Help Bat Nha Monastery

PRESS RELEASE
26 Nov. 09

As tension rises in Vietnam, European Parliament condemns Bat Nha crackdown and calls for an end to all persecution and harassment of Buddhists

In a special session on Thursday 26 Nov. the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the violence against Bat Nha monks and nuns and calling on Vietnam to curb its violations of freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly and respect its human rights commitments and Vietnam’s own Constitution.

Heidi Hautala, Chairwoman of the Parliament’s Human Rights sub-committee, speaking in Thursday’s debate, said recent events were “extremely worrying”, and announced that the United Nations Human Rights Council has made recommendations that a United Nations Special Rapporteur be sent to Vietnam to examine the situation.

The resolution formally calls “for the cessation of all persecution and harassment” and explicitly calls “for monks and nuns to be allowed to practice Buddhism according to the tradition of the Thich Nhat Hanh Buddhist community in Bat Nha and elsewhere.”

The resolution also requests that a binding and unambiguous clause on human rights and democracy be incorporated into the current negotiations on the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Vietnam.

Karel de Gucht, Europe’s Commissioner for Development, also speaking in the debate, recognized “recent signs of a more hardline attitude of the government of Vietnam on human rights” and said that the “tensions with religious groups, such as the peaceful Buddhist community at Bat Nha Monastery have caused legitimate concern in Europe.” He urged Vietnam to honour its international human rights commitments. The Commissioner nevertheless expressed his confidence in the ‘mature’ Europe-Vietnam dialogue and cooperation. “We believe in constructive engagement,” he said, but “for constructive engagement to remain a sustainable option, dialogue and cooperation need to show tangible results. There will be no better demonstration that dialogue is the best option, than Vietnam’s own performance.”

Click through for Further Information (contacts, details of resolution)

CONTACT:

Heidi Hautala MEP, EU Parliament Human Rights Committee Chairwoman and co-author of resolution: +32 2 284 9374  or  +32 49 10 86 180

Cristina Gallach, Spokeswoman for Javier Solana, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs: +32 2 285 6467 / 8239 / 5150 / 5151

Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch Asia Division, in New York: +1 212 216 1213 or  + 1 646 291 7169 (mobile)

Help Bat Nha media contact: (France mobile) +33 6.48.92.25.38  (can provide contact details of Bat Nha monks and nuns in Vietnam)

The European Parliament’s website has the full text of the resolution on the situation in Laos and Vietnam (P7_TA-PROV(2009)0104)

[excerpts from the Parliament's observations on the situation in Vietnam]

C. whereas on 27 September 2009 hundreds of young Buddhist monks from Bat Nha Monastery were violently attacked and beaten and their monastery vandalised, while the State authorities and police ignored their plea for help; whereas other monks who found refuge in the Phuoc Hue Temple were subjected to physical violence and harassment by the police; whereas the monks are facing the risk of expulsion by the government on the grounds that they have been occupying Bat Nha Monastery without permission or prior registration,

D. whereas the assault on the monastery is considered by many to be linked to the 10point proposal for religious reform which Thich Nhat Hanh presented to Vietnam’s President Nguyen Minh Triet in 2007,

E. whereas all religious groups must be authorised by the government and overseen by government-appointed management committees, and whereas many religious organisations face a ban and persecution of their members if they wish to remain independent of the government,

[excerpts from the Parliament's recommendations to Vietnam]

1. Urges the government to cease all forms of repression against those who exercise their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of belief and religion and freedom of assembly, in accordance with international human rights standards and the Vietnamese Constitution; calls on the Vietnamese Government to comply with its international obligations, which entails recognition of all religious communities and the free practice of religion and the restitution of assets arbitrarily seized by the State from the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the Catholic Church and any other religions communities;

2. Condemns the reported violent expulsion of more than 150 monks and nuns from monasteries and the fact that the increasingly tense situation following these actions against the peaceful Buddhist community is in clear contradiction of commitments to comply with internationally accepted standards on freedom of religion, especially when it comes to people trying to exercise their rights, which the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has undertaken to observe as a member of the UN Security Council and future Chair of ASEAN;

3. Asks the Commission and the Council, within the framework of the current negotiations on the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Vietnam, to include a binding and unambiguous clause on human rights and democracy, together with a mechanism allowing for its implementation, in order to put an end to systematic violations of democracy and human rights;

4. Calls for the cessation of all persecution and harassment, and for monks and nuns to be allowed to practice Buddhism according to the tradition of the Thich Nhat Hanh Buddhist bonze community in Bat Nha and elsewhere;

7. Calls on the Government of Vietnam, in view of Vietnam’s role as a member of the UN Security Council, to issue standing invitations to UN special rapporteurs, particularly those on freedom of expression, religious freedom, torture, human rights defenders and violence against women, and to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention;