Vietnam: Situation and treatment of Buddhist monks by authorities, including arrests and torture by the police (2012-November 2013)

1. Overview

Sources indicate that Buddhism is one of the main religions in Vietnam (MRG n.d.; US 20 May 2013, 1). According to the US Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, more than half of the population is "nominally Buddhist," while 10 percent practice Mahayana Buddhism and 1.2 percent practice Theravada Buddhism (ibid.). Buddhism and Hoa Hao [a Buddhist sect] are officially recognized religions in Vietnam (ibid., 5; Vietnam n.d.). According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Hoa Hao, and Pure Land Buddhist Home Practice are Buddhist groups officially recognized by the government (US Apr. 2013, 199). However, some Buddhist and Hoa Hao groups are reportedly not sanctioned by the government (Human Rights Watch Jan. 2013, 4; US 20 May 2013, 5; US Apr. 2013, 198-201).

Unregistered religious activity is reportedly illegal (MRG n.d.; RFA 30 Nov. 2012). According to Vietnam's Government Committee for Religious Affairs, the Communist Party's policy regarding religion, Resolution No. 25-NQ/TW on "Religious Affairs" enacted in 2003, states the following:

Each follower has the right to practice religion at home within the family and at legitimate places of worship as stipulated by the law. Religious organizations officially recognized by the State are entitled to conduct lawful activities and are protected by the law. These activities include: Opening schools to train religious leaders and members of religious communities; publishing religious documents and books; and maintaining, repairing, and building places of religious worship in accordance with legal regulations.

...

[I]t is prohibited to take advantage of belief or religion to engage in superstitious activities, in activities that are illegal or contrary to national policy, or in activities that encourage dissidence among the people or between ethnic groups or that disturb public order or encroach upon national security. (Vietnam 12 Aug. 2013)

The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 notes that in Vietnam, religious groups that are not registered or recognized by the government are "potentially vulnerable to harassment, as well as coercive and punitive actions by national and local authorities" (US 20 May 2013, 7). Human Rights Watch similarly notes that the government limits religious freedom by "harassing and intimidating unsanctioned religious groups," particularly those that take up controversial issues, such as land rights and freedom of expression, or ethnic groups that resist assimilation policies (Jan. 2013, 4). According to the USCIRF 2013 Annual Report for Vietnam, Buddhist groups of ethnic minorities or those operating outside government control are subject to "severe abuses, including arrests, forced renunciations of faith, and long-term incarcerations" (US Apr. 2013, 197).

2. Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV)

The France-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) indicates that the UBCV was the largest religious organization before Vietnam's reunification in 1975 (VCHR Jan. 2012, 25). According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), UBCV was "effectively banned" in 1981 when it was replaced by the state-sanctioned Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) which is under the control of the Communist Party (RFA 30 Nov. 2012). The same source indicates that the UBCV has been forbidden to conduct religious or humanitarian activities or to open schools (ibid.).

USCIRF describes UBCV as having a "history of peaceful social activism and moral reform efforts" and notes that the UBCV "has faced decades of harassment and repression" for calling for religious freedom and seeking independence from the VBS (US Apr. 2013, 201). The UBCV leader says that the government has "'systematically repressed'" the UBCV since Vietnamese unification under Communist control in 1975 (qtd. in RFA 30 Nov. 2012). Western-based Vietnamese human rights organizations similarly state that the UBCV is "a target of systematic government repression" (VCHR Jan. 2012, 25) or "under permanent surveillance and oppression" (VHRN 2012, 25). Human Rights Watch also reports that the UBVC faces harassment and intimidation (Jan. 2013, 4).

A 2013 joint report by the International Federation for Human Rights (Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme, FIDH) and the VCHR, which was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council for the Universal Periodic Review of Vietnam, states that UBCV leaders have faced "beatings, house arrest and surveillance" (FIDH and VCHR 17 June 2013, para. 28). The US International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 indicates that the government restricts the movement and scrutinizes the activity of UBCV leaders, and that UBCV leaders in the southern provinces have experienced "routine surveillance by local authorities" (US 20 May 2013, 13).

