surveillance.
6. The Communists violate the Church’s freedom of speech and communication by forbidding the Church from publishing newsletters at both the local and central level. This has severely hampered the Church’s efforts on religious education. While a dozen Catholic newsletters co-existed in South Vietnam before 1975, only two weekly newsletters are in circulation now, Catholicism and the People and Vietnamese Catholics, both created and sustained by the Communist Party.  The Episcopal Conference of Vietnam tried to issue its newsletter. After six “illegal” issues, three additional ones were published between February 2000 and September 2000 with the Communists’ approval before they suspended the publication in October 2000. There is no trace of freedom of speech in my country, especially for the various Churches. Material with content similar to my speech can never be circulated in Vietnam because no photocopy shop would dare reproduce it.  Except for willing martyrs, no one would dare keep such material for fear of painful retributions against himself and his family.
7. The Vietnamese Communists force students at all levels to study communism and  profess their love of communism when hardly anyone wants to teach or study the subject. It would be better if only the 3 million Communist Party members and 5 million party associates study communism (if they still believe in it) and channel it towards the goal of  bringing prosperity and happiness to the people. The people must be allowed to judge the party’s attempt at building a communist society – to say whether this is chimeric or not.  Communism is not necessary as evidenced in the wealth of the other Southeast Asian nations (much wealthier than Vietnam) that do not want communism. Over 2.5 million Vietnamese risked death during their escape by sea in search of freedom, proving that communism is not so great. In forcing its citizens, including religious persons, to study and love a doctrine that went bankrupt in its birthplace, Russia, and failed miserably in Vietnam, the party has shown that it was willing to apply forceful means of thought control.
8. The government seized or forced the Catholic Church to “cede” thousands, if not tens of thousands, of facilities used for educational or social activities and as medical clinics. This expropriation that started in North Vietnam in 1954, and in South Vietnam in 1975, has not been reversed.  The Church has no longer adequate means for training seminary students and novices, helping students, orphans, and the poor, sick, and crippled. Church members who want to serve the disadvantaged in government facilities are not welcomed.  The Saint Pius X Papal Seminary in Dalat, a case in point, used to be run by Jesuits and graduate highly qualified priests for South Vietnam. In 1976 the Communists seized the facility and turned it into a Communist Party training center. The Hoan Thiện Junior Seminary at 11 Đống Đa Street in Huế City, a Middle School-level preparatory institution, was seized in December 1979. The three priests who taught there and over 80 students were forced to go back to their homes. There are numerous other examples that I do not have time to mention.

Confronting the Vietnamese Communists’ ruthless anti-religion policy, the religious organizations have been demanding the restoration of RELIGIOUS FREEDOM in a resolute but peaceful manner until we have a GENUINE version like all the developed countries:

1. We demand GENUINE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, notably the right to recruit, train and place priests and other church officials based on each Church’s needs and aspirations; FREEDOM FOR PEOPLE TO PRACTICE THEIR FAITHS, i.e., the government should no longer require citizens to declare their religion on any official forms. This change would allow all the people to stop fearing that their faith would lead the government to persecute them, and assure them that they no longer have to dissimulate their beliefs.
2. We demand the restitution of all the properties that the government had confiscated or forced the Churches to cede to the State. In some cases, papers showing evidence of the Churches’ ownership may be missing as a result of the past wars. However, the people can easily testify to the pedigree of such properties.
3. We demand that the Communists stop plotting the destruction of religions, stop interfering with the Churches’ internal affairs, and disband the committees that they had set up in the guise of religious organizations but are nothing more than the Communist Party’s instruments.
4. We demand the unconditional release of clergymen, monks, nuns, and administrative personnel and elders of various Churches.
5. We demand that the government implement the the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (12-16-1966) signed by Vietnam on 9-24-1982.

II. SHOULD THE BILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENT WITH VIETNAM BE RATIFIED BY SPRING 2001? HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN VIETNAM?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The second topic that you wanted to hear is my input regarding whether the U.S. Congress should ratify a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with Vietnam by Spring 2001 and how this could affect religious freedom in Vietnam.
As a priest without expertise in commerce and politics and as a Vietnamese citizen who loves his country dearly while being concerned about its lack of human rights, I offer my simple thoughts as follows:

• Vietnam badly needs BTA for our economic development.  On principle, I ardently desire that the U.S. and other countries trust Vietnam so that our people can prosper and our country can develop rapidly on all fronts.
• However, if the Vietnamese Communists maintained their grip on power while disregarding basic human rights as I described in the first part of my talk, by expanding trade with Vietnam the U.S. and other countries would merely strengthen the small group of oppressors at the top and keep the Vietnamese people under bondage longer. Realistically, the people would see a few slithers of BTA-derived benefits trickle down to them, but the price would be extended suffering under the regime’s yoke.
• The Communists’ history of reneging on international treaties should remind you and other countries to be extremely vigilant and skeptical of their apparent trustworthiness.  The U.S. and several other countries have learned painful lessons in the past when dealing with Vietnam’s communist regime.
• With respect to human rights covenants, I would like to restate my 5th Appeal of January 25, 2001. The Vietnamese Communists signed numerous international covenants with the intent to circumvent those while deceiving the international community.  If international human rights organizations continued to let the Vietnamese Communists sign international covenants, three major harms would continue to ensue: 1. Create a false impression about Vietnam’s human rights situation as the communists keep claiming that they respect human rights; 2. The perception that the international bodies can be easily deceived would hurt their standing; and, 3. Harm the Vietnamese people by indirectly assisting in the whitewashing of this totalitarian regime in their heavy-handed rule for many more years. To illustrate, on September 24, 1982 Vietnam signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (established on 12-16-1966) but has not abided by Articles 18 and 19 dealing with freedom of thought, religion and speech.
• If the U.S. and other countries truly care about the unfortunate Vietnamese people and our lack of human rights, in particular religious freedom, please do not assist the Communist regime in extending their totalitarian rule. On the contrary, the U.S. and other countries should refrain from entering into agreements with the Vietnamese Government while increasing pressure on that entity in an effort to help bring genuine freedom and democracy to Vietnam.

III. HOW CAN THE U.S. HELP BRING GENUINE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TO VIETNAM IN THE NEAR TERM AND LONG TERM?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The third topic that you wanted to hear is: How can the U.S. help bring genuine  religious freedom to Vietnam in the near term and long term?

1. The Vietnamese Communists deified Mr. Hồ Chí Minh through a personal cult that is both wrong and harmful. This cult is one of the reasons for them to undermine the various Churches and their spiritual values because they hope that Mr. Hồ’s cult would rally and unify all the people of Vietnam under their banner. Therefore the first thing for us to do is to evaluate Mr. Hồ Chí Minh’s achivements objectively without embellishment or unjustified criticism.

• While it is true that Mr. Hồ Chí Minh fought the French during the Vietnam’s war for independence, the credit does not belong to just the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) because other Vietnamese political parties also did their share. After the war ended, the VCP eliminated its non-communist partners and claimed all the credit for itself;
• His primary mistake was imposing communism on Vietnam, resulting in the country falling behind by a century and ranking near the bottom of the world’s list of nations in terms of prosperity;
• His major crime was to use treachery in eliminating all the other patriotic groups who also fought against the French;
• He implemented a bloody and violent land reform in Northern Vietnam in the  1950’s, causing the death of over 300,000 innocent victims;
• He led the aggression against South Vietnam from 1960 to 1975 in his scheme to impose communism on all of Vietnam, causing the tragic death of 2 million young men in both the North and South while tricking the world into believing that the VCP was liberating South Vietnam from American occupation; under him, the VCP murdered thousands of civilians in Huế in 1968 through burying victims alive and other inhumane acts. He must bear responsibility for the fact that Communist heavy guns killed many thousand civilians during their 1972 siege of Quảng Trị and during the flight of civilian refugees on the highway between Quảng Trị and Diên Sanh (the Highway of Terror);
• He directed the persecution and elimination of hundreds of thousands of members of the opposition throughout Vietnam, notably in over a hundred concentration camps in both the North and South from 1930 until recent times.
• He imposed on our country a doctrine based on lies and treachery that undermines the values that the Vietnamese people and their religions took centuries to establish. The effect in Vietnam is that one must lie in order to be left alone. Even a number of senior clergymen in various religious organizations have had to bend the truth to some extent in order to conduct their business.  For example, each form that one sends to the government must begin with the words “freedom – happiness” in spite of the knowledge that there is neither freedom nor happiness;
• He imposed a doctrine that encourages hatred and mass “trials” that claimed many victims, including party members who did not adhere to the party line;
• He imposed atheism on the people, tried to distort their conscience, and encouraged the desecration of spiritual and religious values that should have been upheld.

 

In order to restore the traditional values of religion and cleanse the minds of young Vietnamese that have been fed distorted facts, one of the most urgent actions that the U.S. and the international community can take is to present a balanced account of Mr. Hồ Chí Minh’s legacy. Many well-intentioned persons still do not know the full truth about this supremely shrewd and heartless individual. Please do not let this misconception continue because you feel bound by some diplomatic etiquette.

2. The U.S. and other countries should, without delay, encourage all the Churches in Vietnam to conduct their work as independently as possible from their government by informing them of the healthy religious scene in your countries. This would highlight the contrast between your countries and the unjustified control over religion currently exerted by the totalitarian regime in Vietnam. Please help counter as much as possible the Vietnamese Communists’ interference with legitimate activities that should be performed by the various Churches. In the beginning, invevitably there would be friction with the Vietnamese Government. However, the government would gradually realize that it had been overstepping its authority in exercising rights that it has no claim to, such as approving assignments of clergy based on the government’s own criteria.
3. As long as the communist regime is in charge, there can be no hope for genuine religious freedom in Vietnam. If the U.S. and other countries truly want to see durable and genuine religious freedom in Vietnam, the way to proceed is to create conditions that would lead to the rapid demise of the regime.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today I have had the honor of representing my compatriots and all the religions in Vietnam - including the Catholic Church - in bringing to your attention some important material in this building, a symbol of Liberty and Independence.  Please accept my heart-felt gratitude towards all of you in the audience and all the American people - including over two million Vietnamese Americans - for having me share my thoughts on some international issues in this Land of Freedom.
May God bless you, your loved ones, your constructive work, and all the inhabitants of this vast land.
Good bye and thank you.

Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
An Truyền Parish Priest
February 13, 2001

 

16. February 20, 2001 – Appeal No. 9
Let us unite because we are about to win.

Vietnamese compatriots who live in Vietnam and elsewhere,
People of good will all over the world,
Our struggle for religious freedom, other freedoms and democracy in Vietnam is approaching its final phase. We will win soon.  Please believe firmly in our upcoming victory.  The Vietnamese Communists are now in a very weak position for they cannot identify the path forward, lack the character that would restore their prestige, and cannot raise the Nation from its current state of destitution.
I appeal to all the people, groups and organizations to unite and be mutually supportive in order to achieve our common objective.  Please do not let small differences play into the communists’ hands and thus delay our victory. Emphasizing disagreements now would only help the Vietnamese Communists, and does not reflect true patriotism.
Please continue to support, sacrify and pray for us.
May your future be bright and happy, and your endeavors be successful and helpful to others.
Thank you.
Appeal made in An Truyền on February 20, 2001
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
An Truyền Parish Priest

 

17. March 3, 2001 – CITATION NO. 1
ISSUED TO THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS FOR Serious Human Rights Violation

In the name of international human rights organizations, I, Nguyễn Văn Lý, Priest of An Truyền Parish, hereby issue a citation to the radio station owned by the tyrannical Communist regime in Vietnam. The station is located in Phú An Village, Phú Vang District, Province of Thừa Thiên-Huế.
Since February 27, 2001, the station has been broadcasting twice daily, at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m., five extremely libelous pieces aimed at me while no court has been convened to try me for those alleged transgressions. Additionally, a national campaign involving numerous newspapers, radio and television broacasts is being conducted against me. The viciousness of this attack against an individual surpasses any previous attack orchestrated during the 74 years of tyrannical rule by the Communist Party over Vietnam. For many Vietnamese, this is reminiscent of the myriad of mass accusations and trials during the bloody land reform of the 1950’s that claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent victims.
This attack revealed the brutality and treachery of the Vietnamese Communists in suppressing the freedoms of thought and expression, monopolizing the media, making a mockery of justice, conducting smear campaigns, and disregarding the truth and human rights that are valued in all civilized nations.
This citation was prepared at 8 p.m. on March 11, 2001 in the An Truyền Parish building. It has been read to the parishioners.

Citation issued by Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, An Truyền Priest.
(Signed)

 

18. March 16, 2001 – CITATION NO. 4
ISSUED TO THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS FOR Violence Against An Truyền Catholics

In the name of conscience and international human rights organizations, I, Nguyễn Văn Lý, Priest of An Truyền Parish, hereby issue a citation to the following employees of the Communist Government of Vietnam: public security staff from Hà Nội, Thừa Thiên-Huế, Phú Vang District and Phú An Village, for their violent treatment of An Truyền Catholics as described below:

1. From February 8 to March 16, 2001, An Truyền Catholics would accompany me whenever I left the parish’s building. Several public security officers attempted to prevent the citizens from walking while surrounding me. The officers assaulted those citizens with sticks, grabbed and twisted their arms, punched their faces and pushed them until they lost their balance and fell down. The citizens who protested were taken to the public security center where officers threatened them with trumped up charges and asked them to sign the citations prepared by the officers. The innocent citizens refused to sign.
2. In the night of March 15, 2001, after surrounding An Truyền Parish, public security officers seized a man by his collar in front of that man’s house and beat him up. The frightened parishioners had to stand watch over the entire parish. After the man succeeded in escaping his tormentors, public security made members of his family come to the public security center several times and questioned them in a threatening way. The officers also falsely accused the parishioners of attacking public sccurity personnel.
3. On Sunday, February 25, 2001, I was bringing the consecrated bread and wine to Mr. Định, a believer in Triều Thủy Hamlet when hundreds of public security officers appeared and stood in my way. Several parishioners decided to walk with me. Later, government television portrayed me as inciting the people to behave disorderly.

 

This citation was prepared at 8 a.m. on March 16, 2001 in the An Truyền Parish building. It has been read to approximately 200 parishioners.

Citation issued by Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, An Truyền Priest.
(Signed and sealed)

 

19. March 19, 2001 – Letter
Precautionary Statement

Diocese of Huế
An Truyền Church
March 19, 2001

For the Glory of God, the Catholic Church, Our Lady of La Vang, and Vietnam’s Martyrs, I declare the following:

If the Vietnamese Communists arrested me and subsequently I said or wrote anything that runs counter to:

• My Ten-Point Declaration of November 24, 2000,
• My nine Appeals,
• The Interfaith Council’s Statement on the Communists’ Policy Towards Religion in Vietnam,
• My piece on how Archbishop Nguyễn Kim Điền was martyred, and
• My testimony of February 13, 2001 to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom,

Such statement or material should be viewed as the result of the Vietnamese Communists’ treachery.

Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý
An Truyền Parish Priest

 

20. March 24, 2001 - CITATION NO. 7
ISSUED TO THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS FOR Serious Human Rights Violation

In the name of international human rights organizations, I, Nguyễn Văn Lý, Priest of An Truyền Parish, hereby issue a citation to the Central Television Station in Hà Nội and the regional television stations that re-broadcasted the central station’s libelous material. The totalitarian Communist regime in Vietnam owns all the stations.
In a 10-minute segment of the news broadcast at 7 p.m. on March 23, 2001, Communists’ voices, masqueraded as “Catholic believers”, made libelous comments in an attempt to completely distort the truth about the scenes shown during that segment, scenes that were pieced together out of context and with intent to slander. Without allowing the public to hear my statements, the news segment was focused only on smear and false accusations directed at me while no court has been convened to try me. The whole thing was orchestrated in an attempt to justify the government’s decision to restrict my movement during 24 months to Truyền Nam Hamlet and its threat of further actions against me.
The government’s activities violated Article 72 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Article 2 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Article 3 of the Rules Applicable to Persons Whose Movement is Restricted issued on April 14, 1997 by the totalitarian Communist regime as listed below: “No one shall be considered guilty or shall be punished until convicted by a court.”; “A person shall not be sentenced unless he/she committed a crime defined by the criminal code. A court will convict and sentence the guilty person.”; and, “It is forbidden to take actions aimed at debasing the person whose movement is being restricted.”
This attack revealed the brutality and treachery of the Vietnamese Communists in suppressing the freedoms of thought and expression, monopolizing the media, making a mockery of justice, conducting smear campaigns, and disregarding the truth and human rights that are valued in all civilized nations. This is reminiscent of the myriad of mass accusations and trials during the bloody land reform of the 1950’s that claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent victims in North Vietnam.
I declare that in case the Communists arrest me, I would be like a statue that does not speak, write, eat and drink. Anything that I may write or say after my arrest should be considered to be an effect of the insidious work of the Communist tyrants.
This citation was prepared at 11 p.m. on March 24, 2001 in the An Truyền Parish building. It has been read to nearly 500 parishioners.

Citation issued by Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, An Truyền Priest.
(Signed and Sealed)

 

21. March 28, 2001
Letter Addressed to His Eminence, President of
the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam

Respectfully submitted to His Eminence, President of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam.

May the Resurrected Christ, Our Lady of La Vang, Saint Joseph, and Vietnam’s Martyrs be always by your side.

