As a Vietnamese-American who has fought peacefully for human rights and democracy in Vietnam. I was held 38 days in jail last fall 2006 for reasons regarding these activities. Without the support of US Congressional members, Zoe Lofgren and Loretta Sanchez, Senators Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein and the Governor of California, the Vietnamese communities around the world, my family and many others. I would not be able to testify today. I have done nothing wrong but to promote and defend the values that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly declares “as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society”. Testimony of Cong Thanh Do, People's Democratic Party of Vietnam   more »

PARIS, 28th December 2007 (IBIB) - In the wake of widespread demonstrations staged by students and young people outside Chinese Embassies in Hanoi and Saigon, and strong protests by the Vietnamese community overseas, the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, prominent dissident and Deputy leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) has issued a strong statement on the controversy over the disputed Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Sent clandestinely from the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Saigon, it was received by the International Buddhist Information Bureau in Paris today. Writing on behalf of the UBCV’s Bi-Cameral leadership (the Institute of the Sangha and the Institute for the Dissemination of the Dharma), Thich Quang Do called on the Hanoi authorities to “pass the reins of power to the people in a society based on the separation of the three powers, multi-party democracy and the rule of law” as the best way to safeguard Vietnam’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Because “three million Communist Party members and a 500,000-strong army have neither the authority nor the power to defend the homeland by military means, nor sufficient prestige and courage to expand political and diplomatic efforts to mobilize international support in our defence… they need the full participation of the 85 million Vietnamese population and the support of the Vietnamese Diaspora worldwide”. As a first step, Hanoi must “immediately abrogate Article 4 of the Vietnamese Constitution [on the political monopoly of the Communist Party], and enable all sectors of the Vietnamese population, including all religious and political families, to freely and fully participate in the process of national salvation”. The UBCV Deputy leader also called on Hanoi to summon the people for a “Dien Hong” Conference for the XXIst century” to initiate a process of reconciliation and democratic change. Thich Quang Do emphasized the role of Buddhism as an essential element in this process : “With our responsibility as Vietnamese citizens, and as representatives of a religion that has contributed to the foundation and development of our nation over the past 2,000 years, the Council of the Bi-Cameral Institute of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam cannot stand by silently whilst our country is in danger. We therefore solemnly appeal to the Vietnamese intelligentsia, inside and outside Vietnam, to stand together and rally forces to save our nation. The Council of the Bi-Cameral Institute of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam pledges to give its active support to every peaceful effort to protect our homeland and our people”. Interesting historical documentation from the Chinese Yuan Dynasty period. Conclusion: With our responsibility as Vietnamese citizens, and as representatives of a religion that has contributed to the foundation and development of our nation over the past 2,000 years, the Council of the Bi-Cameral Institute of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam cannot stand by silently whilst our country is in danger. We therefore call upon the Vietnamese intelligentsia, inside and outside Vietnam, to stand together and rally forces to save our nation. The Council of the Bi-Cameral Institute of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam pledges to give its active support to every peaceful effort to protect our homeland and our people.   more »

PARIS, 13th December 2007 (IBIB) - The International Buddhist Information Bureau is informed that UBCV Supreme Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang has rejected an invitation from the Ministry of Public Security to attend the “6th Nation-wide Congress of Buddhist Representatives for 2007-2012” (i.e. the 6th Congress of the State-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Church, set up under Communist Party control in 1981) that opens in Hanoi today (13.12.2007). 2008 UN Vesak Day International Organising Committee in Hanoi abusively lists name of UBCV dignitary Thich Thien Tam: On the International Organising Committee (IOC) of the 2008 United Nations Vesak Day (Birth of Buddha) which has just been made public on the official website, Buddhists at home and abroad were deeply disturbed to see the name of UBCV dignitary Thich Thien Tam, Head of the Canadian Overseas UBCV’s Advisory Board Secretariat and Commissioner for Canadian Affairs of the new Overseas UBCV Office. In fact, Venerable Thich Thien Tam has never been invited to be an IOC member, nor informed that his name was being used. In a letter to Professor Le Manh That, Chairman of the 2008 Vesak IOC in Hanoi, Thich Thien Tam denounced the abuse of his name as a “dubious and unlawful move to create confusion and divisions within the Buddhist community in Vietnam and overseas”. He demanded that his name be immediately withdrawn. Thich Thien Tam deplored that the 2008 UN Vesak Day would be organised by the Communist authorities and the State-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Church not to truly commemorate Lord Buddha’s Birth, but to parade an illusory “religious freedom” for international public opinion, whilst continuing to ruthlessly muzzle and repress the independent UBCV.   more »