Several sources indicate that the UBCV Patriarch Thich Quang Do is under house arrest at the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City (VCHR Jan. 2012, 25; FIDH 25 Jan. 2012; AI 2013). FIDH explains that the Patriarch has spent more than 28 years in prison, house arrest, or internal exile because of "his peaceful human rights advocacy," which includes appealing for the rights of victims of injustice, denouncing dangerous mining practices, and campaigning against the death penalty (25 Jan. 2012). The VCHR similarly notes that the Patriarch has been detained for nearly 30 years (Jan. 2012, 25). Thich Quang Do says he lives "'like a prisoner'" in the monastery, where his guests are monitored and he is forbidden from preaching (qtd. in RFA 30 Nov. 2012). Sources indicate that other UBVC leaders or members are also under house arrest, but did not provide details (US Apr. 2013, 201; RFA 30 Nov. 2012).

According to the VCHR, UBCV monks belonging to UBCV provincial committees in Central and Southern areas of Vietnam, which "provide humanitarian aid and spiritual guidance to poor people are subjected to continuous harassments, surveillance and police interrogations" (Jan. 2012, 25).

Sources indicate that authorities have banned major Buddhist celebrations in UBCV pagodas, such as Vesak (Buddha's Birth) and the Vu Lan Festival (Wandering Souls' Day) (VCHR Jan. 2012, 25; US 20 May 2013, 10; VHRN 2012, 26). The US International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 states that authorities have blocked entry and exits of UBCV pagodas on these days in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang City, and Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Phu Yen and Binh Thuan provinces (US 20 May 2013, 10). RFA similarly reports that in May 2012, senior UBCV monks received "threats and pressure" from the police to ban celebrations of Vesak in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam Danang, Phu Yen, and Binh Thuan provinces (RFA 3 May 2012). USCIRF notes that, in 2012, police threatened UBCV monks in Phu Yen and Binh Thuan provinces with "'preventive measures'" if they tried to hold Vesak celebrations (US Apr. 2013, 201).

Human rights organizations report that on July 2012, the Supreme Patriarch of the UBCV called for a peaceful demonstration against China's actions in contested areas of the East Sea (AI 2013; FIDH 4 July 2012). The police subsequently surrounded UBCV pagodas to prevent members from participating (AI 2013; RFA 6 Aug. 2012). According to FIDH, all nuns, monks, and Buddhists in Hue who tried to join the demonstrations in Hue or Ho Chi Minh City were either intercepted or prevented from leaving their pagodas or homes (4 July 2012). FIDH also notes that on 1 July 2012, police forces assaulted a group of UBCV followers in Hue, causing a head injury to one monk (4 July 2012).

Sources report that in August 2012, UBCV monk Thich Thanh Quang was assaulted (FIDH and VCHR 17 June 2013; US Apr. 2013, 201). While USCIRF said the assault was perpetrated by "unidentified assailants" (ibid.), FIDH and VCHR claim it was by "hired thugs under the eyes of the police" (FIDH and VCHR 17 June 2013). Further information about the attack could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

On 6 August 2012, UBCV Superior Buddhist monk Thich Khong Tanh reportedly organized a meeting at the Lien Tri pagoda (US 20 May 2013, 8). Sources indicate that security forces surrounded the pagoda and blocked attendants from participating (ibid.; RFA 6 Aug. 2012). According to the US International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, security forces arrested several people (US 20 May 2013, 8).

RFA reports that in May 2013, security forces surrounded the UBCV's Giac Hoa Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City and prevented monks from leaving, during a time when activists were calling for "'picnic'" demonstrations to call for human rights protection (RFA 7 May 2013). RFA cited the UBCV-affiliated International Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB) as indicating that police have "'systematically blockaded'" several UBCV pagodas on weekends since July 2012 (ibid.).

3. Hoa Hao Buddhists

According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, Hoa Hao is one of the 11 recognized religions; however some Hoa Hao groups do not participate in government-recognized or registered organizations (US 20 May 2013, 5). The VCHR describe the Hoa Hao Buddhists as a group that is "systematically repressed" and faces "persecution" (Jan. 2012, 4, 25). Other human rights organizations also indicate that Hoa Hao Buddhists are a group facing harassment by authorities (Human Rights Watch Jan. 2013, 4; AI 23 Dec. 2009).

According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, the Traditional Hoa Hao Church, the Pure Hoa Hao Church, and other dissenting Hoa Hao groups face restrictions, such as prohibiting ceremonies in memorial of the Hoa Hao founder and public readings of his writings (US 20 May 2013, 13). The same source indicates that authorities in An Giang and Dong Thap provinces "harass and abuse" practitioners of the unsanctioned Traditional Hoa Hao Buddhist Church (ibid., 7).

USCIRF notes that the Hoa Hao Central Buddhist Church (HHCBC) is subject to "significant official repression," including arrests of their leaders and followers, who were sentenced to prison terms of up to four years, for staging hunger strikes, distributing the writings of their founder, holding ceremonies, or interfering with the police when the police tried to disband religious activities (US Apr. 2013, 202). The same source indicates that HHCBC properties have been confiscated or destroyed and that as of January 2013, at least 12 HHCBC leaders remained imprisoned (ibid.). In addition, sources note that the Hoa Hao leader Le Quang Liem is under long-term house arrest (US Apr. 2013, 201; Human Rights Watch 24 Apr. 2012), as well as the Vo Van Thanh Liem, another Hoa Hao leader (ibid.).

According to VCHR, in 2011, two Hoa Hao followers, Nguyen Van Lia and Tran Hoai An, were sentenced to 3 and 5 year prison terms for "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state," and 14 others are serving "harsh prison sentences" (VCHR Jan. 2012, 25). Human Rights Watch reports that Nguyen Van Lia and Tran Hoai An were sentenced to a total of 8 years, followed by probation after their release, and that Nguyen's sentence was reduced to 4 years and 6 months (24 Apr. 2012, No. 3). Human Rights Watch reports that at least 13 Hoa Hao activists were imprisoned as of 2011 (12 Dec. 2011).

Sources report that in 2012, one Hoa Hao Buddhist adherent, Bui Van Tham, was reportedly sentenced to 2.5 years imprisonment for opposing the state (US 20 May 2013, 7; US Apr. 2013, 199). According to USCIRF, he was arrested during a raid on a ceremony honouring the disappearance of the founder (ibid.). Later in the same year, his father was reportedly arrested on the same charge (US 20 May 2013, 7).

The California-based Vietnam Human Rights Network (VHRN) reports that on 5 and 6 July 2012, "hundreds" of plain clothes police prevented followers of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church at Quang Minh Temple in a village in An Giang Province from entering the temple (VHRN 2012, 28). The followers were reportedly stopped, pushed, shoved, insulted, and sprayed with water on 5 July 2012, and were "pushed away, assaulted and injured" on the following day (ibid.). Corroborating information about this incident could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Khmer Krom Buddhists

Sources indicate that the Khmer Krom are an ethnic minority accounting for 1.4 percent of Vietnam's population (STP 7 Sept. 2012; MRG n.d.). There are approximately 1 million Khmer Buddhists in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam (US Apr. 2013, 202; MRG n.d.). Sources report that the Khmer Krom practice Theravada Buddhism (UNPO Jan. 2012, 11; RFA 24 July 2012). RFA states that the Khmer Krom are ethnically similar to Cambodians, and are considered as "outsiders" in Vietnam (ibid.). According to the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF), an international organization that advocates for the rights of Khmer Krom in Vietnam (KKF n.d.), there are more than 10,000 Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks in Vietnam (KKF Jan. 2012, No. 11).

FIDH and VCHR, as well as Amnesty International (AI), describe the Khmer-Krom Buddhists as a group that faces religious "persecution" (FIDH and VCHR 17 June 2013, para. 31; AI 23 Dec. 2009).

Human rights advocates report that the government has forced Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks to join the Patriotic United Buddhist Association, which is under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned VBS (KKF Jan. 2012, No. 11; VHRN 2012, 25). According to KKF, Buddhist monks who do not join face "oppression" by authorities (KKF Jan. 2012, No. 11).