Today no Vietnamese bishop publicly takes issue with my struggle. Although virtually all of the bishops quietly agree wih my position, the Episcopal Conference have not been in a position to discuss and achieve a unified position and approach related to my nine appeals. The other bishops are waiting for you and the Archbishop of Huế to state your position first. The Bishop of Phan Thiết, First Vice-President of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, loves me very much. However, he also chose to wait for Your Eminence and the Archbishop of Huế’s announcements.  In 1998 and 1999 you said twice to me at the La Vang Shrine: “Vietnam’s Catholic Church should suffer rather than collaborate.” You also asked more than once that I visit you in Hà Nội. However, I have not been able to comply with your request.
The Holy See understands our situation. Therefore the Fides news service, Radio Vatican and Radio Veritas have been supporting my actions.  Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận communicated to me twice, on March 8 and March 15, 2001, that he was in some ways the “Joseph of Vietnam’s Catholic Church” while I was the “Simon”.  Archbishop Philip Nguyễn Kim Điền relayed those messages to me when the Cardinal was under house arrest in Giang Xá, Hà Nội. His Eminence also sent word to me that I “should not wait for official endorsement by Vietnam’s Episcopal Conference.”
In 1980-1984 Cardinal Glemp of Poland believed that any human rights dialog should be preceded by a good relationship with Poland’s Communist Government”, in disagreement with Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko, Polish martyr.  However, Pope John Paul II endorsed Rev. Popieluszko’s stance.
On February 21, 2001, Most Venerable Thích Quảng Độ, Director of the Institute for the Propagation of the Faith of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, issued his Appeal on Eight Points of Democracy for Vietnam.  On March 13, 2001, the overseas Vietnamese Buddhists announced their support for the appeal.
Surely Communist rule in Vietnam will come to an end in the near future.  To enable the Vietnamese Catholic Church to be more readily accepted by Vietnam’s people whose political views are changing rapidly, and to show that the Church is not content after 26 years of silence punctuated by occasional, discreet petitions to the Communist Government, please issue a public endorsement of my views on religious freedom and democracy for Vietnam as Radio Vatican and Radio Veritas have been doing for two months.  I am certain of success no matter how long the government continues to restrict my movement, or in case they imprison me, or even kill me. My request to Your Eminence is not motivated by a concern for my own safety and well-being. Rather, I believe that your action can help bring democracy and freedom to Vietnam faster while ensuring that the Vietnamese Catholic Church will have its proper place in history.
I implore Your Eminence to think about my request, pray, and act. Please empathize with me, sacrify, and pray for me.

Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý,
An Truyền Parish Priest
Signed and Sealed

 

22. March 30, 2001 – CITATION NO. 8
ISSUED TO THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS FOR Bannishing All Human Rights

In the name of conscience and international human rights organizations, I, Nguyễn Văn Lý, Priest of An Truyền Parish, hereby issue a citation to the the totalitarian Communist regime in Vietnam for their actions as described below.

1. On March 5, 2001, from 3 to 4:30, approximately 200 public security officers and other government employees from Hà Nội and Thừa Thiên-Huế, and government employees from Thủy Biều District, Huế, including:

1. Nhuận, Secretary, Communist Party of Thủy Biều,
2. Hoàng Trọng Lộc, Chairman, People's Committee of Thủy Biều,
3. Đặng Văn Ngân, Chief, Public Security of Thủy Biều,
4. Tôn Nữ Quỳnh Tương, Vice Chair, People’s Committee of Thủy Biều.

The above-named individuals brought a few hundred of their followers in addition to the 200 above-mentioned government employees.  Additionally, the government hired some rough looking characters to place a ladder against the façade of the church in Nguyệt Biểu and take down our sign that says: “Religious freedom or death” and two other signs that say: “We need religious freedom”.  Before this transgression against a sacred place took place, the government had taken the following pre-emptive measures: a) secured all the bells and drums so that Nguyệt Biểu parishioners could not alert one another; b) two public security officers entered each of the parishioners’ homes to prevent anyone from going to the church; and, c) blocked the roads leading to the church.  Still, about 20 parishioners managed to gather near the church with Rev. Trần Văn Quí, parish priest, and Mr. Lê Diệu, Chairman, Parishioners’ Committee, to witness the act mentioned above.

2. On March 14, 2001, between 6:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., approximately 500 Communists from Hà Nội, Thừa Thiên-Huế and local government units, including Hoàng Trọng Dị, Chief, Thủy Biều Agricultural Cooperative, came to Nguyệt Biểu. Another large group, numbering 400-500 Communists, followed the first group. The first group violently attacked approximately 40 parishioners who were attempting to prevent the government from lining an irrigation ditch with cement because the government illegally had the ditch dug 20 years ago to partition land owned by the Church. Among the victims were: a) Hoàng Trọng Dũng, a youth, who was choked and whose gold necklace decorated with Jesus on the Cross was ripped from his neck while the Communists dragged him and Miss Hoàng Thị Hương to the government building in Thủy Biều; b) Miss Đặng Thị Lập who was injured after they twisted her arm; c) Mrs. Hoàng Thị Bạch who nearly fainted during the scuffle; d) Mr. Hoàng Trọng Hiếu, a 75-year old man, who was pushed and shoved violently; e) approximately 20 women, elderly women and children who were forcefully ejected from the ditch. Five-year old and six-year old children wept and cried out: “Religious freedom or death!”  Several parishioners shouted repeatedly: "The Communists have taken land from the Church again and again!” Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Tuyết ran after those who took Dũng and Hương to offer herself as another victim of detention. The government also made Rev. Trần Văn Quí report for interrogation. On March 14, 2001 the above-mentioned 40 parishioners witnessed the government’s attack. On March 15 through 17 approximately 150 parishioners witnessed the government’s action on the church’s ground while singing the Peace Prayer, saying the Prayer to Vietnam’s Martyrs, and using their rosaries while praying for the Communists.  They also chanted now and then: "The Communists robbed the Church of Her land!” amid tears. A number of government employees looked quite shamed while many local people expressed their deep admiration for their Catholic neighbors.
3. On March 14, the Communists carried out their order to remove material posted on the walls of the church and classrooms around the church because the sheets described Articles 18 and 19 on freedom of religion, expression and thought from the United Nations’ International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights of December 16, 1966 that Vietnam technically accepted when joining the UN on September 24, 1982. Later, parishioners put up other copies. On March 22, when only two girls were on the church’s ground, approximately 20 Communists removed the material from walls. Parishioners put up other copies once more.  On March 26, approximately 20 Communists came and removed the material, claiming that its content was not appropriate at this time.  Hoàng Trọng Dị, a government employee, wrote a citation in such haste that he forgot to decorate it with the obligatory words “Liberty – Independence – Happiness”.  Several parishioners cried out: “Yes, just like Reverend Lý!”  A 65-year old man, Mr. Hoàng Trọng Ánh, protested by lying down in front of the church and crying out: “Why do you Communists oppress this parish so much? We'd rather die right here.”  Many other parishioners joined the protest. On March 28, parishioners glued the sheets to the inside of the glass windows of the church. Dozens of government employees came, but did not dare to break any window. On March 29, parishioners put up more sheets with the same content. The Communists surrounded the church all night long but did not succeed in having the sheets removed.

The government’s actions demonstrated that it had bannished the fundamental freedoms of thought, expression, and religion because it wants to hide the existence of the 1966 international covenant governing Vietnam when the Communist Government succeeded in having Vietnam join the United Nations in 1982. I had pointed this out in my Appeal No. 6 of January 25, 2001.  During their attempts at removing the sheets featuring Articles 18 and 19, the Communists said: “You must ask permission from the People’s Committee first in order to read this material.”  Those government employees did not know themselves that they had the rights spelled out in the international covenant.

At 9 p.m. on March 29, Miss Hoàng Thị Hương went to work the night shift at the Long Thọ Cement Plant. Three public security officers stopped her bicycle with the intent of roughening her up, but had to flee when she cried out: “Bandits! Help!” Some time later, approximately 20 public security officers threw large stones at Mr. Lê Lai's house across the Nguyệt Biểu Church because the sheets had not been removed from the church’s windows.

Citation issued by Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, An Truyền Priest.
(Signed and Sealed)

 

23. April 6, 2001 – CITATION NO. 13
ISSUED TO THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS FOR Unrestrained Libel and Slander

In the name of conscience and international human rights organizations, I, Nguyễn Văn Lý, Priest of An Truyền Parish, hereby issue a citation to the radio station owned by the tyrannical Communist regime in Phú An Village, Phú Vang District, Province of Thừa Thiên-Huế.
From February 27, 2001, through today (April 6, 2001), the station has been broadcasting twice daily, at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m., a number of extremely libelous pieces aimed at me (5 per broadcast in the initial weeks, 2 to 3 per broadcast for a number of weeks, and now 6 per broadcast or 12 pieces each day) while no court has been convened to try me for those alleged transgressions. Additionally, a national campaign involving numerous newspapers, radio and television broacasts is being conducted against me.  Throughout the afternoon of April 5, a government employee standing in front of the church continuously hurled insults aimed at me.
This attack revealed the Vietnamese Communists’ intent to suppress the freedoms of thought and expression, monopolize the media, make a mockery of justice, conduct smear campaigns, and disregard Item 3 in the Rules Applicable to Persons Whose Movement Are Restricted issued by the Prime Minister on April 14, 1997.
This citation was prepared at 10 a.m. on April 6, 2001 in the An Truyền Parish building.

Citation issued by Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, An Truyền Priest.
(Signed and Sealed)

 

24. April 9, 2001 – CITATION NO. 15
ISSUED TO THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS FOR Using Physical Force on a Member of the Norwegian Parliament And Beating his Taxicab Driver

Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Lack of Independence – Loss of Liberty – No Happiness

At 7 p.m. on April 9, 2001, a taxicab whose company has the telephone number 054.828282 succeeded in bringing Member of Parliament Lars Rise of the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), his assistant, and an interpreter to the steps of An Truyền Church. The group had just visited Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hạnh and High Venerable Thích Thái Hoà at Từ Hiếu Buddhist Temple from 1:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
As soon as the taxicab came to a stop, the government cut power to the church and approximately seven or eight public security officers who had been standing near the church rushed towards the visitors and tried to take them to the administrative building of the People’s Committee of Phú An Village. Parishioners struggled and managed to bring the four inside the church where Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý was celebrating Mass. Rev. Lý greeted the visitors, introduced them to the congregation, concluded the Mass, took the visitors to the parish’s building, and locked its door after all had come inside.
Very quickly over 600 parishioners surrounded the building while approximately 100 public security officers arrived on the scene. Some of them shouted their demand for Rev. Lý to open the door. The parishioners prayed and sang hymns, primarily the Peace Prayer. The Communists brought loudspeakers to the scene and prepared to climb over the fence and enter the building.
At 9 p.m., Rev. Lý attempted to lead the three visitors and the driver into the church upon the visitors’ request, but the Communists demanded that they come to the government’s building in Phú An Village. Public security officers pulled and pushed the unwilling visitors and their driver while the parishioners tried to protect them as they accompanied the group to the government’s building. The parishioners shouted repeatedly: “Religious freedom or death!” and “Down with oppression!” during the walk. The Communists finally pushed the three visitors into a government car. One of the Communists, Hồ Đắc Vĩnh (aka Xuân Hương) punched the taxicab driver in the face many times in full sight of the parishioners before the three visitors were forced into the car.
We have no idea what other mistreatment Mr. Lars Rise and his companions had to endure after they were driven away.

Citation issued by Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, An Truyền Priest.
(Signed and Sealed)

 

25. April 30, 2001 – Statement
Joint Declaration by VIETNAMESE INTERFAITH COUNCIL and OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE INTERFAITH COUNCIL
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
Rev. Peter Nguyễn Hữu Giải & Rev. Peter Phan Văn Lợi

- Whereas:  The Vietnamese Communists imposed a totalitarian rule in North Vietnam as of 1945 and all of Vietnam as of 1975, denying liberty and democracy to the people, violating all human rights, and especially declaring war on all the faiths through a systematic and major effort aimed at destroying religions.
- Whereas: Not content with their incarceration, elimination, bannishing and tight surveillance of priests, members of religious orders, and believers of the Cao Đài Church, the Catholic Church, the Buddhist Church, the Hòa Hảo Buddhist Church, and the Protestant Churches, the Communists also established State-sponsored religious entities in their attempt to destroy the Churches and making them docile instruments in order to mislead the international community.
- Whereas: The draft decree on religious affairs unveiled in late 2000 by the Communists shows that they are even more insidious than one could imagine. On the surface, the decree seems to say that there will be more religious freedom.  Actually the decree was designed to making believers second class citizens subject to surveillance and distrust, and worse, turning religious organizations into organs of the Communist Party and giving the Party stifling control over all aspects of religious life. In addition, the decree will allow the government to harass and illegally detain priests, members of religious orders and believers as the government continues to prevent the various faiths from having a normal religious life consistent with each faith’s precepts and belief.
- Whereas: At its 57th session, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (April 9 through 11, 2001 in Geneva, Switzerland) once again called attention to the Vietnamese Communists’ serious violations of human rights and religious freedom. In that international forum, the following conlusion was put forward: “Democracy blooms where religious freedom is respected; conversely, when there is no religious freedom, democracy withers or cannot take root”.
- Whereas: As long as the Communists rule Vietnam as dictators, there can be no religious freedom there.

Consequently, as representatives of the Vietnamese Interfaith Council and in coordination with the Overseas Vietnamese Interfaith Council, we request the United Nations, the governments of democratic countries, and human rights organizations all over the world:
1- To express your views and put maximum pressure on the Vietnamese Communists to stop immediately their campaign of arrests, torture, imprisonment, surveillance and restricting the movement of priests, members of religious orders, and believers of all faiths, and all the other prisoners of conscience.
2- To demand that the Vietnamese Communists disband quickly all their State-sponsored religious organizations that they set up to mislead the world, and revoke all regulations and laws intended to constrain religions.
3- To vigourously assist all the faiths in their demand for a return to normal religious life in Vietnam.
4- To take action in support of our call for unified action “Religious freedom or death” as discussed in the Ten-Point Declaration of November 24, 1994 and November 24, 2000; Nine Appeals issued between December 3, 2000 and February 26, 2001; and the February 13, 2001 Testimony to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom for the purpose of providing input to the U.S. Congress – by Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý of Nguyệt Biều and An Truyền Parishes.
5- To take action in support of the ethnic groups residing in Vietnam’s highlands who have been demanding democracy, religious freedom and social justice.
6- To take action in support of the Statement on the Communists’ Policy towards Religion in Vietnam issued by the Vietnamese Interfaith Council on December 27-28, 2000.
7- To take action in support of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam’s Appeal on Eight Points of Democracy for Vietnam issued on February 21, 2001 by Most Reverend Thích Quảng Độ, Director of the Institute for the Propagation of the Faith of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. The appeal represents more than the aspiration of several dozen million Vietnamese Buddhists; it is also the aspiration of all the other religions and all the 80 million citizens of Vietnam./.

April 30, 2001
For the Vietnamese Interfaith Council
Co-author: Council Secretary and Prisoner of Conscience Nguyễn Văn Lý (Signed)
An Truyền Parish Priest

Co-authors: Rev. Nguyễn Hữu Giải (signed) and Rev. Phan Văn Lợi (signed), Vietnamese Interfaith Council

 

26. May 4, 2000 – CITATION NO. 19 (High Priority)
ISSUED TO THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS FOR Infringing on a Bishop’s Rights

Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Lack of Independence – Loss of Liberty – No Happiness

 

On May 4, 2001, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, U.S. House of Representatives, signed a letter inviting me to testify to the House of Representatives on May 16, 2001.  On May 9, through Decision No. 961/QB-UB signed by Lê Viết Xê, Vice Chairman, People's Committee of Thừa Thiên-Huế, the Communists decreed that I “may not carry out priestly duties in An Truyền Parish and throughout the Province of Thừa Thiên-Huế”.
This is one of the clearest evidences that the Communist Government had usurped the Church’s authority as if the tyranny no longer needed to disguise its control of the  dioceses.
This citation was prepared at 6 p.m. on May 10, 2001 and has been read to approximately 600 Catholics in An Truyền Parish.

Citation issued by Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Prisoner of Conscience and An Truyền Priest.
(Signed and Sealed)

 

27. May 16, 2001 - Testimony
Second Testimony By a Prisoner of Conscience, Reverend Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý to the United States House of Representatives

The Honorable Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,
Honorable Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, U.S. House of Representatives,
Honorable Members of the U.S. House of Representatives,

On January 10, 2001, the Honorable Elliott Abrams, Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, requested my testimony on religious freedom in Vietnam and my views on a bilateral trade agreement with Vietnam. The American Embassy in Hà Nội only succeeded in delivering his invitation to me in the late afternoon of February 12, 2001.  Nevertheless, I managed to submit to the Commission 8 pages of testimony that have been widely disseminated throughout the world.
Today I am elated that the House of Representatives asked for my testimony once more on the persecution of the Catholic Church by the totalitarian regime in Vietnam. I would like to present you with the following facts:

I. EVIDENCE OF COMMUNIST PERSECUTION OF VIETNAM’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, PAST AND PRESENT

The Vietnamese Communists have been persecuting, with the intention to destroy, the Vietnamese Catholic Church and the other religions, as accurately depicted in the Joint Declaration issued on April 30, 2001 by the Vietnamese Interfaith Council and the Overseas Vietnamese Interfaith Council. The Catholic Church has been painfully victimized and suffocated as detailed below:

1. The Episcopal Conference of Vietnam (ECV) has been meeting in the summer once each year from 1980. The government required ECV to submit to the State Committee on Religion the draft agenda and list of attendees for that committee’s review before each conference is authorized. During the course of each annual conference, Church leaders must meet with the State Committee for Religious Affairs, the chief of state, prime minister, and even the secretary general of the Communist Party.  At those meetings, Church leaders must engage in well-wishing and say words of thanks that are out of place in view of the obvious coercion by a group of brigands who have nearly choked us to death. After each conference, should ECV wish to submit a petition to the regime or issue a communiqué to the Church, the content must be approved by the regime before ECV can proceed. ECV may submit a request for the regime to respect our right to religious freedom only if the regime authorizes such submission. If one wants to confront the Vietnamese Communists on an issue, one must seek their permission for one to do so. They only allow organizations to “seek permission to confront the government” for international opinion’s sake while in fact they never intend to consider any of the petitions. Each Church, no matter how numerous her following, is reduced to waiting and waiting for a positive development initiated by the government
2. When a delegation from the Vatican comes to Vietnam to discuss the Holy See’s nomination of a bishop, the Communists’ negotiating strategy is based on the fact that they will not accept any nomination other than their own choice. If the Holy See did not go along, they would sit on the Holy See’s nominations for decades until the Holy See accepts the regime’s nominees.  In 1960 the Holy See nominated Msgr. Phạm Văn Dụ as Bishop of Lạng Sơn. In 1979, he and many residents had to flee from their parish when war broke out between China and Vietnam.  Only then did the regime accept his nomination as bishop. In more recent times, the Vatican has been talking with the Vietnamese Government for over eight years, but its nominees for the dioceses of Hưng Hoá, Hải Phòng and Bùi Chu have yet to be approved.
3. A bishop who wants to appoint a priest to a parish or assign duties to a priest must follow the procedures described below:

• If a Committee for Catholic Solidarity (a communist organ in disguise) had been established in a diocese, the bishop must request the committee to convey his intent to the regime
• Where the Communists have not been able to set up such a committee, the bishop or his representative must work with Public Security, specifically the Counter-Espionage Office of the Security Bureau, Public Security Ministry in Hà Nội. The Communists designated this unit of their Public Security Ministry to deal with the Church in the belief that all members of the clergy are spies to be monitored closely
• The bishop only appoints the priest with the regime’s approval, i.e. the regime indirectly imposes its choice. The stark fact is that the Communists appoint the priest and the bishop signs the appointment papers as a formality

Msgr. Nguyễn Như Thể, Archbishop of Huế, wanted to assign me to An Truyền Parish more than three years ago.  However, the Communists did not approve. In late November 2000 I embarked on the last and most intense phase of my struggle for religious freedom, using the motto “Religious freedom or death” in Nguyệt Biểu. The government finally approved my nomination to An Truyền, hoping that my departure would make it easier for it to oppress Catholics in Nguyệt Biểu.

4. The Communists gave themselves the power to shut down seminaries. Before 1975, Vietnam had 25 junior seminaries and 9 major seminaries. Now there are only 6 seminaries. The Church’s request for permission to open a seventh seminary in Xuân Lộc has not been approved.  The government reserves the right to approve each seminary’s faculty and administrative staff. The curriculum must include the study of Socialism and Marxism/Leninism. New seminarians may enroll only every other year and their numbers are severely restricted. The applicant’s immediate family and other close relatives must not have been an employee of the former South Vietnamese Government.  The  would-be seminarians must be a resident of the diocese where the seminary is located.  He is required to meet with public security officers many times during the extensive background check that is mandated for this process.  The public security apparatus always advises the applicant to agree to perform activities assigned by that organization (should they approve his selection) after he enters the seminary. The government typically moves faster in allowing an applicant to attend a seminary once he agrees to collaborate with the public security officers. The end result of governmental restriction is exemplified by the situation in Xuân Lộc Diocese where approximately 300 college graduates wish to enroll at the seminary and the government allows only between 5 and 10 of them to enroll at each admission!

After a seminarian completes his studies, the bishop must submit his name for the government’s approval of his ordination.  In some locations, Communist officials ask for bribes from the graduates’ families. In the Diocese of Huế, not a single priest was ordained in a 18-year period stretching from 1976 to 1994. The seminary had to close. From 1994 to 2000, only 12 priests were ordained whereas 25 had passed away between 1976 and 2000. Of the approximately 60 priests working in the diocese, at least 70% are over 60.
This is the Communists’ main strategy for gradually squeezing the life out of Vietnam’s Catholic Church, through attrition and lack of growth. The young men who are ready to serve as priests and monks in a diocese may not enroll in another diocese’s seminary. If the number of clergymen in a diocese is woefully inadequate, clergymen from another diocese may not be transferred to alleviate the shortage. To illustrate, Lạng Sơn Diocese has a bishop and a single priest over 90 years of age, and no religious order. Yet clergy in other dioceses may not be re-assigned to Lạng Sơn.

5. The monasteries and convents have not been able to admit any new person. After 1975, every monk or nun has had to file papers showing their status as “temporarily absent” from their homes and “temporary resident” at the monastery or convent for “medical treatment” or “supplemental education”. They are not allowed to openly join a religious order.  The monks and nuns’ status remains illegal as if they were criminals.  The only crime that they committed was worshipping Jesus Christ instead of joining the Marxist-Leninist Order and worshipping Mr. Hồ Chí Minh.
6. All Catholics are considered second class citizens (except Hồ Chí Minh worshippers). Catholics face discrimination: no Communist Party membership, no taking of the examination for public security jobs, no advancement when employed in government agencies, always identified as Catholic/Christian in government paperwork, and assumed to be misguided and unscientific. The people living in remote areas may not build a church and can only look forward to one or two Masses each year (sometimes none).

Tam Toà Parish in Quảng Bình has only 500 Catholics left. The government tore down their churches and seized the land.  Rev. Lương Văn Thể served the parish from 1954 until his sudden death in 1962. Thereafter the parishioners have not been served by a priest to this day.
In Thừa Thiên Huế, Nam Đông with over 800 Catholics and A Lưới with over 500 Catholics have not been granted permission to erect their respective churches.

7. After 1975, the Communists seized or forced the Catholic Church to “cede” thousands, if not tens of thousands, of large and midsize properties - virtually all of the Church’s schools, colleges, hospitals, orphanages, retirement homes, crop land, etc. and a number of seminaries, monasteries, convents, and even churches. Examples include:

a.  In 1976, the Communists seized one of the largest seminaries in Southeast Asia, Saint Pius X Pontifical Seminary, a multi-hectare facility in Dalat (formely administered by Jesuits). The Communists also seized 2/3 of the 50-hectare lot where the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang is situated.
b.  In the Diocese of Huế:

• In December 1979, numerous public security officers participated in the forcible takeover of Junior Seminary Hoan Thiện, a 15,000 m2 property at 11 Đống Đa Street, Huế
• On August 15, 1975 the De La Salle Christian Brothers signed an agreement with the Communists to loan to the government Bình Linh School for 5 years. The 20,000 m2 facility is at 1 Lê Lợi Street, Huế. At the end of the loan term, the Order attempted to reclaim their school and has been trying ever since without success.
• In 1976, the Communists seized the Order of the Sacred Heart’s St Joseph School, a 1,500 m2 facility located at 24b Đoàn Hữu Trưng, Huế.
• In 1976, the Communists forced the Order of the Sacred Heart to cede their 40,000 m2 monastery at 119 Huyền Trân Công Chúa (old street name), Huế.
• On December 24, 1999, the Communists seized 320,000 m2 from Thiên An Monastery (near Huế) as part of their plan to build a 495,929 m2 recreation center. Construction started on March 27, 2001.
• Many thousand more cases could be listed. No monastery, convent or parish was spared the confiscation, at times violently implemented, of their schools, offices, housing facilities, hospitals and/or land.

 Nguyệt Biểu, our small parish, was robbed of nearly 20,000 m2 of land and crop land after 1975. In early November 2000, approximately 200 Catholics started a campaign aimed at recovering 1,500 m2 of land adjoining the church that the Communists seized in 1977. 500 Communists from the public security agency and other governmental units used force to suppress the parishioners’ demonstration by punching, kicking, choking, and arresting several demonstrators. The people in Nguyệt Biểu are still demanding the return of their property.

8. After 1975, the Church no longer has any studio for make educational films, radio station, and print shop, and no longer publishes magazines and newspapers. The Communists have monopolized all forms of communication.  The weekly papers Catholicism and the People and Vietnamese Catholics are the Communist Party’s creations and sustained by the Party. The government allowed the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam to publish 3 issues of Consolidated News, then withdrew its permission for some time before allowing the 4th issue to be published in December 2000 (10 issues were published in total, including the first 6 “illegal” issues). There is not even a trace of freedom of speech in Vietnam. Although in 1982 Vietnam signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (established in 1966), the Communists have never abided by its Article 19 concerning freedom of expression.
9. From 1975 on, the Church has not been allowed to establish a working group or committee of any kind, or hope that another political party play the part of opposition to the Vietnamese Communist Party, whose exclusive grip on power is justified in Article 4 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.  Should someone mention the need for an opposition party or a multi-party system, the VCP would arrest or, at least, put him under surveillance with travel restrictions, cut his telephone and internet services, and forbid him to receive visitors. Article 22 concerning freedom of association is in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 that Vietnam’s Communist Government signed in 1982.  However the Communists fear this article as if it were poison, never wanting the people to know that they are entitled to freedom of association. The vast majority of the people never suspect that they could, in principle, form associations and political parties.
10. Most Venerable Huyền Quang, Most Venerable Quảng Độ, Mr. Lê Quang Liêm, Rev. Phan Văn Lợi and Rev. Nguyễn Hữu Giải have been put under tight surveillance and their movement restricted. As to me, signs saying “Restricted Area - No Trespassing” in both Vietnamese and English were placed by the side of the road leading to Phú An Village and by the side of  the road leading to An Truyền Church. Those of us who are under surveillance may not venture out beyond such signs. Furthermore, Vietnamese citizens who try to approach us would be pushed back and subject to searches, beatings and arrests.  Foreigners who try to approach us are turned back. In the evening of April 9, 2001, Norwegian Parliament Member Lars Rise visited me. The Communists quickly detained him, confiscated almost all of his notes and films, and expelled him from Vietnam.

II. A MOST INSIDIOUS APPROACH TO RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION: THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS USE SYSTEMATIC LIES TO ERODE RELIGIOUS CONSCIENCE AND SPIRITUAL VALUES -  AS IN THEIR TREATMENT OF CATHOLICS

Nowadays each and every Vietnamese must lie, if not on a large scale then on a small scale, just to survive and be able to do what he/she must do. The Vietnamese Communists successfully instituted lying as an integral part of the people’s daily activities and, to a greater extent, the government’s activities. Under tremendous pressure, the Catholic Church and other religions had to adapt, thus losing their formerly pristine nature.  This communist strategy aimed at undermining religions is most insidious and is intended to serve the Party’s objective of imposing the Hồ Chí Minh cult on everyone.

1. In the school system: instead of reporting accurately each class’s performance, elementary school teachers must start lying about their students’ achievement beginning at the kindergarten level in order to be rated favorably by their supervisors. The teachers must deceive three-year olds and four-year olds when persuading them “love our great Uncle Hồ”.  Catholic sisters who teach kindergarten must also play the game as they are required to inculcate love for Mr. Hồ through songs and stories, even when some of these teachers do not know that much about him or, conversely, know the full truth about this “most heartless and perfidious character who managed to deceive almost everyone on earth”.

The lying intensifies when a teacher must let all of her students advance to the next level. The system does not tolerate failure in Grades 1 through 5, forcing the students to be moved up regardless of their readiness to do so. At the district level, the people’s committees even direct the schools to falsely report that every student completes Grade 9, regardless how many children already quit school to engage in work such as herding cows and buffaloes, shining shoes, selling ice cream, etc. Thủy Biểu District, Huế, is a case in point.
The students who complete their studies usually land jobs based on bribing someone or having connections among Communist officials, rarely because their capabilities are superior.

2. In health care: a patient should not expect good medical treatment unless he can pay extra or bribe someone.
3. In commerce and daily life: the formula for success is to flatter and grease palms.
4. In culture and politics: the massive propaganda machine of the government uses the various media not to tell the truth, but to laud the Communists. They stop at nothing to achieve their aim: paying someone to give a fraudulent testimony; paying someone to pose as a believer and make false accusations to bring down a religious figure; paying someone to forge documents that can be used as evidence against the opposition; paying women and telling them to seduce priests, etc. Employees of State-run firms must copy material praising the Communist Party and sign their names to give the impression of spontaneous appreciation, although the words used by all the workers are identical.  Those who refuse to play along risk being fired. Some firms found this to be so laughable that they temporarily stopped this practice.

The government keeps several loudspeakers in each district and village, and turns them on at full volume in the early morning (4 to 5 a.m), and the early evening (4 to 5 p.m.) to broadcast messages that are full of lies, year in year out. Should a church or temple disagree, the Communists would aim their loudspeakers at that place of worship during the most critical hours of worship. In An Truyền, my parishioners are victimized by three such loudspeakers.
Elections held to choose people's committees at various levels and members of the National Congress are a ploy to show that democracy exists because the people are forced to vote for candidates already selected by the Party. Whoever refuses to vote would court trouble when he needs something from the government such as applying for a birth certificate for his infant. When the Communists designate a religious figure as a candidate in an election, that priest or monk can expect to receive at least 90% of the votes because the Party needs to show that Catholics also participate and support the system. Never mind that the elected priests or monks are expected to be silent figureheads. Cardinal Joseph Maria Trịnh Như Khuê (deceased), Archbishop of Hà Nội from 1954 to 1975, refused to vote in sham elections. In retribution, the Communists restricted his movement to the Diocesian compound. Only in August 1975 was he allowed to travel to Rome for his elevation to Cardinal.

5. Public administration: official paperwork is complicated and requires flattering, superfluous phrases.  On forms to be submitted to agencies, every citizen must write sentences prescribed by the system  in order to have his request processed. Otherwise officials would return his application.

In nearly 50 years of communist rule, I am probably the first Vietnamese to cross out the words “Independence – Liberty – Happiness”, the prescribed heading on each official form, and replace those with “Lack of Independence – Loss of Liberty – No Happiness”.  Some students followed my example by not starting their forms with the obligatory heading. Although their school threatened them with expulsion, school officials have not carried out the threat, probably to avoid protests. The students may not be allowed to graduate, though.
In 1953, when I was six, I learned a poem about World Communism that applies even better to the current Vietnamese Communists:

Communists Are Liars

They lie to Heaven and Earth, non stop.
They lie on paper, without pausing.
They lie from Europe to Asia.
In spring, summer, fall and winter,
They lie, hoping to trick dumb folks.
They never run out of lies.

Thank you for listening and good bye.

Prisoner of Conscience Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
An Truyền Parish Priest
Secretary, Vietnamese Interfaith Council
Advisor, Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam (Washington, DC)
May 7, 2001

 

28. August 28, 2001 – Statement
Second Request To the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam
           
Dear Bishops and Archbishops,
The Episcopal Conference of Vietnam is about to hold its annual meeting, one that Catholics in Vietnam and abroad deem important, as we are on the cusp of a new millenium and a new century.  Furthermore, momentous events are taking place in our country, notably in the sphere of our struggle for religious freedom, human rights and democracy.
In response to your request for input from all the believers, we, Rev. Peter Nguyễn Hữu Giải, Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý and Peter Phan Văn Lợi, from the Archdiocese of Huế, respectfully offer two sets of suggestions:
I- The Episcopal Conference uses your rights as the Church, as bishops, and as human beings whose basic rights were the Lord’s gifts, to
a- Stop asking the secular government to approve your plans for the meeting, including location, dates. duration and attendees.  If they insist, a notification should do.
b- Stop submitting the agenda to the secular government for its review.
c- Stop allowing the secular government to review decisions (e.g., establishing committees) and documents (e.g., declaration addressed to the government, letter to the faithful) that the Episcopal Conference may generate at the conclusion of the meeting.
d- Stop submitting individual requests for permission to travel abroad for attending  the Synod of Bishops and start submitting a collective request for each of these international conferences. All the bishops invited by the Holy See should be able to go, or none at all.  Each citizen is entitled to the right to travel, for it is not a favor to be granted by the government.
If the government used its power to block you from doing your rightful duties and the mission of this Church, even when you may not meet in the open, such actions would speak loudly of your determination to honor the truth and uphold the Church’s shining light under adversity.         
II. To enable the Vietnamese Catholic Church to implement the renewal called for in the Jubilee Year that just ended, carry out her “salt, yeast, light” mission in our country, and step into the 21st century at the same pace as the people, aside from issuing the customary report on the Church’s affairs, we implore you to consider the dismal situation of our people, invoke your status as Church Leaders and Bishops, and demand that the government respect the rights that God gave all human beings and believers.  As the embodiment of Jesus the Chief Shepherd, the One who came to “testify to the truth”, “lay down his life for the sheep so that the sheep will live”, you would “live the Gospel” among the people as you taught us over twenty years ago in the Episcopal Conference’s Unity Letter of 1980.
a- The Vietnamese people is victimized by a dictatorship that intends to control one's thought, as evidenced in Article 4 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The government’s guiding doctrine, atheistic and materialistic Marxism, has blocked out all truth, including spiritual and sacred values as taught by various religions.  As a result, our society is experiencing decay, corruption, crimes, deceit, and lies, especially in the public sector where many lead a selfish life and are concerned chiefly about pleasure.  Our youth cannot find worthy ideals. Human life is valued less and less, causing a large increase in the number of abortions and death sentences.
Please demand the government to restore to the traditional Churches their freedom to print and distribute religious material, open seminaries and institutes, recruit and admit seminarians, ordain clergy and assign duties to clergy.  This boils down to the abolishment of Article 4 of the Constitution, Decree No. 26/CP, and all regulations and procedures aimed at imposing State control over religion or stripping religion of its essence and meaning.
b- The Vietnamese people are victimized by a dictatorship that monopolizes political power.  The Communist Party reserves for its members all the important government positions.  Promotion is based more on (at times is based exclusively on) loyalty to the party than ability and character.  Consequently one sees injustice, corruption, oppression, and malfeasance. Whenever a citizen must deal with the government, he must suffer unjust demands and incomprehensible red tape – the norm these days.  Talent and character are not appreciated or rewarded. People who offer frank and constructive suggestions that are not compatible with the government’s views are ignored or harassed.
Please demand that the government let qualified people join the government and contribute to policy formulation. Such participation requires fair elections and equal opportunities for all, regardless of religious affiliation, political views or ethnic background. Please demand the right to decry injustice, expose crimes, express one's views, be heard, and play a role in the development of our Nation.
c- The Vietnamese people is victimized by a dictatorship that monopolizes education.  The formation of future citizens and essential personnel is being severely compromised because the Communist Party has banned the teaching and appreciation of human values and intrinsic goodness of individuals as well as social justice. Worse, the people are being transformed by a system built on lies and deceit so that they also lie in order to survive or earn some privileges in an economy shaped by Communism. The national budget for education is much smaller than the defense budget. The Churches are prevented from opening schools, thus denying choice to the parents of students.  Students are being corrupted by such things as unhealthy materialism, drug abuse, pre-marital sex, and rampant abortions.  Then there is pressure on parents to pay their children’s teachers for tutoring outside of the classroom if they want their children to pass and get promoted. This is another financial burden on the parents and another corrupting element for educators.
Please demand the government to give the highest priority to education; to let religious organizations, whose experience with education spanned many generations, freely open schools and dormitories from the elementary school level to university level; to allow religion to be taught in such schools so that young people develop a world view that is decent and based on ethics; and to delete unfounded criticism and lies about religion that proliferate in textbooks.
d- The Vietnamese people are victimized by a dictatorship that monopolizes the media. Radio, television, filmmaking and the press are currently the Communist Party and the government’s instruments.  The people hear only the official side of any story, frequently embellished or exaggerated, or filled with baseless insults directed at the government’s opponents. Because the people have been denied truthful and correct information, they have not been able to develop to the limit of their potential.  This has had a deleterious effect on the country's development.  Furthermore, the public security apparatus monitors and controls the activities of the people and organizations, especially religious organizations, through their monopoly.
Therefore, please demand that the Churches have the right to own printing and reproduction facilities, disseminate their newspapers and other publications, establish radio stations and other communication facilities. Alternatively, the government should at least designate time slots for the Churches’ use of public radio and television (after all, citizens pay taxes used to finance government-owned radio and television).  Please condemn the government’s firewall and other controls of internet access to the Churches’ websites, a gross violation of privacy and religious rights. As a first step, please bypass the government when you issue the Episcopal Conference’s Unity newsletter.
e- The Vietnamese people are victimized by a dictatorship that monopolizes justice.  Whereas in developed countries, three independent branches of government ensure check and balance, in Vietnam the Communist Party controls all three branches - legislative, executive and judiciary. Injustice is rampant as authorities ignore laws or interpret them as they see fit.  Innumerable individuals and families have been ruined by arbitrary detention and sentencing. For example, the government detained Cardinal Francis Nguyễn Văn Thuận during thirteen years without cause; arrested or killed many priests, monks, nuns, and believers; or seized Church property all over the country.
Please tell the public about the regime’s victims such as Deacon Marcel Văn, Archbishop Nguyễn Kim Điền, Rev. Nguyễn Văn Vinh, Rev. Bùi Quang Tịch, and Rev. Nguyễn Thế Thuấn, among many others.  Please demand justice for the victims and the abolition of Decree No. 31/CP that authorizes the authorities to restrict the movement of citizens without due process. The decree is unconstitutional, wrong, unconscionable and without parallel in the world.
           
Dear Cardinal, Archbishops and Bishops,
We must not allow a secular authority to usurp the Lord’s prerogatives because we are God’s children who must stand up for our rights like our national heroes and martyrs. Throughout history, prophets and Christians have stood up for justice and truth. We must follow in their footsteps.
We identify strongly with Pope John Paul II’s statement (when he was still a bishop): “I am not a politician. I only talk about the Good News. However, if working for justice, human dignity, and human rights is defined as politics, ...” Likewise, we identify strongly with Archbishop Philip Nguyễn Kim Điền’s statement made at the 1971 assembly of the Synod of Bishops: “Many bishops, priests, monks and believers chose to die for their faith. How many of us are willing to lay down our lives for human rights?”
Catholics and many other Vietnamese view the Episcopal Conference as a spiritual power, a prestigious religious organization and an influential  voice. Please do not disappoint them.  We vow to stand behind you and endure all hardships in the struggle for human rights and the right to serve God.
Please accept our deepest respect.  May the Holy Spirit always fill your hearts.

                                                                                      Huế, August 28, 2001
                                                                                      Saint Augustine's Day      
                                                                           
                                                                  Peter Nguyễn Hữu Giải - Peter Phan Văn Lợi
                                                                                  Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý

Notes:
1. The original text was: * agonizing over the Vietnamese Catholic Church’s situation, a most abnormal state of affairs caused by a most unjust regime; * despondency resulting from the complete loss of liberty as a human being and Christian; *  in empathy with the suffering of Christians and all elements of the Vietnamese people under the crushing weight of Communist dictatorship; * in the ardent wish on the part of the Vietnamese people, including the Christian community, to hear the Vietnamese Catholic Church speak out.
2.  Although this document was finalized on August 28, after Rev. Ly’s arrest, he and the two co-authors had discussed at length its content and emphasis. Therefore the document fully reflects Rev. Lý’ s views.
3. Far from daring to be condescending towards our superiors in the Church, we merely present our views for their consideration. He who accuses us of condescension is only trying to sow discord within the Church.
4. We do not seek to oppose our Church leaders (deny that Church hierarchy is necessary like some dissenting groups). Motivated by our love for the Church and truth, we only try to present our views like grown-ups who are candid in discussions with their parents.

 

29. August 10, 2005 - Letter
Protest and Support Letter

- The President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- The Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- The Chairman of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
- The Mennonite and Traditional Hòa Hảo Buddhist Churches.
- Vietnamese people in Vietnam and Overseas, and all people of good will.

From the news carried by various media, in particular the July 19, 2005 press release by the Mennonite Church of Vietnam, and News Releases No. 933-936 of August 4 and 5, Letter of August 5, 2005 and Announcemnt No. 115 of August 6, 2005 of the Hoà Hảo Buddhist Church, we, Catholic priests Chân Tín, Nguyễn Hữu Giải, Nguyễn Văn Lý and Phan Văn Lợi declare the following:
1- We strongly condemn the authorities in the Second District of Hồ Chí Minh City for their unjust, wanton destruction of the house of worship of the Mennonite Church and residence of Pastor Nguyễn Hồng Quang located in Bình Khánh, Second District, Hồ Chí Minh City, on July 19. 2005, after holding Mrs. Nguyễn Hồng Quang and expelling the Protestant faithful.  Both before and after the incident, the local authorities constantly attempted to deny the faithful access to their facility.
2- We strongly condemn the beatings and arrests of many Hoà Hảo Buddhists by hundreds of public security officers in the Provinces of An Giang and Đồng Tháp from August 4, 2005 to date, after many years of harassment and intimidation aimed at interfering with their religious activities.  The government’s ruthless oppression caused severe injuries to seven members of the Hoà Hảo Buddhist Church who are in the public security’s custody, with Priest Nguyễn Văn Điền, Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Hà, Mrs. Mai Thị Dung, and Mr. Nguyễn Thanh Phong (aka Trần Thanh Phong) in critical conditions.  Several Hòa Hảo Buddhists immolated themselves to protest the infringement on religious freedom, including Priest Trần Văn Út and Home Practitioner Võ Văn Bửu who performed the act on August 5, 2005, leading to Priest Trần Văn Út’s tragic death on the same day.
3- We point to the government’s policy, as evidenced in the Decree on Religious Affairs, as the root cause of this violent repression and mistreatment. In formulating its policy towards religion, the government claimed the prerogative to recognize and sanction religious organizations that submit themselves to its control.  The government established a number of State-sponsored Churches, or entities within a number of existing Churches while violently attacking those that want to retain the right to remain independent in the spirit of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 12, 1966 (Vietnam joined the UN on September 24, 1982 but disregarded the Covenant).
4- We hold the one-party dictatorship of Vietnam’s Communists responsible for all the repressive activities with the objective of turning Churches into the government’s instruments, enslaving Church members, and degrading religion by forcing all to blindly follow the discredited Marxist-Leninist path. The Communist Party disregards the spirit of the law, religious conscience, and fundamental rights recognised by the world community. The outcome is the Vietnamese society being mired in crimes, economic backwardness, and moral bankruptcy.  The most shameful consequence is the Party’s tranformation of the country into a gigantic training center for deceit and lies of the most brazen kind through the Party’s policy and world view.
5- We pay tribute to the noble sacrifices on behalf of faith and nation of Priest Trần Văn Út, Home Practitioner Võ Văn Bửu, Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Hà, Mrs. Mai Thị Dung, and Mr. Nguyễn Thanh Phong, and many others; and the brave and resolute actions of Pastor Nguyễn Hồng Quang and Religious Leader Lê Quang Liêm and their co-religionists.  Their noble suffering not only celebrates the power of faith, but also exposes the true nature of the Communist regime in Vietnam.
6- We strongly support the non-violent struggle of the Mennonite Church and Traditional Hoà Hảo Buddhist Church for freedom to conduct religious activities without interference and for regaining the basic human rights that all the Vietnamese ought to have, including the right to live under a multi-party and democratic system that respects human dignity and spiritual values.
7-  We urge all the Churches, national governments, and organizations in the world, the Vietnamese people in Vietnam and elsewhere, and especially the religious leaders of all the faiths to support the Mennonite and Traditioal Hòa Hảo Buddhist Churches, and to pressure the Communist government to end religious persecution and its policy of subordinating the Churches.
May God, through the intercession of the Vietnamese Martyrs, sustain your Churches’ strength and help Vietnam’s government see the light.

Huế, August 10, 2005
Rev. Chân Tín, Rev. Nguyễn Hữu Giải, Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý and Rev. Phan Văn  Lợi.

 

30. August 24, 2005 – Advice
How To Overcome Fear?

 

I. Common causes of fear:

* Not knowing God or denying God, Buddha or another Spiritual Guide, and resulting lack
of moral foundation.
* Not feeling the love and protection of God, Buddha or another Spiritual Guide.
* After doing something wrong that results in remorse or the need to hide one’s action.
* Facing life’s mysteries, especially tragic death.
* Facing a threat that one considers overpowering.
* Facing a threat about which one does not have a good understanding.
* Facing difficulties and disasters that will shortly befall loved ones.
* Being confronted by forces that threaten one’s safety, life and honor.
* Uncertainty about one’s position and privileges.

 

II. Causes of fear under the rule of fascists, communists, and other dictatorships:

Aside from the common causes of fear, the Vietnamese Communists’ rule have the following characteristics that one must know if one wants to overcome fear:

* The government monitors closely the people, and harasses and detains anybody it chooses
to, at any time.
* A body of citizens that has been prevented from developing unbiased judgment is highly
susceptible to the Communists’ propaganda. The government can quickly deceive the
people with a few tricks and falsehoods.
* A body of citizens that has been conditioned by deceit, shameless conduct and lack of
integrity.
* A body of citizens that has been conditioned to “accuse, criticize and prosecute” its own
members once the government has decided to label the latter “the people’s enemies”.
* A government that constantly threatens and punishes its citizens, forces them to
“energetically and enthusiastically” applaud the government all the time in a shameless
manner while forcing the people to be overly dependent through strict control and arbitrary
denial of household registration, house and land deeds, service by government-owned
utilities, award of college degrees even after all requirements have been met, etc.
* A government that advertises itself as “for the People, of the People and by the People”
while demanding its citizens to “be grateful to Uncle Hồ and the Party” until each person’s
last breath.
* A judiciary that is not based on any principle, that accuses citizens of “spying, endangering
national security, damaging solidarity, abusing democracy, opposing official policy, etc.”
without basis and facts, at the whim of the regime.  In other nations, laws were established to
protect citizens’ rights from potential abuse by the authoritieswhereas the Vietnamese
Communists established laws to restrict citizens’ rights for the protection of the Party and
 its governing apparatus”.
* Cowardly mistreatment of an accused person’s relatives across generations based on the
regime’s overblown distrust of anybody suspected of not having an “appropriate
background”.

III. In order to overcome fear in general:
III.1. The most important prerequisite is a clear soul.  One should recognize that one needs the Creator to help one in this life. The Creator can only help a soul filled with respect and adoration. If one wants to be in communion with the Omnipotent, one’s soul must be as clear as possible.  When the soul is clear, one will feel powerful support from high above that allows one to be indifferent to any threat.  Conversely, a guilty soul is always fearful, even fearful of a child who may divulge one’s misdeeds.
III.2. For the soul to be clear, one needs to find time for meditation, prayer and quieting down. A true fighter for democracy must devote at least 30–60 minutes daily to quieting down, meditation and prayer. One sits erect, closes one’s eyes, and breathes  rhythmically while inhaling and exhaling slowly and deeply.  One focuses the mind on the Creator that one trusts and loves while conversing with Him.  Whether He is known as God, the Supreme King, or Buddha, the typical faithful looks up to the same Omnipotent.  Meditation and prayer will help one overcome any fear.
III.3. Never hate or bear a grudge: Let us not approve of criminal activities or condemn the person who commits these.  On the contrary, we should pray for the people who carry out such acts, especially those who must do so to survive under the dictatorship.  A heart filled with love is strong indeed. Saint John asserted near the end of the first century: “Perfect love drives out fear” (New Testament, 1st John 4,18).  Hatred and resentment weaken us whereas we can be strongest when we show love and mercy, feel empathy, behave with civility, endure wrongs, and forgive easily.
III.4. Do not desire wordly rewards: True worth and happiness are a product of a virtuous life and service to others. Therefore we should not desire unnecessary things, things that we can do without.  When it comcs to rewards and privileges whose price is our dignity and honor, we must always ignore those, instead of behaving like a toddler who begs for sweets. To achieve the state of having no fear, we must avoid the state of being desirous (of wordly things and privileges).

IV. To overcome the fear caused by the Vietnamese Communists:
One should see clearly the following:
IV.1. No evil force has true strength because by its nature, evil is only outwardly powerful. The employees of the evil rulers know that they rely on an ephemeral power based on intimidation, not on respect, admiration and love on the people's part. When confronted by the people, the tyrants are unsure and fearful, and must resort to threats, insults, libeling, and physical violence. After 75 years of deceit, the tyrants are that much weaker. We should remain calm and clear-headed, non-violent yet determined, and civil yet resolute in order to overcome fear and gain the admiration of the tyrants’ employees.
IV.2. Let us not falsely claim that we must do something for the sake of our loved ones.  A Catholic priest from a parish with 5,000 believers was offered the opportunity to add his signature to a document protesting the government’s seizure of land belonging to the Order of Heavenly Peace in the City of Huế. The priest refused, saying: “I cannot sign this because of the well-being of 5,000 parishioners”. His parishioners were deeply disappointed because if their priest had signed, there would have been 5,000 additional voices supporting the Order of Heavenly Peace. No student from his parish would have been prevented from attending classes if the priest had signed! The same priest said to the Vietnamese press that “there is so much religious freedom in my parish, for example…”  It is sad that this kind of reasoning is being used so frequently in Vietnam. Our loved ones do need security, food and schooling. However, our loved ones need our standing up for what is right for them and us more than anything else.  It is our responsibility to help our loved ones see this if they have not been awakened.  Actually the common people can tell right from wrong pretty quickly compared to someone who has obtained some kind of position and privileges. If  we asked a 10th grader: “Do you  prefer that your father grovel to curry someone's favor so that you can attend school or that he behave in a manly way at the risk of you not being allowed to attend school?” It is likely that most youngsters will choose the second alternative! It is sad that many parents are likely to choose the first alternative.  We should heed the conscience of those who are the purest among us, including children.
            IV.3. If enough of us struggle for the same thing, the tyrants will not be able to stop us.  The government keeps saying “for the People, of the People and by the People”.  Therefore we should make use of their motto in uniting to safeguard our basic rights.  We should be familiar with some basic concepts in the Constitution of 1992, the Criminal Code of 1995, and other codes so that we can resist the government employees by saying: “A citizen may do all that the law does not prohibit and the government may not do anything not sacntioned by the law”, including such acts as beating, searching or touching anything owned by a citizen without a warrant, etc.  With respect to something that the government forces us to do and we find objectionable (e.g., cast our votes in fraudulent elections), if everyone who lives in a hamlet, block, parish, village, etc., refused to comply, the government (“for the People”) would not be able to make us do anything. For example, a boycott by most people, especially the most prominent citizens, of the upcoming elections for the National Assembly in 2007, would make this long running fraud (11 rigged elections over the past 60 years) look more like a farce.
IV.4. When there is a confrontation, government employees will feel fear, get tired and lose patience quickly, if the people realized that they have                                                                                                             the greater strength associated with a just cause.  Government employees want to be promoted, yet do not relish being on the side of a tyranny.  They want to be home with  their loved ones and only reluctantly play the part of oppressors while on duty. They scream and act tough, but are nervous inside. If they harass us and detain us at a police station, we can always remain calm, civil and willing to pay the price of a non-violent resister (simply by quieting down, meditating and praying without feeling the urge to be released quickly), those who arrested us would feel tired and simply attempt to intimidate us for a while before letting us go, not knowing what else to do.  (Please read How to Behave When Under Arrest and How to Prevail over an Opponent).
IV.5. The Vietnamese Communists were not as formidable as many of us had been led to believe.  From 2005 on, particularly after August 2005, they have been much less formidable:
– They feel pressure from six directions, plus pressure from the Churches and their faithful, making it pressure from seven directions (see Near-Term Prospects for Vietnam – by this writer, August 8, 2005).
– A regime that survives only through intimidation can never be strong.
– Most government employees no longer believe in Communism/Socialism.
– Most government employees no longer believe in their leaders.
– Most government employees no longer care about maintaining the government’s power.
– Most government employees no longer “enthusiastically carry out duties assigned by the
Party and the People” after realizing that they had been duped for so long.
– Most government employees see the contradictions between the Constitution and the
implementation of justice. Consequently they no longer have self-confidence when carrying
out their duties.
– Most government employees are now focused on personal gains such as opportunities
arising during the privatization of public corporations, knowing that the regime will not last
much longer.
– Most government employees feel shame because their privileges smack of injustice.
– A number of government employees no longer dare to be as forceful towards citizens as in
the old days.
– A number of employees want to preserve good will in the event that the regime crumbles in
the not too distant future.
– A government that caused its citizens to self-immolate in protest (Hoà Hảo Buddhists)
  cannot survive much longer because it has revealed its despicable nature.
Therefore, if citizens can argue for their causes, the government employees will not be able to respond and will have to go away.
IV.6. The Vietnamese people does not enjoy freedom of expression like citizens in most other countries in accordance with the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966 (Vietnam joined the UN on September 24, 1982, but disregards the covenant). Therefore we should know how to react when a Communist objects to our reading certain newspaper, book, or document that discusses a topic similar to this document:
1/- We politely ask the government employee: “Are we living in a civilized country?” The expected answer is naturally: “Of course”. - “Then Vietnam must be guided by Articles 19.2 of the UN International Covenant” (see the addendum).
2/- If the government employee maintains that we “Violated the law of Vietnam”, we should respond calmly: “We only want to discuss with the employee of a civilized country’s government.  If this government is a dictatorship, we have nothing else to say.  Please carry out your unconscionable task”. No need of lengthy discourse.
IV.7. In spite of the arbitrary nature of the judiciary in Vietnam, considering that Vietnam is a member of the UN and is bound to observe the UN Covenant, the government has no justification for arresting people who study and communicate human rights issues, and peacefully demand freedom. Even after the government arrests someone, it is not good for them to try the person publicly.  They must resort to secret court sessions as they have been doing these past few years. We should not be afraid of such secret, dishonest trials.  Simply by remaing silent when the “court” is in session, we would cause the government to feel cowed and lose face.  We need not say anything. If all of us join the struggle for the freedom of expression that is rightfully ours, the government can only resort to their traditional means of suppression such as disconnect phone service, revoke household registration, delay the award of college degrees, hamper business, interfere with movement, etc.).  Once we overcome our fear of such measures, we will see that they are mere inconveniences relative to the mission aimed at freeing all our people from this modern day enslavement. It is a given that if we do not fear the oppressor, the oppressor will fear us, especially in this last phase of our struggle!
IV.8. Renounce all aspects of violence: When someone resorts to violence, it is a sign of weakness. The power of guns is no match for the power of the heart and conscience.  Violence begets only short-term fear whereas love, justice and patience beget true strength. We should not use abusive language if we want to convince others.  The great  Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi said something that we should heed: “When I criticize an opponent, I only bring up 80% of what they do wrong. In case my emotions make me exaggerate a little, I would still remain truthful and fair to my opponent”.  In early 2001, this author said twice to the U.S. Congress: “To find a solution for Vietnam, we must objectively evaluate Mr. Hồ Chí Minh, a most heartless and perfidious character who managed to deceive almost everyone on earth.”  The statement was not made in a belligerant tone.  This is an example of non-violent resistance.
IV.9. Always seek to convince the opponent: Criticizing an opponent without being able to convince him that we are right implies that our criticism is not yet objective and logical. Among the citizens that we want to set free, we must deal with a not insignificant group of people that are currently our opponents, but still our countrymen and some day our allies.  Therefore, although we are now the object of intimidation and accusations, we must continue to have faith in justice and reason so that we can try to bring the opponents to our cause, as quickly and as often as possible.  We must show love and mercy, feel empathy, behave with civility, endure wrongs, and forgive easily in order to succeed.  Hatred and revenge have no place.

May you be always kind, at peace, and free from fear.
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý
            69 Phan Đình Phùng, Huế

 

31. August 30, 2005 -Letter
Protest, Discussion and Support Letter
           
- The Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,
- The People’s Committees of the Provinces of Bình Phước, Long An và Quảng Ngãi,
- The People’s Committees of Khánh Hòa Province and Nha Trang City,
- The People’s Committee of Sơn Thượng Village, Sơn Hà District, Quảng Ngãi,
- The Buddhist Church Leader’s Institute, Institute for the Propagation of the Faith, and
   Representatives of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam,
- The Central Governing Committee of the Traditional Hoà Hảo Buddhist Church,
- The Leaders of the Protestant Churches in Vietnam,
- The Reverend representing the Order of Saint Joseph and Brothers of the Order of Saint
   Joseph in Nha Trang,
- The Protestants in the Provinces of Quảng Ngãi, Bình Phước, Long An, and Tây Nguyên,
- The Catholics in the Parishes of Khiết Tâm, Thánh Gia, and Ba Làng, Diocese of Nha
   Trang,

Dear Officials of the Government of Vietnam,
Dear Leaders, Elders and Faithful of the Various Churches,
Dear Catholic Priests, Monks, Nuns and Faithful,

We learned that in recent months the Vietnamese Government is conducting a coordinated, violent assault on the Churches, resulting in many casualties, in particular a number of priests, home practitioners and believers in the Traditional Hoà Hảo Buddhist Church had to immolate themselves on August 5, 2005 in protest.  The government arrested dozens of Hoà Hảo Buddhists in An Giang using trumped up charges; razed and burnt the homes of Protestants in Quảng Ngãi in an attempt to make them renounce their faith; arrersted hundreds of Protestants in Long An and the Tây Nguyên; destroyed the Mennonite Church’s house of worship in Saigon; isolated the Director of the Buddhist Institute for the Propagation of the Faith; prevented a Buddhist delegation from Thừa Thiên Huế from visiting the Most Venerable Church Leader in Bình Định; encircled several temples of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam; seized land and damaged facilities of the Order of Saint Joseph in Nha Trang; while restricting the movement of many religious leaders.

We, a number of Catholic priests in Vietnam, felt that we must express the following:
1. The Vietnamese Government attempted to convince the international community of its good record on human rights through the “White Paper on Human Rights – Achievements of Vietnam’s Program to Protect and Enhance Human Rights” dated August 18, 2005. Ironically, the government’s recent, brutal actions totally contradicted that document, to the horror of the citizens of Vietnam and the world. We must regretfully affirm once again that the Vietnamese Government is still engaged in deception while ruthlessly persecuting its people, revealing its perfidity and cruelty.  This old subterfuge is nothing more than a grave provocation of the international and domestic communities, and a challenge to the human conscience, similar to that government’s record over the past ninety years.
2. Following the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the gradual resurgence of those countries was made possible partly through the contribution of the Churches.  Instead of learning from history and reversing its antagonistic policy towards religion, the continuing brutality shows that the Vietnamese Government still believes that all the Churches must be subjugated and destroyed as advocated by Marx, Lenin and Hồ Chí Minh. “Erasing the religions’ influence is an urgent task of the Working Class” is the wording found in the textbook on Scientific Socialism published by the government.  Can such a philosophy be compatible with normal human conscience and is it conducive to bringing happiness to the Vietnamese people? How much longer does the government keep deluding itself that it could turn the Churches into obedient instruments and coerce dozens of millions of their faithful?  Once more, we affirm that the Churches continue to discuss this issue peacefully but are far from cowed into submission!
3- We are firmly behind Bishop Paul Nguyễn Văn Hòa of Nha Trang, President of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, when he announced on August 23, 2004 at the Conference of Asian Bishops in Korea: “In spite of the statement on Religious Freedom in Vietnam’s Constitution, the Vietnamese Government continues its policy of systematically compromising and sabotaging all organized religions throughout Vietnam”. His statement was both highly perceptive and courageous.
4- We are both anguished and resolute in identifying with the valiant struggle on the part of the Traditional Hoà Hảo Buddhist Church to preserve her independence with respect to internal organization and regain the freedom to carry out her religious activities through enduring hardship and death, firm solidarity, and non-violent resistance to the Communist tyranny that works hard to persecute and insult the Church. The human torches (self immolation) are eternal symbols of conscience and bravery.
5- We feel deep pain and anger when learning of the government’s wanton destruction and burning of several Protestant believers’ homes in Sơn Thượng Village, Sơn Hà District, Quảng Ngãi; the arrest, beatings, and in some cases, confinement to an asylum for the insane, of hundreds of pastors and believers of the Protestant Church of South Vietnam in Bình Phước, Long An, and Tây Nguyên; the destruction of the house of worship of the Mennonite Church in Saigon; and the severe restrictions placed on Protestant students in Hà Nội.
6- We fully empathize with Most Venerable Huyền Quang, Most Venerable Quảng Độ, the monks and nuns of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, especially the Representatives of the Unified Buddhist Church in Bình Định and Thừa Thiên, as they are isolated and mistreated by the government, and all the indignities suffered during the past 30 years, and particulary from early 2005 until now.
7- We fully support the legitimate demand made by the Bishop of Nha Trang and the firm statement issued by the Priest representing the Order of Saint Joseph when the government seized the lots at No. 16, Phước Long Street, and No. 10, Võ Thị Sáu Street, Nha Trang, both belonging to the Order.  We decry the illegal land seizure and illogical arguments put forth by the People's Committee of Khánh Hòa Province. We applaud the entire Order’s act of defending its property, including displaying banners that denounce the banditry and violation of human rights and religious freedom from August 15, 2005 until today, August 30, 2005.
8- We admire the faithful from several parishes in the Diocese of Nha Trang, particularly the Parishes of Khiết Tâm, Thánh Gia, and Ba Làng, when they assisted the monks in opposing the government’s land seizure and in disregarding the Chairman of Phước Long’s threat of “shooting demonstrators”.  We ardently wish that the faithful continue to stand behind the monks in their non-violent, determined act of defending justice and reclaiming the Church’s rights. This is the first step in removing the shackles of fear that the Communists forced our people to wear over the past fifty years, and in neutralizing the Communists’ policy of subjugating religion and beating the people into servitude.
9- We condemn in strongest terms the People's Committee of the City of Nha Trang when it issued a statement on August 18, 2005 to justify its illegal actions (“Convening a public meeting to announce the plan for a secondary school on Võ Thị Sáu Street”) and intimidate citizens (“Forbid individuals from gathering, carrying unauthorized banners, and causing disorder. Transgressors shall be punished in accordance with the law”). The government cannot base its decision on “the end justifies the means” when it seizes private property for the purpose of building a facility public use. A peaceful demonstration must not be considered an illegal and disorderly activity.  The government’s disregard for justice, oppression of citizens, and robbing the Churches are the only illegal acts committed and the root cause of disorder.
10- We call on all Vietnamese in Vietnam and overseas, all the believers of all the Churches in Vietnam and overseas, and the world’s  national governments and international organizations, to raise your collective voices and actively support this intense phase of the  struggle for human rights and religious freedom being conducted by the Churches in Vietnam so that the Vietnamese people will soon enjoy true democracy and freedom.

May the Lord, Perfect Love and Truth, help the leaders of the Vietnamese Government see the path to bring prosperity and happiness to the Vietnamese people; stop these leaders’ reliance on foreign doctrines that the world had endured for such a long time; and abandon those doctrines for they had brought suffering and misery to millions over the past 60 years. May the Lord help the government leaders awaken and follow the proven formula used in advanced countries with minimal modifications to meet Vietnam’s conditions. A nation should not have to wait forever until the Communist Government deigns to grant justice, democracy, truth and liberty. Have all our men been robbed of their courage and energy? 

May the Holy Ghost, the God full of empathy and strength, look upon the leaders, elders, and faithful of the other Churches, the priests and monks of the Order of Saint Joseph, the Catholic faithful in Nha Trang, and all the Christians in Vietnam and elsewhere.

With respect and solidarity,
Rev. Stephen Chân Tín, Rev. Peter Nguyễn Hữu Giải,
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Rev. Peter Phan Văn Lợi.

 

32. November 22, 2005 – Statement
Boycotting the 2007 Single-Party Election Will be a lethal blow to the totalitarian Communist regime in Vietnam

1/- The Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) organizes sham single-party elections to elect the National Assembly and People’s Commissions in which candidates hand-picked by the VCP are bound to be elected.  The elections serve to legitimize the VCP’s monopoly of power over the Vietnamese people.  If the people continued to go to the polls under the VCP’s pressure, to the tune of 99% voters’ participation as in the past eleven elections that spanned sixty years (the last one was held on May 19, 2002), the VCP would continue to claim that its mandate to rule without any competition is validated by its overwhelming victory at the polls.

2/- Once the rubber-stamp National Assembly approves a constitutional amendment, a law or a decree (the way it really works is that the Ministry of Political Affairs, the Secretariat Party Committee and the Central Committee directed those to be prepared, put them on the legislative agenda of the National Assembly, instructed that body to go through the motion of soliciting innocuous input from the people, and then vote to pass those measures), the VCP will claim that the measure is an expression of the people’s will.  All citizens will have to accept its legitimacy (including such laws as those that authorize the incarceration of tens of thousands in labor camps/re-education camps without trials, or seizure of property of six Churches and private citizens over the past sixty years).  Anyone who meekly votes in the sham elections (a frequent occurrence in less developed countries ruled by a dictatorship) and subsequently complains about the totalitarian nature of their government would contradict one’s conscience because one’s own hand did cast the ballot, even intimated into doing so. Still how could one complain?

3/- If each citizen realized that his ballot supports this totalitarian rule over his family, compatriots, and Church, and if, overcoming his fear, he stopped this shell game, the rubber-stamp National Assembly would not be formed and the VCP would lose the justification for its grip on power.

4/- To the members of the National Assembly whose candidacy was sponsored by the VCP (were guaranteed to win):
® The party members who were chosen to run and got elected should feel shame for participating in a fraudulent and coercive enterprise because they know that a fair and free election is as different from this sham as night and day.
® Those who do not belong the VCP should feel remorse for their continuing servitude to the VCP in helping to perpetuate its deadly rule with shameful and disastrous consequences for the Nation.
® The elected “representatives of the Churches” should answer to their conscience and the Nation, the Churches’ faithful, and God, Buddha, or a Higher Being on two points:
- When did each representative’s Church nominate him/her as her representative?
- Did the representative falsely claim to be the voice of his Church in voting with the rest of the rubber-stamp National Assembly on Article 4 of the Constitution in 1992, i.e., claiming that the VCP is the sole legitimate ruling party; thereby approving of the land reform that claimed 400,000 victims; the war against South Vietnam that claimed millions of victims; the prosecution of citizens who owned businesses; the murderous Tết offensive of 1968; the 1993 law that is the basis for seizing the property of six Churches, their religious orders, and many private citizens; the 2004 Decree on Religious Affairs that justifies the VCP’s strangle hold on the Churches, and many other laws, regulations, and directives that have caused so much misery over the past sixty years? How could he live with his conscience when the whole world knows the truth? How could he claim to represent his Church?

5/- By continuing to petition the VCP and the government on some points, pro-democracy groups would simply prolong the lack of success seen over thirty years because of the passive nature of this approach. However, by boycotting the National Assembly elections, People’s Commissions elections, and other elections that will follow, we would seize the initiative and leave the VCP with no escape route. In 2001, I called on the VCP to disband itself although I knew that it was not yet time, because I intended to inform everyone of the VCP’s true worth while awakening as many of the party members as possible.  Now we are in a better position for proactive action, but need a greater number of participants. Since the VCP’s 10th Congress is only six months away, pro-democracy forces in Vietnam and overseas should focus on delivering a lethal blow to the totalitarian regime’s vital point, the National Assembly elections.

6/- On October 17, 2005, the four of us issued the Appeal for Multi-Party Elections and Boycott of the 2007 single-party elections.  Only a week later, a high-ranking officer from the Security Directorate in Hà Nội (we chose to withhold his name for now) met with me in a hotel in Huế from 9 a.m. until 11:20 a.m. on October 25, 2005.  He apologized for the misdeeds perpetrated against me by the public security officers of District 3,  Gò Vấp, Saigon (September 28, 2005), on account of their “lack of education and ethics” as evidenced by the “numerous difficulties they have been creating for citizens” (exact quote). The Security Directorate representative requested that I refrain from causing disturbances by raising the difficult issue of a multi-party system.  I replied: “We want to present to the VCP’s Ministry of Political Affairs a tough and critical choice:
® The VCP can realize that the only honest way for it to maintain its rule for some time is to allow free and fair elections with international monitoring.  The VCP is by far the largest party and has all the advantages of the ruling party. If it has been “ethical, competent and supported by the people” as its propaganda has maintained all these years, the VCP is bound to win. The pro-democracy groups would need much more time to build up their electoral strength in a political environment that would be best characterized as in transition, and not truly democratic.  Those weak, fledgling parties would almost certainly lose the first multi-party election. Then there is no reason for the VCP to be ambivalent about such an election unless it is intent on monopolizing power.
® Or the VCP can continue to maintain its grip on power and suffer international criticism, hostility of the vast majority of the Vietnamese people, and go down in history as a scourge of the Nation.  In this case, the VCP would “win by a landslide” and the National Assembly elections would “succeed beyond expectations” once again - as the government kept announcing at the conclusion of each of the past eleven elections.  However, that National Assembly is nothing more than a cancerous and a decaying mass”.
The officer said: “I think what you said makes sense, but I will not be able to bring the Ministry of Political Affairs around.  Please send a written request to the ministry.  They would listen to you”. I replied: “The ministry received thousands of letters and petitions from high-level government offcials and pro-democracy activists. Although those documents have piled up a few meters high, the ministry has not done anything different. Why should I waste my time?”. The officer said: “I think that the ministry would study your request as soon as it is received because “even deaf men listen to reason” (his exact words). I said: “It is best that you go back to Hà Nội and propose to your superiors that they identify a theoretician with standing, someone who may be able to convince the Ministry of Political Affairs.  When that person comes to Huế, I will share my thoughts with him so that he can go back to Hà Nội and hopefully convince the ministry that the governemnt ought to announce the advent of a multi-party system at the 10th Congress of the VCP, tentatively scheduled for April 2006.  We propose this approach in the interest of maintaining peace and order.  Otherwise we have no choice but continue to struggle and generate pressure.  The erosion of the VCP’s standing cannot be blamed on us, but would be a result of the VCP’s choice”.
I reported my conversation with that officer virtually verbatim. That conversation is proof that boycotting the National Assembly Elections in 2007 is a most important move and it will have major effect. The Ministry of Political Affairs was very concerned after realizing that if only a part of the public, a number of prominent individuals, and a few leaders of religious organizations set the example and encourage others to boycott the 2007 elections, this could be a deadly strike at a vital point of the totalitarian Communist regime, a blow that the VCP has no counter for.

7/- As to the pro-democracy groups in Vietnam and elsewhere, they should be realistic and objective in assessing the effectiveness of broadcasting calls for the Communist regime to disband without making an effort to fight the VCP at the polls. To seize the initiative, we should boycott the National Assemblies elections so that we will be in a position to demand multi-party elections.  This is the only peaceful and civilized path for the pro-democracy groups to finally participate in the building of the Nation if they are truly competent and ethical, and if the playing field is level.

8/- It is urgent that we stop weighing the merit of a boycott and start to help the people understand what it takes to hold free and fair elections, to inform the people about the crucial step of boycotting the VCP’s sham elections, and deliver the people from the fear of such activism.  The people ought to know that if the candidates of their choice were not allowed to participate in a multi-party election with sufficient international monitoring, they ought to have the right to stay away from the polls. This would be the first step in the long and laborious process for bringing democracy to the Nation. “A country gets the government that it deserves”: we should be aware of this accurate observation.

Even if only 5% of the electorate participated in the boycott because we lack the means to mobilize everyone in a timely fashion, the elected candidates would know that not all the people believe in their legitimacy.  They would realize even more quickly that the people's fear and lack of knowledge were what allowed this caricature of a National Assembly to exist. Even a small number of voters staying away from the polls would constitute a lethal blow to the regime.

The Diocese of Huế’s building, where the government confined me under its “restricted movement” order
November 22, 2005
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Prisoner of Conscience.

 

33. December 30, 2005 – Statement
Ten Necessary Conditions for the 2007 National Assembly Elections to be Multi-party, Free and Fair and to Avert a General Boycott

1/- The 10th Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) is scheduled to take place in mid-April 2006.  If the VCP leadership made concrete, unambiguous announcements during the Congress and, after the Congress, created conditions that allow all political parties to function without any trace of hindrance, the Vietnamese people would be able to tell quickly if the VCP showed good will or not.

2/- At the conclusion of the Congress, the VCP ought to establish immediately a commission that would prepare for free and fair elections and whose first product would be a set of proposed laws aimed at forbidding interference with political parties, defining the electoral process, and ensuring the freedom of speech and expression, and equitable access to the  media by all the parties.

3/- The parties should be allowed to open offices and their candidates should be guaranteed the right to travel freely to campaign; have access to electors; and to generate, transmit and receive political and electoral information messages without interference and censorship.  In other words, the laws guaranteeing freedom of expression (including an independent press) and freedom of association must be in place before the campaigning begins.  Furthermore, the government should release all the pro-democracy champions that were imprisoned and lift the "restricted movement" status placed on the others.  The government's charges against all of them are devoid of merit.

4/- All the parties should have equitable access to radio, television and other media, and the VCP must not try to secure more than its fair share. The media must demonstrate that its reporting is equitable and balanced before the electoral process can start.

5/- The parties should have the same freedom to field candidates as the VCP had done in the past.  On the other hand, the VCP’s satellite organizations such as the Communist Youth of Hồ Chí Minh City, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Women’s Association, the Veterans Association, the Farmers Association, the solidarity committees set up by the VCP to interfere with each religion's operations, and similar organizations must not be allowed to field candidates in addition to the VCP’s candidates.  Those organizations were created by the VCP to implement its agenda. Therefore they must become truly independent entities before they are allowed to  register as political parties and field candidates.

6/- The VCP may not use government-owned resources for campaigning, including public funds and government facilities and vehicles, or monopolize the media, including the substantial press consisting of over 600 newspapers and magazines that the VCP controls.  Before free and fair elections can be held, the VCP must give up the advantages that it enjoys as an authoritarian ruling entity.  The public security department and the armed forces must become apolitical in order to focus on their basic missions of maitaining peace and security, rather than being used by the ruling party for political ends.  Members of the Communist Party who serve in either of those two institutions must renounce their party membership.

7/- Voters should be able to communicate freely with all the parties and their candidates in order to be able to choose wisely.

8/-  There must be an entity charged with ensuring that the electoral process meets the standards of advanced countries and is recognized by the United Nations.

9/- The new electoral laws must include provision for impeaching elected officials who do not have the capability required of them or whose ethics are caused for concern.

10/- Finally, the election must be judged by the international monitors as credible.

If any of the ten conditions are not met, the pro-democracy parties and the people must persevere in boycotting all elections, whether multi-party or not.  Unless all the conditions are met, no election can be truly free and fair.

 

34. February 20, 2006 - Appeal
APPEAL FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION. “WE ARE NO LONGER AFRAID. WE NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH”

Dear Fellow Vietnamese in Vietnam and elsewhere,
As four Catholic priests who speak for a number of Catholic priests in Vietnam, we state the following:

1- Article 69 of the Constitution of 1992 of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam specifies that "Citizens have freedom of speech and freedom of the press; have the right to communicate their views, assemble, form associations, and participate in public demonstrations within the bounds set by the law."

2- Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states that
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

3- Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 (Vietnam became a party to it in 1982) states the following:
Ҥ1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
§2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”.

4- For the Catholic Church, the Vatican II Council resulted in a 1963 decree, Decree on the Media of the Social Communications. This document states: “in society men have a right to information, in accord with the circumstances in each case, about matters concerning individuals or the community ” (No. 5); “ The public authority, in these matters, is bound by special responsibilities in view of the common good, to which these media are ordered. The same authority has, in virtue of its office, the duty of protecting and safeguarding true and just freedom of information, a freedom that is totally necessary for the welfare of contemporary society, especially when it is a question of freedom of the press.” (No.12); and in the Pastoral Constitution of 1965, the following was stated: “ within the limits of morality and the common utility, man can freely search for the truth, express his opinion and publish it; that he can practice any art he chooses: that finally, he can avail himself of true information concerning events of a public nature.” (No.  59).

5- The Communist Government of Vietnam used the words "within the bounds set by the law" to deny its citizens the freedom of speech and expression specified by the Constitution in Article 69.  The government misused Article 19,3,b: "The right specified in 19,2 may be restricted in the interest of national security or public order, public health or morality" through continually interpreting national security as the security of its oppressive and guileful regime. In reality, the Communist Party, through the government, has total control of the media and publications.  The entire apparatus is geared towards keeping the party in power, thus the media and literature have always been partial, deceitful and full of demagoguery.  Any reasonable person knows that national security is only enhanced when the people has access to timely information, keeps abreast of world developments, has a broad perspective, and can discern nuances.  Conversely, a policy directed at restraining the flow of information and spreading lies (as fascists advocate) would lead to a catastrophic national decline and sow confusion and unrest among the people.

6- After over sixty years of censorship, a few newspapers are trying to push against the bounds set by the government, but their numbers are still insignificant. Overall, the government has clamped down on the freedom of speech and expression during the past sixty some years, contrary to how it portrays itself in its propaganda material. Although modern information technology has enabled the people to be less fearful in intial attempts to assert their rights, the party's nature has not changed at all. For instance, the government's tight control of the internet is based less on concerns about morality than a desire to suppress information and opinions that are not consistent with its views. The government also bugs telephones; intercepts and reads citizens' mail; prevents the delivery of mail and electronic mail whose content it disapproves of; confiscates and destroys material generated or sent by pro-democracy dissidents; uses firewalls to block access to websites that disseminate factual information, denounce injustice, and demand political and religious freedom; harasses and arrests citizens who use the internet, particularly students and teachers.  From 2004 on, whenever the government stages an attack on the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, it would jam the telephone reception of Buddhist priests and nuns.  Additional examples are the arrests of Messrs. Nguyễn Vũ Bình and Phạm Hồng Sơn for their use of the internet in disseminating their position, the government's attack on the new website of the Democracy Movement for Vietnam, and the fine levied on the dissident Đỗ Nam Hải for making copies of his own work. More recently, on February 14, 2006, the government detained two citizens, Mr. Văn Sáu and Mr. Hoàng Trọng Châu (Bù Na Village, Phước Long District, Bình Phước Province) for possessing material on democracy, human rights and religious freedom.

7- The Communist Government's blocking of the free flow of information has perpetuated official abuse of power, graft, extortion, and fraud because the guilty cannot be easily prosecuted whereas the victims cannot easily defend themselves or ask for compensation.  The lack of transparency has not allowed the revelation of corruption in the workplace such as promoting unworthy employees and not promoting or not hiring qualified workers. As a result, the government, educational system, and all the other systems that support society are hopelessly inefficient and underdeveloped. The level of sophistication of the public is not what it should be, the average standard of living is very low, and minor advances in some areas of the economy cannot compensate for the decline in critical areas.  Unlike the years before 1985, the party can no longer block all information and radio broadcasts from abroad. Thus, it must try to create a domestic blackout of information on fundamental rights.  Citizens who research this topic can only do so clandestinely in the hope of finding bits and pieces of information.

In view of this distressing situation, we, the four priests, formally request the following:

1- The government must implement the articles of the International Covenant and Vietnam's Constitution related to freedom of speech and expression, and cease to misuse decrees, orders, and resolutions to neutralize the Constitution, a deception that many have managed to see through.

2- The government must release unconditionally and immediately the pro-democracy dissidents Nguyễn Vũ Bình and Phạm Hồng Sơn, the innocent citizens Văn Sáu and Hoàng Trọng Châu, and cancel the fine that it unjustly imposed on the dissident Đỗ Nam Hải.

3- The government must deactivate the firewalls that block access to pro-democracy websites, follow a policy on the internet in the spirit of freedom of speech and expression, stop interfering with telephone lines, stop monitoring electronnic mail sent by people who did nothing more than hold different views on religion, politics and society.

4- The Communist Party must no longer rule by fear, treat the people like sheep that are subject to deceit, threat, extortion, imprisonment, physical abuse, and wanton prosecution, something that has taken place during the party's 76-year rule. The people are helping one another in getting rid of this multigenerational fear in order to say to the Communist Party's face: We are no longer afraid.

5- Church leaders and intellectuals should act consistently with your role as spiritual leaders and patriotic intelligentsia, and use your capabilities to disseminate the truth and present reason to your believers and the people, and debunk the myths perpeuated by the Communists.

6- All the people of Vietnam, including educators, students and youth, should exercise your freedom of speech and expression in a responsible, courageous and energetic fashion. Please say to the government: We must know the truth.  In this information age when knowlege is highly valued, all the world's citizens, including those living in backward countries like ours, need to have access to the information hightways of the world.  Please be bold in disseminating to people living in Vietnam: a) information that reveals the brutal and devious nature of Mr. Hồ Chí Minh and the Communist Party, following the example set by the resolution of December 1, 2005 by the European Parliament and Resolution No. 1481 of January 1, 2006 of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE); and, b) information that opens new horizons or reveals enduring values and concrete achievements of the world to our citizens who are being kept in total darkness by a totalitarian regime.

7- Overseas Vietnamese, governments of other countries, and international organizations should help in: a) neutralizing the Communists' firewalls and other internet controls through developing appropriate technology and demanding that the Communist Government of Vietnam respect freedom of expression and communication when it wants to collaborate or associate with the international community; b) disseminating to the people of  Vietnam information and views on freedom and democracy, and show strong support for pro-democracy dissidents in order to accelerate the transition from Communist rule to democracy in an orderly and peaceful manner.

We are grateful to all of you.  May the Lord who is Truth, Gooness and Beauty and who has created human beings with an innate urge to seek out and love truth, grant you His blessings, and grant peace and light to Vietnam.
 Vietnam, February 20, 2006
For a number of Vietnamese Catholic priests,
Rev. Stephen Chân Tín, Rev. Peter Nguyễn Hữu Giải,
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, and Rev. Peter Phan Văn Lợi

 

35. April 30, 200 -Advice
Profile of Today's Peace Warrior in Vietnam

People of good will all over the world and all Vietnamese in Vietnam and elsewhere who love their country are longing for the day when Communism is peacefully laid to rest forever, to make way for a new era of prosperity, peace, and morality.  A contingent of "peace warriors" is necessary for this to happen. This author presents a sketch of the Peace Warrior's profile that is appropriate to the current situation in Vietnam.

1- The Peace Warrior has a spiritual life and feels humility: In this context peace is not the cessation of war, nor does it imply only the assurance of food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, theaters, etc.  First, peace means the state of mind of someone who is at peace with himself, feels kindness towards others, enjoys living in a society imbued with morality, and expriences communion with God, his Kind Father.  The true Peace Warrior must know peace deep within himself first, and engage in meditation and prayers at least 30 to 60 minutes daily in order to converse with the Creator, examine oneself and repent if necessary.  Without this prerequisite, it would be easy for the person to think that humans can strive for peace on their own and for him to resort too often to forceful means to achieve his goal. The painful experience of relying on weapons in trying to bring peace to Vietnam over the past 76 years has clearly illustrated that the forceful approach only creates disorder and war. What one needs is an approach based on the following hierarchy: God, Others and Oneself.  Any other hierarchy would result in self-centered behavior that leads to failure.
The humility and spiritual depth of the Peace Warrior's life will help him weather all challenges, overcome all obstacles, recover from mistakes, and feel no fear, including the fear of his own weakness.  A deeply spiritual life helps the warrior overcome the fear of torture, hunger, thirst, prison, oppression, libel and insults. The warrior fears only one thing, the possibility of doing something that is morally wrong.  Hoewever, his capacity for repentance and recovering the spiritual link with God and the human race should help him be free of even this fear.  In essence, the Peace Warrior fears nothing.
Relying on just one's human capacities is paramount to failing right at the starting block. One must humbly acknowledge one's limitations, the need for divine guidance and the support of the community.  The more humble one is, the more qualified one can be as a peace warrior.

2- The Peace Warrior is just, pure and kind: One's collaborators and the public tend to watch closely how much one cares for the wellbeing of others and whether one maintains financial transparency.  The peace warrior must maintain his integrity when making use of resources belonging to the community. He must realize that the resources belong to all humanity and must use carefully and share what is placed at his disposal.  He must live simply and thriftily and be close to the poor.  Otherwise he would simply be taking advantage of the poor during the struggle and quickly find ways to reward himself once the fight is over.  He must view himself as a rain gutter that is designed to let water flow through, i.e., the gutter should be dry quickly without holding on to water. Besides material resources, the warrior must be scrupulous in dealing with vastly more valuable things such as honor, feelings, and language. Being fair and equitable in all respects is being pure from inside out as in the Chinese saying "Righteous thoughts, righteous views, righteous speech and righteous actions". Besides the quality of being just, one needs to be humane and civil. In accusing the Communists of being evil while one does not show that one is humane and civil, one is no better than the Communists, and may even be worse after one gains power.  Clamoring for justice without being humane and civil would give rise to new injustice that destabilizes society.  Kindness helps society achieve both justice and fairness and is key to happiness and peace, something that justice alone may not be able to bring about.

3- The Peace Warrior has made an accurate assessment of Communism and the Communist Government in Vietnam: Everyone has difficulty doing this, including intellectuals, religious leaders and the Communist leadership.
® How good or bad are Communism and its manifestation through the regime in Vietnam? What is the appropriate attitude towards them? Many people have not been able to arrive at an appropriate assessment after all several decades.  Consequently, a number of individuals have made decisions that adversely affected themselves and the country.  The various Churches did not escape this problem. Many Churches in Vietnam have not been able  to act as torch bearing guides for a variety of reasons.  The result is significantly weakened and compromised Churches that send a wrong message to their believers.  Instead giving the highest priority to achieving a consensus assessment of Communism and Vietnam's  Government, most religions were more concerned about their own wellbeing.  Decisions made by individual religious leaders resulted in increasing collaboration with the government.  Instead of doing the RIGHT THING, many focused only on GETTING THINGS DONE at the price of leaving a thoroughly undesirable legacy.  Too many people, including some Church leaders, engage in gift-giving and whitewashing, participate at government-sponsored meetings that have no value and could be even harmful, make placating announcements, and write laudatory pieces in a shameless manner.  They do it as if it was customary and there was no other way!  They use terms like "liberation, puppet army, puppet government" liberally, oblivious to their parents, uncles, or friends who had sacrificed so much during two decades so that those Church leaders could study and practice their faiths.
® Today, many "intellectuals" and "prominent individuals" still have not come to a final assessment of the Communists and their value to our country despite ample evidence of the fundamental errors in the Communist doctrine and the magnitude of the crimes systematically perpetrated by Communist regimes during nearly fifty years. Resolution No. 1481 of January 25, 2006 of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (a body of 46 nations), showcased this finding.  The Communist experience has revealed itself to be terrifying to the Vietnamese people!
® The Peace Warrior, using fact-based knowledge and information from different sources, would assess the situation in Vietnam as of today (2006), and use rational means to put an end to Communist rule in a peaceful and civilized manner (not resorting to strident accusations or insults), and help Vietnam transition towards a successful state patterned after the developed countries, particularly Northern European nations.

4- The Peace Warrior is peace-loving and kind at heart: The Peace Warrior harbors hatred towards no one.  While he condemns dictatoship and criminal behavior, he empathizes and feels compassion towards the regime's employees.  He admires genuine heroes who served the people while remaining empathetic towards everyone else.  By being peace-loving and kind, one becomes stronger and unbeatable.

5- The Peace Warriour can use the internet: All totalitarian regimes, especially the Vietnamese Communists, strive to limit the flow of information and spread disinformation while attempting to instill fear in order to maintain their grip on power.  Information and communications are the most effective weapons to help citizens overcome this multigenerational fear and come to a realistic assessment of the nation's state.  From this point on, the people will know how to join forces and put an end to Communist rule. (See  “How to Overcome Fear” , August 24, 2005, by Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý).

In this information age, the Peace Warrior must be proficient in the use of the internet, considering that it is the most effective weapon against which the Communist regime has few options.  The Communists need to maintain contact with other nations and give the appearance of running a nation on its way to become developed. The Peace Warrior should rely on Articles 5,1; 5,2 and 19,2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; on Item I, 2 in Section II of the White Paper on Human Rights – Achievements in Protecting and Expanding Human Rights in Vietnam: "Vietnam's Government has the policy of encouraging and creating conditions for its citizens to access, take advantage of, and widely use information on the internet". Any restriction on the internet would contradict the White Paper unveiled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hà Nội on August 18, 2005, and the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966. Vietnam became a UN member on September 24, 1982 and therefore a party to the covenant (Addendum No. 2).

6- The Peace Warrior follows a realistic plan under the aegis of an organization that is in tune with the country's situation: He should not be unrealistic or perfectionist,  should not incite violence or commit acts of violence, should be decisive, should not be  distrustful of other potential allies (i.e., fearing that all of them might be Communist decoys). While limiting his alliances to those who meet his pre-condition of renouncing Mr. Hồ Chí Minh and Communism, the Peace Warrior should trust a citizen when the person has realized the real effects of Communism and longs for a better future for the country. The organization that the Peace Warrior allies with may not be ideal, but he should be satisfied b if it shares his objective and is guided by a fairly acceptable leadership that is united, trustworthy and disciplined.  Gradually such an organization will ally itself with others and form stronger entities that can begin the fight for the 26 basic human rights on behalf of all Vietnamese (Addendum No. 1).

7- Dealing with the Communist Government:

7.1- Public Security and other government personnel come to one's home (Step No. 1 in the government's attempt at harassment): Under Communism, a visit by government employees always cause anxiety. The Peace Warrior must follow these steps in handling such visits:
® The officials are carrying out the first phase of the government's oppression, namely contacting one to figure out what to do next. This is not yet the critical phase.
® The Peace Warrior should strive to neutralize this attempt at mental harassment through praying, remaining calm and civil, and being proactive in winning over the officials.  The police state has had many years to refine its tactics used for controlling citizens and  therefore one should be very methodical when dealing with its representatives.
® Try to listen instead of speaking in order to detect the visitors' real intention. Must never get excited or rebutt emotionally because anger causes one to make mistakes. Usually the officials do not believe that they have a good reason to harass citizens, and must resort to a circuitous approach before they reveal their focus. In letting the officials waste one's valuable time, one makes them feel guilty in their act of mental harassment so that one would have good cause for refusing to be subjected to such mental harassment the next time.
® Be calm and soft spoken while trying to avoid answering their questions directly. For example, express surprise and inquire how one's activities affect "national security". One's response should aim at making the officials spend more time in trying to come back to the issue.  If one is forced to reply, one must find a way to discreetly veer from the topic to show that one is extremely tired from the fascist-like visit and let one's disgust of the regime show through and infiltrate the officials' own minds.
® Find all means to avoid the regime's offer "to help".

7.2- When receiving an "invitation" to meet them at their facilities (Step No. 2).  The Peace Warrior should follow these steps:
® Quickly photocopy the invitation letter to keep as evidence of one's struggle. Either we do not bring the original with us when reporting to the public security offices or the People's Committee offices and claim that we forgot to bring it, or we bring it but keep a copy at home.
® All of us have business to attend to in our normal lives. If the invitation did not give us enough advance notice (must meet with them in the same afternoon or on the following day), we do not have to comply because we can claim justifiably that we must arrange with your employer or associates first. We need not worry too much because if they merely "invited" us, we may turn down the  "invitation".
® Once we can guess at the real objective of the meeting, we may turn down the invitation. If we believe that going to the meeting will likely cause us more trouble, we should be more determined in not going. After three unsuccessful invitations, they may send us an order to show up.
® When going to the government facilities for a meeting, the Peace Warrior should view this as an opportunity to convince the authorities of one's views, and should not yearn to go home. The officials are even more impatient than we, and, furthermore, do not feel any pleasure in doing the thankless work assigned to them.  They must do it just to keep their jobs.  We must exercise self-control and listen as much as possible while avoiding saying anything or, if we must respond, we should be very brief. In exercising our freedom of speech and expression and in avoiding the use of violence, we do not commit any illegal act.  The tyranny's laws, decrees and orders have no value if they violate international covenants and Vietnam's Constitution of 1992.  Therefore we should pray silently while listening attentively to the arguments put forth by the officials.  When necessary, we can politely point out any weak points in their arguments.  We should be calm, poised, and gentle in using our righteous position to win over the officials.
® The officials will focus on obtaining evidence that can be used to prosecute us and our friends.  Therefore, we should be alert in avoiding "traps" set by them by minimizing our responses. We should only inform them: "If we live in a civilized country, our government should comply with international covenants.  If the government's laws and decrees are inconsistent with those covenants, the government is a totalitarian tyranny."  In such an official meeting with a tyrannical regime's agents, we quietly accept their unjust treatment instead of arguing. There is no need of saying much.
® Refuse their order for us to write a "report" and refuse to sign citations that will be used to prosecute us.

7.3- When receiving an order to meet with the authorities (Step No. 3): When they issue an "order to show up for a meeting", they consider our case to be serious, thus requiring  their investigating us and "educating" us.  We should follow the method used to handle "invitations",  particularly making a photocopy of each order that they send us.
® When complying with the order, the Peace Warrior must be even more watchful, i.e. use the golden weapon of silent prayer, be detached even at the risk of them accusing us of "contempt".  The Peace Warrior never feels contempt towards anyone.  He feels only empathy towards opponents and resorts to prayer and silence for self-defense and ultimately vanquishing tyranny.
® He uses the government's own words: “The people may engage in all activities that the law does not forbid whereas government officials may only engage in activities explicitly authorized by the law” in his defense and in showing that they overstep their authority.

7.4- They discontinue our means of communication such as telephone and internet (Step 4): We show that this "fascist-like" act is not effective in this day and age because many colleagues and friends can communicate on our behalf.

7.5- They search us, our home or office, and seize evidence or seal up our possesssions (Step 5) :
® Before letting them do the searching, we must ask to see the order, and keep that order so that we can file a complaint later.
® Only a female official may search a female Peace Warrior.
® We demand to have the same number of witnesses as the searchers of our homes and offices in order for each searcher to be watched by at least one of our friends.  This would deter any attempt to steal or "plant" a document in our house or office.
® We demand the officials to make a complete list of the search results, no matter how long it takes.
®We denounce these fascist-like measures to the international community.

7.6. They detain us (Step No. 6):
® The Peace Warrior can show his determination and courage at this stage. We must stay calm while reminding ourselves that this is just normal business that a Peace Warrior expects to handle. We do not challenge or raise our voice or show fear becasue these reactions can be harmful to us.  We must not be eager to be released or show sign that we are anxious to return to our jobs.  We must not reveal mundane wants and needs in order to prevent them from using those to pressure us on important issues.  At this stage,  they refer to the Peace Warrior as the "suspect".
® We should eat and drink as usual when we are locked up.  If we need to go on a hunger strike, it must last at least 30 days. We should drink some water whenever we feel hungry between normal mealtimes (approximately 9 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.). Hunger strikes lasting only days are not helpful to our cause because the government will dismiss the significance of such small efforts.  We only stop the hunger strike after our objective for the struggle has been met.

7.7. They beat, torture, use debasing techniques, tell us what to say, or force us to confess something (Step No. 7): The Criminal Code of 2003  forbids these meaures. If they still do to us any of the above, we should try to defend ourselves and warn them that we will denounce them to the international community.

7.8. They read the indictment (Step No. 8): They refer to the Peace Warrior as “the indicted party”. We should cover our ears so that we cannot hear the groundless accusations, such as "spreading information aimed at opposing the regime, opposing government policy, sabotaging solidarity, sowing public disorder, abusing democracy, abusing religion.".  We are proud of the price that a Peace Warrior pays in order to serve his people and country, and look forward to assistance from the international community.

7.9. They try us at a court (Step No. 9): The Peace Warrior needs only to remain silent when participating in this comedy in order to show the world that the Communists' judiciary is no cleaner than mud, and that  the defense attorney's job is turned into a farcical act.

7.10. They take us to a prison (Step No. 10): At this stage, they refer to the Peace Warrior as "convict”. We suffer with dignity as a prisoner of conscience without accepting the "convict" label. In prison, we get rice and vegetables only.  Additional food can be supplied by family members or the other prisoners can share some of their food so that we need not be too concerned about malnutrition. We must not look forward to the government's reducing the sentence.  The Peace Warrior's sentence is not going to be very long because we do not incite violent acts and do not commit such acts.

7.11. They force us to write a self-assessment, promising to reduce the sentence or even to release us (Step No. 11): They force the Peace Warrior to write a self-assessment once every three months while in prison to show that he is being "re-educated". It is easy to self-assess with respect to Items No. 2, 3 and 4 dealing with behavior, reading newspapers and magazines, and prison work.  Item 1 is thorny because the regime wants us to confess.  If we do not confess to their charges, they will put us in solitary confinement, special detention, forbid visits from friends and relatives, forbid us from receiving letters and gifts, and tell us to expect no reduction in our sentence.  If the Peace Warrior confesses to crimes that he is wrongly accused of, he would do so against his conscience.  Therefore he should write the self-assessment in accordance with his conscience, based on the specific charge.  He must never confess to espionage, violent acts of rebellion, and similar acts. He can confess to a number of charges without losing his dignity or giving in to the regime by using intelligent wording like "For the honor of the government, I agree to serve the sentence".  When South Vietnam's formerr government employees and military officers were put in re-education camps soon after 1975, the majority of those prisoners wrote "I follow the re-education path with peace of mind", meaning that they decided to reform themselves without planning to escape.  The best route for the Peace Warrior to take is to serve out his sentence while hoping for the international community to intercede, and try his best to gain the respect of prison officials and fellow prisoners.

7.12. They try to impose additional constraints on us after we are released from prison (Step No. 12): Usually the Release Paper does not show additional restrictions.  However, a former political prisoner is frequently subject to restrictions imposed by local authorities when he reports to them after his release. The Peace Warrior should know how to deal with the local government as soon as he comes home. He should refuse to comply with baseless constraints such as "must report monthly, seek permission before traveling outside the village, etc".  The local government tends to leave us in peace once we show our decisiveness because they do not have the means to force us to comply with such unjustified restraints.

We resume our struggle after going through all the above.

We wish you success in your mission of restoring democracy and freedom to our people and country.  Goodbye to all the Peace Warriors of Vietnam.
Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Prisoner of Conscience
Huế, April 30, 2006

 

36. March 2, 2007
Clarification Issued by the NGUYỄN KIM ĐIỀN Group of Catholic Priests
           
Fellow Vietnamese in Vietnam and elsewhere,
Governments and National Assemblies or Parliaments of democratic nations,
International human rights organizations,
The press and all other media in all countries,

On February 17, 2007 (the first day of the Lunar New Year Đinh Hợi in Vietnam), the Communist Government of Vietnam conducted a raid on pro-democracy dissidents in the City of Huế, disregarding the meaning of the national holiday for the main objective of arresting Rev. Thaddeus Nguyễn Văn Lý and confining him to the Archdiocesal Compound in Huế and subsequenlty the Bến Củi Parish Building. The Communist Party also initiated a media campaign using the nation's newspapers, radio stations, television stations, the internet, and other means (all are under the Party's control) to paint Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý as a political agitator. In political workshops that the Party forces citizens and students to attend, they also spread this false accusation, namely, Rev. Lý engaged in political activities aimed at opposing the regime. They claimed that he "created, stored, distributed material that is critical of the Communist Government", particularly he "founded a party, the Vietnam Progress Party, and led the development of the party's platform and rules", and "directed the Vietnam Progress Party in its alliance with an overseas anti-government party, the For the People Party, to form the Lạc Hồng Alliance" (www.nhandan.com.vn/tinbai: “Chặn đứng âm mưu của Nguyễn Văn Lý và đồng bọn chống phá Nhà nước Cộng hòa XHCN Việt Nam” 26-02-2007).
Based on these accusations, rumors began to circulate widely about Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý's blatantly political activities in violation of his priestly mission.

To counter the baseless distortion of facts by the Communist Government, we cite the following:

1- “Appeal for the right of  political parties in Vietnam in 2006” issued on April 6, 2006 by Rev. Chân Tín, Nguyễn Hữu Giải, Nguyễn Văn Lý and Phan Văn Lợi (representing many other citizens), whose introductory sentences are: “Together with countless others who are fighting for democracy, we the Undersigned, as the representatives of hundreds of pro-democracy dissidents in Vietnam, declare on behalf of all Vietnamese in Vietnam and elsewhere: the Nation has been at risk on account of a totalitarian regime, the Communist Party.  In raising our voices, we aim to encourage political activities for the benefit of the people and the country, and the defense of all human rights and civil rights that a genuinely democratic government must foster and protect. The right to form political parties and for such parties to function is one of those rights..."

2- “Statement on the demand for democracy for Vietnam” issued on October 24, -2006 by Rev. Chân Tín, Nguyễn Hữu Giải, Nguyễn Văn Lý and Phan Văn Lợi, whose introductory sentences are: “As Catholic priests, we may not and do not want to engage in political activities in the sense of forming or joining an armed group or forming or joining a political party with the objective of contesting the power of the governing entity or joining it.  However, as human beings, citizens, and priests, it is our duty to state our political views on account of the grave threats to Vietnam, threats that are almost beyond any counter-measure...”

We offer the following clarifications:
1- Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý has never engaged in party politics, ị.e., has not formed or joined a party or alliance of parties in violation of his priestly mission and regulations of the Catholic Church.

2- Rev. Nguyễn Văn Lý only exercises a citizen's political rights, i.e., basic rights such as publishing an independent newspaper, demanding free and fair elections for the people, encouraging the formation and fucntioning of political parties that do not rely on violence in order to end the one-party totalitarian rule that has ignored all the human rights (freedom of expression, association, forming parties, fair elections, and particularly religious freedom) in Vietnam for over a half-century.
Please beware of the Vietnamese Communists' defamation and libeling tactics so that you can correctly judge Rev.Nguyễn Văn Lý's non-violent struggle for democracy as well as our struggle for democracy.

 Huế, March 2, 2007
- Rev. Stephen Chân Tín
- Rev. Peter Nguyễn Hữu Giải
- Rev. Peter Phan Văn Lợi

 

 

Interview avec Thich Quang Do (85)

“Le corps en prison, mais l’esprit toujours libre...”

 

Un entretien exclusif avec Thích Quảng Độ (85), le Patriarche Bouddhiste Vietnamien

Depuis plus d’un demi-siècle le Patriarche Bouddhiste Vietnamien Thích Quảng Độ s’efforce de promouvoir paisiblement la liberté religieuse. Mais il a dû payer un prix cher pour son action: il a passé une grande partie de sa vie comme prisonnier, dans les camps de concentration et l’exil intérieur ou même en résidence forcée.  ‘Mon corps peut se trouver emprisonné, mais mon esprit reste toujours libre’, voilà une parole profonde dans cet interview exclusif. Les conditions dans lesquelles cet entretien a dû avoir lieu montrent une image choquante et très décevante du régime communiste totalitaire au Vietnam.

 

par Koenraad Dewolf

❡ “Serait-il possible d’interviewer Thích Quảng Độ?”  Je le sentais bien que ma question ne semblait assez fantaisiste. Le Patriarche de l’Eglise (interdite) Bouddhiste Unifiée du Vietnam (en Anglais: UBCV) a personnellement souffert une persécution tenace. Pourquoi? Parceque dans un pays avec une population à grande majorité Bouddhiste, son mouvement est considéré comme une menace et un grand danger par la classe communiste au pouvoir. “Et pourquoi pas?”  c’était la réponse de Sam, l’ami qui nous avait joint pour dîner dans un restaurant au troisième étage — avec une vue splendide de Saigon by night. Je risquais de mourir en avalant de travers ma soupe. Sam n’est qu’un nom de circonstance car je ne peux pas révéler sa vraie identité. Le Vietnam vit encore avec la règle des trois générations: celui qui agit ouvertement contre le régime non seulement met en danger sa propre sécurité et son avenir, mais également celle de ses parents, de son conjoint et de ses enfants. Ils seront tous exclus du système scolaire, perdront leur emploi ou seront déniés l’accès à l’aide médicale. Voilà la réalité toute nue bien que en flagrante contradiction avec la politique du régime cherchant à façonner une image positive pour le pays, afin d’appâter autant que possible d’investisseurs et de touristes étrangers. “Nous Vietnamiens, nous sommes devenus un peuple schizofrène”  continua Sam. “Personne n’ose dire ce qu’il pense en réalité. Nous avons tous un visable double. Les étrangers ne remarquent que le fait que la police est omniprésente. Mais même à Saïgon, le métropole avec non moins de 12 millions d’habitants, chacun est sous surveillance. Et la repression augmente de plus en plus. On estime que dans les rangs de la police secrète oeuvrent autour de 1,2 millions de personnes.

Stupéfait, époustouflé même, je répétais ma question: “Mais comment est-ce qu’on peut s’approcher de Thích Quảng Độ? Est-ce qu’on peut prendre rendez-vous avec le leader du plus important mouvement d’opposition du pays?” Sam riait: “N’essaie jamais telle chose. Récemment on a eu tout ce tapage quand il est apparu que les Etats Unis avaient mis les chefs de gouvernement des pays de l’Europe Occidentale sur table d’écoute, d’ailleurs depuis très longtemps. Et bien, au Vietnam cela se fait également depuis très longue date: chaque conversation téléphonique est systématiquement enregistrée et peut être tracée.” Remarquant mon étonnement il me chuchota: “Pourtant on peut parler avec Thích Quảng Độ, mais uniquement si on s’y prend de la bonne façon. Aucun journaliste, aucun homme politique occidental n’a même pû échanger quelques paroles avec lui, parcequ’ils sont partis dans le mauvais sens. “Mais que devrais-je faire alors?”  “Entre dans le Temple comme tout touriste interessé ferait et essaie alors de fixer une entrevue avec le moine que vous trouverez derrière une petite porte à gauche.”

 

❡  Le matin suivant un taxi s’arrête le long du large boulevard Nguyen Van Troi près de la rue Tran Huy Lieu. Le traffic y est très intense car c’est une des grandes voies d’accès. Ce ne sont pas tellement les bicyclettes ni les voitures qui causent le dérangement mais surtout les six ou déjà même sept millions de vélomoteurs qui en claxonnant se faufillent dans toutes les directions imaginables. On en deviendrait sourd comme un pot... En descendant de la voiture nous voyons à droite le complexe de temple bouddhiste Than Minh Zen, domicile de Thích Quảng Độ. Partiellement cette petite entité est entourée par d’autres bâtiments monastiques adjacents. A droite et à gauche des agents de police, qu’on reconnait à leur uniforme vert montent la garde. Sam nous avait prévenu: “Au café d’en face il y a plein d’agents en civil, ils appartiennent à la police secrète.” A cette heure matinale en effet le café est déjà bien rempli de clients. Nous nous promenons d’un pas insouciant et nous revenons un peu plus tard comme si quelque chose avait suscité notre intérêt. De la rue, mon épouse prend quelques photos du Temple et je montre du doigt dans le jardin intérieur la pagode qui compte sept étages. Nous nous déchaussons pour entrer dans le Temple. Il n’y a personne. Mais à gauche on remarque tout de même une petite porte et quand nous regardons par la petite fenêtre, nous voyons un moine qui balance doucement dans un hamac. Je frappe à la porte. Un peu vexé par le bruit le moine s’approche précipitamment. Je lui donne une lettre avec un texte en Anglais: ‘Je m’appelle Koenraad De Wolf, un historien belge. Je voudrais rencontrer le Vénérable Thích Quảng Độ. (Pour plus d’information à mon sujet: voir le website www.koenraaddewolf.be).’

Le moine manifestement ne comprend pas un mot de mon texte, mais il nous conduit dans un autre bâtiment à côté du jardin intérieur, oû nous sommes pris en charge par une vieille femme, une religieuse. Heureusement elle comprend l’Anglais et nous avons l’impression qu’elle nous fait assez vite confiance. “Asseyez-vous” nous ordonne-t-elle et elle prend immédiatement quelques périodiques. “Voici, lisez-cela”. A première vue, il me semble qu’elle m’a donné la revue de l’église bouddhiste officielle — donc du pendant du UBCV et qui ne compte presque pas d’adeptes. Moins d’une minute plus tard un agent en civil est déjà sur place. Une discussion en Vietnamien se déchaîne aussitôt. Nous n’en comprenons évidemment pas un mot. De temps à autre on nous indique de la main. Mais je fais comme si je suis absorbé corps et âme dans la lecture d’un texte au sujet du général Vo Nguyen Giap, décédé dans son 102ième année. Giap fut le stratège militaire communiste  victorieux, aussi bien du colonisateur Français que des Américains. Finalement, l’agent secret sort après quelques minutes.

La religieuse fait les cent pas, puis elle nous offre du thé, tout en continuant à regarder le jardin intérieur. “Je ne sais pas si ce sera possible” nous dit-elle nerveusement. “Gardez votre patience.” Plus tard elle téléphone à quelqu’un, tenant ma lettre à la main. “Je pense qu’on a une chance...” Elle continue avec un grand sourire au visage: “Vers onze heures on apportera le repas au Vénérable et vous pourrez l’accompagner le porteur en haut. Mais continuez toujours votre lecture...”  Une demi heure après un courrier arrive avec le repas, en emballage sous plastic. La soeur nous fait signe que nous devons suivre immédiatement. On ouvre une grille, haute de plusieurs mètres. Nous suivons l’homme et montons après lui un escalier escarpé vers le premier étage et attendons dans un salon.
Après quelques instants l’homme que je ne connais que de ses photographies entre doucement dans la pièce. Nous nous inclinons comme souhaite la tradition orientale et nous recevons une ferme poignée de main. Thích Quảng Độ parle avec un sourire désarmant: “Quelle joie de vous rencontrer. Mes excuses pour ma pauvre connaissance de l’Anglais. Mais j’essaierai de répondre à vos questions.”

 

Le monsieur qui vous apporte votre repas,
est-il l’unique personne que vous voyez par jour?

“En effet je n’ai plus eu de visite depuis plusieurs mois maintenant. Et je ne vois certainement pas de visiteurs étrangers. Les dernières années, le nombre de visiteurs a fortement diminué. Actuellement le Temple est placé sous surveillance,  jour et nuit. La police territoriale et la police secrète ne laissent plus entrer personne, a l’exception des fidèles. Et le Temple est clôturé au moment des grandes fêtes Bouddhistes. Les communistes n’ont qu’un seul objectif: s’assûrer de mon isolement complet.” Il éclate de rire. “Je vis ici comme un prisonnier. Mon corps peut être emprisonné, mais l’esprit reste toujours libre. Il ne sera jamais possible pour eux d’emprisonner mon esprit.”

Est-ce que vous sortez jamais de cet endroit?

“Seulement une fois chaque trois mois, quand je passe à l’hôpital pour un examen médical. Depuis des années ma pression sanguine est trop élevée et je suis diabétique depuis une dizaine d’années. Ce qui a affecté la vue de mon oeuil gauche, mais je prends chaque jour de l’insuline et je suis attentif à ce que je mange. Chaque fois que je veux voir un médecin, je dois demander la permission au gouvernement. Et on m’y accompagne toujours avec une patrouille de police, qui à l’hôpital s’occupe à surveiller le corridor.” Et à nouveau il éclate de rire: ‘ Vous voyez comme ils veulent être sûrs que l’aller et le retour se passent en toute tranquilité et que rien ne m’arrive à l’hôpital. S’ils pouvaient, ils m’accompagneraient également pendant la consultation auprès du médecin!”

 Comment vivez-vous cet isolement perpétuel?

“En fait, ce n’est pas un problème pour moi. Je ne ressens pas d’envie de sortir. Je marche difficilement et je ne vois presque plus. Que pourrais-je faire dehors à la rue? Il y a trop de traffic. Même ici on entend le bruit de la route. J’ai tout ce que désire dans les deux chambres annexes. Une chambre à dormir et une autre où je tiens mes livres et un petit autel. Le jour, je prie beaucoup ou encore j’écris et traduis des textes. Chaque nuit, je me livre à la méditation, au moins deux heures. La nuit, il fait calme;  il y a moins de traffic. Avec l’âge et cela à l’instar d’autres vieilles personnes, je n’ai pas besoin de plus d’heures de sommeil, mais de moins d’heures.” Il nous regarde en souriant. “Mon esprit est très reposé. Savez-vous que je suis en fait quelqu’un qui fait partie des personnes les plus heureuses au monde? Et tout cela grâce aux communistes!” De nouveau son rire éclate dans le salon: “Je devrais être très reconnaissant à eux...”

 

Cela demande une explication.

“Dans les ‘camps de rééducation” où on m’a tenu prisonnier neuf ans, la vie quotidienne
se centrait sur la nourriture ou plutôt sur la manque de nourriture. Tout le monde avait faim, en permanence. Donc les communistes m’ont appris à vivre en grande sobriété. Je ne prends qu’un repas par jour. Plus tard, j’ai vécu dix ans d’exil solitaire dans un petit monastère Bouddhiste au milieu des champs, près du village Vu-Doai. C’est là que j’ai traduit du Taiwanais le ‘Grand Dictionnaire des termes Bouddhistes’ que j’ai même complété. Il s’agit d’une sorte d’encyclopédie en six volumes de la terminologie Bouddhiste. Sans cet exil, je n’aurais jamais accompli cet oeuvre gigantesque.” Thích Quảng Độse retire dans sa chambre et revient avec le lourd magnum Opus de 8000 pages. Avec une fierté indéniable il feuillette les volumes. “Le plus grand désir des communistes, c’était que je serais resté pour toujours à Vu-Doai. Mais après avoir purgé ma peine je suis revenu à mon point d’attache, le monastère Than Minh Zen, ici à Saigon.”

 

Est-ce que votre encyclopédie a été publiée au Vietnam?

“Que pensez-vous? Evidemment pas. Tous les textes ont été passés à l’étranger et les livres ont été publiés aux Etats-Unis. C’est également ce qui a eu lieu avec d’autres écrits de ma main, p.ex. des centaines de poèmes écrits en captivité — sans plume ni encre — et que j’avais appris par coeur. A ce jour, aucun de mes textes n’a été publié au Vietnam. Encore récemment un texte a été passé à l’étranger.”

 

Dans les années ’60, vous étiez un des leaders de l’opposition pacifique
au président catholique Ngo Ding Diem. Pouvez-vous comparer 
ce qui s’est passé il y a cinquante ans et la situation actuelle?

“A cause de la discrimination systématique des Bouddhistes, le début des années ’60 a été très mouvementé. Moi-même j’ai été arrêté et torturé. J’ai dû subir une opération pulmonaire à cause d’une grave infection (la t.b.c.) que j’avais attrapé en prison. Après le meurtre du président Diem, la situation des Bouddhistes ne s’est pas améliorée et c’est pourquoi on a fondé un an plus tard l’Eglise Unifiée Bouddhiste du Vietnam (UBCV). La situation est restée très tendue durant les années suivantes, mais malgré tout au Vietnam du Sud d’alors une grande liberté, même au niveau de la presse, continuait encore à exister.  Cette liberté d’expression a été complètement muselé quand en 1975 les communistes ont repris le pouvoir. Depuis on vit dans une société totalitaire.”

En 1975 vous avez dit au  Voice of America:
‘Jamais, nous ne deviendrons les esclaves de la partie communiste.’


“Ces paroles sont toujours d’actualité. Les communistes ont essayé de toutes manières possibles pour nous faire collaborateurs de leur régime. Nous n’avons jamais marché dans cette voie et nous ne l’accepterons jamais.”

Votre voix critique du régime reste des plus influentes.
D’où tenez-vous votre information? 

“Chaque jour en ondes courtes j’écoute les bulletins d’informations de la BBC, de Radio France Internationale ou de Radio Free Asia. Je ne consulte presque pas les médias Vietnamiens. Ceux-là donnent en effet une image erronée de la situation. On l’a remarqué encore récemment lors du déces de Vo Nguyen Giap. Une fois de plus tout était mis au diapason du patriotisme. Mais à aucun moment était mis en évidence le fait que Giap s’était montré très critique au sujet du plus grand scandale qu’on a vécu ces dernières années: la pollution de l’environnement dans les hautes terres centraules causé par l’exploitation de bauxite par les Chinois.”

Vous ne semblez pas très heureux avec la grande influence
qu’exercent les Chinois au Vietnam et en Indochine? Pourquoi?

 

“Ils sont réellement en train d’endommager l’environnement avec des conséquences imprévisibles. D’énormes portions de la jungle sont détruites pour toujours et la pollution d’eau menace déjà l’ensemble de la région du delta du Mékong. Que cette exploitation minière peut continuer en dépit de toutes les protestations, cela illustre parfaitement que le Vietnam obéit au doigt et à l’oeuil des maîtres Chinois.”

Quel est votre vision de l’avenir?

 

“Des changements fondamentaux doivent être faits. Ce régime ne peut tenir car la discorde interne est en augmentation. Depuis des années je plaide pour l’introduction d’une forme de démocratie avec la participation de plusieurs parties, et pour des élections libres et honnêtes. J’espère que cela se fera avant que je meurs.”

Entretemps le courrier nous attend avec impatience dans le corridor. Après trois quarts d’heure le temps du départ est arrivé. Nous prenons congé d’un Thích Quảng Độ ému. A nouveau il nous tend fermement la main. Dans le corridor je me retourne un instant et je vois que ses yeux brillent. Il rayonne de bonheur, et ce sentiment va de pair avec le nôtre.
En bas de l’escalier nous retrouvons nos chaussures. Pendant qu’on les met, on referme déjà la grille. La religieuse qui avait arrangé tout pour nous, est toute souriante. “Y a pas de danger en sortant?”, c’est mon épouse qui le demande. La soeur secoue de la tête: “Depuis quand est-il interdit de lire un magazine?” et elle nous donne un clin d’oeil. Dans la cour intérieure elle ordonne au courrier de rouvrir la porte du Temple. Ce n’est que maintenant que je comprends que cette intervention était destiné à prévenir ce que j’avais craint tout au long de l’interview: que la police ou le service secret n’interrompe notre conversation.

 

Nous sortons du Temple et prenons le premier taxi qui passe. “Emmène-nous à la Notre-Dame”. Dix minutes après nous arrivons à la grande place devant la cathédrale. En face de la cathédrale, nous nous dirigeons vers le bureau central de la Poste, une réalisation de l’architecte français Auguste Eiffel. Mon épouse remarque soudain: “On nous photographie. Là, auprès de cet arbre derrière toi, un homme en T-shirt rayé vert et blanc.”  Je ne regarde pas pour ne pas éveiller de suspicion. Mais quelques instants après je reviens sur mes pas et j’entreprends d’abord de filmer la cathédrale et puis aussi le bureau de la Poste tout en faisant un zoom sur notre poursuivant. Mon épouse fait à l’intérieur du bureau central le tour des étals tandis que moi je regarde en cachette par les persiennes. Je vois que l’homme a pris racine de l’autre côté de la place et qu’il surveille ainsi l’entrée. En sortant de la Poste nous nous dirigeons tout droit dans sa direction. Sans lever les yeux il semble absorbé par sa lecture. Mon épouse prend les petites vendeuses de soupe ‘pho’, plat Vietnamien classique, en photo... mais égalemente notre ‘garde’. Un peu plus loin je le vois passer sur sa mobylette. A chacun de nos haltes suivantes nous remarquons sa présence. “Je pense que notre sécurité est vraiment garantie, tout comme celle de Thích Quảng Độ à l’hôpital”. Je le dis en plaisantant, mais mon épouse se sent moins tranquille. 

Nous visitons le musée de la guerre du Vietnam. Il se trouve à l’intersection de deux rues. Comme prévu l’homme est en train de surveiller l’entrée principale quand nous sortons par une sortie latérale. Il sursaute quand il nous voit arriver d’un côté imprévu et se jette littéralement derrière une cabine d’électricité. Nous nous arrêtons dix pas plus loin. Maintenant la filature prend les allures d’une comédie ‘slapstick’. Sa tête apparait de temps à autre à droite ou à gauche de la cabine. Au moment que nous nous dirigeons vers lui, il court à son vélomoteur et s’efface dans la circulation.

 

Sans aucun doute tout un dossier doit maintenant exister à notre sujet auprès du service secret du Vietnam. Nous n’obtiendrons probablement plus jamais un visa pour ce pays. Mais c’est le dernier de mes regrets. Je suis parvenu à mes fins: j’ai rencontré ce leader mondial religieux. Afin d’y parvenir j’ai dû rectifier l’image que je m’étais faite de cette personne. Bien qu’en effet Thích Quảng Độ soit un personnage éminemment spirituel, il est néanmoins aussi un observateur incisif de tout ce qui se passe dans son pays. Il rit au nez du régime qui l’a enlevé de toute forme de liberté et cela depuis maintenant trente-sept années. Il peut faire cela parcequ’il sait bien, sans aucune prétention d’ailleurs, qu’il est de loin supérieur à ses persécuteurs, aussi bien intellectuellement que spirituellement.  L’isolement complet utilisé encore toujours par les communistes comme moyen de le briser, n’a aucun effet sur lui. Je ne suis pas Bouddhiste, mais je comprends parfaitement ce que signifie l’état de nirvana. Personne ne m’ôtera jamais de cette expérience.

 

❧

La lutte pacifique pour la liberté religieuse et la démocratie

 

Le patriarche Bouddhiste Thích Quảng Độ est un intellectuel exerçant une grande influence et qui est reconnu mondialement pour sa lutte pacifique pour la liberté religieuse, les droits de l’homme et la démocratie. Cette année, c’est la dixième fois qu’il a été nommé pour recevoir le Prix Nobel de la Paix. Voici un résumé de sa biographie.

 

Đặng Phúc Tuệ est né le 27 novembre 1928 à Thanh Chau, un village au Nord du Vietnam. A l’âge de 14 ans il a joint un monastère Bouddhiste où il a pris le nom religieux de Thích Quảng Độ. En 1945 il a été témoin de l’exécution de son maître spirituel sur ordre d’un tribunal populaire communiste. Plus tard il déclare: “C’est à ce moment j’ai décidé de placer ma vie sous le signe de la lutte contre le fanatisme et l’intolérance; une lutte dans le cadre de la non-violence et de la tolérance que prône la pensée Bouddhiste.” Dans les années 1951-1957 il quitte le pays  pour des universités au Sri Lanka et Inde où il étudie avec brio le Bouddhisme et la philosophie Indienne. Jusqu’en 1975 il est professeur de philosophie orientale et d’études Bouddhistes aux universités Bouddhistes de Saigon et Can Tho. En outre  il enseigne en 1971-1972 le cours d’études Bouddhistes à l’Institut Pontifical Saint Pie X de Da Lat (Vietnam du Sud). Il a publié plusieurs livres,  dont des romans, de la poésie, des traductions et études au sujet du Bouddhisme Vietnamien.

Après la prise du pouvoir par les communistes, il s’oppose de manière pacifique la repression religieuse (de la majorité Bouddhiste) et il plaide pour la mise en liberté des plusieurs milliers de fidèles en état d’arrestation. La nuit du 20 août 1963 il est arrêté à son tour par la police à l’occasion d’une razzia massive, qui est organisée sur ordre du régime Diem à Hue et à Saigon. Thích Quảng Độ subit alors des tortures graves. Il est relâché après la chute du régime Diem le 1er novembre.  Comme il est souffrant de tuberculose attrapé en prison, il est envoyé au Japon en 1966 afin d’y subir une opération pulmonaire. La période de révalidation lui donne l’opportunité de voyager et d’étudier à Taiwan et Hongkong, enThailande et en Birmanie. Retourné au Vietnam il est arrête à nouveau en 1977 et il fait vingt mois dans un camp de rééducation. C’est à cette époque qu’il est nommé la première fois pour le Prix Nobel de la Paix.

En 1981 l’Eglise Bouddhiste Unifiée du Vietnam, (l’UBCV) est mis hors la loi par les autorités communistes. Comme Thích Quảng Độ fait partie du groupe des fondateurs et en est à ce moment le porte-parole, il est condamné à dix ans d’exil intérieur. Il passe donc ces dix ans d’exil solitaire dans un petit monastère Bouddhiste au milieu des champs, dans la province Thai Binh, au Nord. Revenu à Saigon il est de nouveau arrête quand il prend l’initiative pour une campagne de soutien des victimes d’une inondation dans le delta du Mekong. Pour cette première manifestation publique de la toujours interdite UBCV, il est condamné à cinq ans de prison ferme. Il est incarcéré au B14, le camp de concentration le plus infâme. Mais les autorités le relâchent en 1998 suite à des pressions internationales.

En 1999 Thích Quảng Độ occupe la deuxième place dans l’hiérarchie de la UBCV. Après le déces en 2008 du patriarche Thich Huyen Quang il devient à son tour patriarche de cette “église” Bouddhiste clandestine. “Vous nous avez quittés pour toujours, mais la lutte pacifique continue sans relâche jusqu’au moment que la liberté religieuse qui nous a été volé en 1975 par le régime communiste, devienne à nouveau réalité” dit-il lors des obsèques de son prédecesseur.

En outre Thích Quảng Độ se montre depuis bon nombre d’années le chaleureux avocat du respect des droits de l’homme. En 2001 la publication de ses Huit points d’action pour introduire la démocratie au Vietnam lui vaut une nouvelle arrestation. Et depuis 2003 il est placé sous mandat de résidence forcée au Temple Than Minh Zen de Saigon.

En 2013 pour la dixième fois il a été nommé pour le Prix Nobel de la Pais. Avec Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi et autres, il est désigné comme l'un des quinze « Champions de la démocratie mondiale » par le magazine européen « A Different view ». Il ne fait pas grand cas de ces ‘reconnaissances’. ‘Je n’en perds pas le sommeil. D’ailleurs la signification de tout cela est bien relative. L’important n’est pas le titre qu’on porte, mais ce qu’on fait.”  (KDW)

 

© 2014, Koenraad De Wolf
Tous droits réservés.