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), an international NGO with special consultative status with the UN Human Rights Council, Khmer Krom Buddhists must ask permission of the VBS before carrying out many activities (STP 7 Sept. 2012, 3). The same source notes that Khmer language books are prohibited and monks are required to study Vietnamese history and Ho Chi Minh's biography, while violation of such restrictions are "considered threats to national unity and security that often results in defrocking of the accused monks" (ibid.). The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), a Dutch-based NGO, also notes that Khmer-Krom monks are forbidden to have books in the Khmer language and face "severe restrictions" by authorities (UNPO Jan. 2012, 11).

Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks "have been subjected to defrocking, arrest and forced disappearances" (FIDH and VCHR 17 June 2013, para. 31). Similarly, in a 2012 shadow report to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the NGO Indigenous indicates that Khmer-Krom monks have been subject to "harassment" and arrest (Indigenous 2012). The same source further states that some young monks have been deprived of their liberty because the judicial system lacks "basic civil liberties" (ibid.). Without providing details, the UNPO reports that Vietnamese officials have arranged for the defrocking of "dozens" of Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks (UNPO Jan. 2012, 11).

RFA reports that in 2007, the Vietnamese government suppressed a protest of 200 Khmer Buddhist monks in Suc Trang, who were promoting religious freedom and rights to education in the Khmer language (RFA 24 July 2012). KKF notes that five Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks who were arrested, defrocked and imprisoned for two years in 2007 for leading a peaceful demonstration to freely practice their religion, reported that they were "tortured" by Vietnamese police and prison guards while in prison (KKF Jan. 2012, No. 7). According to Human Rights Watch, detainees "routinely face abuse and torture in prison" and police brutality is a "major problem" (24 Apr. 2012, No. 4).

According to VCHR, in September 2010, authorities arrested and defrocked a Khmer Buddhist abbot, Thach Sophon, and sentenced him to nine months of house arrest (VCHR Jan. 2012, 25).

Several sources report that in July 2012, authorities ordered the defrocking of a Khmer-Krom Buddhist monk, Venerable Thach Thuol, for violating VBS rules (STP 7 Sept. 2012; US 20 May 2013, 7; US Apr. 2013, 203). He was also accused of reporting human rights abuses committed against Khmer Krom by the Vietnamese government (STP 7 Sept. 2012; US 20 May 2013, 5). According to USCIRF, the VBS also tried to defrock the new abbot of the temple for breaking undisclosed VBS rules (US Apr. 2013, 203).

On 16 May 2013, local police reportedly defrocked Khmer-Krom monk Ly Chanh Da of Vinh Chau's Prey Chop temple and left him unconscious (RFA 17 May 2013; KKF 4 June 2013). According to KKF, he was "tortured" by the police and was being punished for contacting outside organizations (ibid.).

Sources also report that in May 2013, state religious authorities also ordered the defrocking of Thach Thuol and Lien Ny, two Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks of the Ta Set pagoda in Soc Trang (ibid., RFA 17 May 2013). Approximately 100 police officers tried to enter the pagoda to arrest the two monks, but were blocked by hundreds of local Buddhists, and the two monks escaped (ibid.; KKF 4 June 2013). According to RFA, the two monks were accused of transmitting "'fabricated information'" by phone and Internet about the treatment of Khmer Krom minority (RFA 17 May 2013). According to KKF, Lieu Ny and Thach Thuol were captured on 20 May 2013, and their whereabouts were unknown in June 2013 (4 June 2013). Further information on these incidents could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Other Buddhist Groups

Sources indicate that members of a Buddhist group called Council for the Laws and Public Affairs of Bia Son Mountain [also Council for Public Law and Affairs of Bia Mountain] were arrested and charged with "'aiming to overthrow the state'" (Human Rights Watch Jan. 2013; US Apr. 2013, 199). USCIRF reports that in January 2013, 22 members of this group were sentenced to punishments ranging from 12 years to life imprisonment (ibid.). The government reportedly claimed that the group was seeking to create its own independent state, while the group contended that it was guided by religious principles to protect the environment by establishing eco-tourism land in Phu Yen province (ibid.).

USCIRF reports that the Lang Mai (Plum Village) Buddhist order was forcibly banned in 2009 after the leader publicly called on the government to release all political prisoners, disband the "'religious police'" and to establish a Buddhist church independent from politics (US Apr. 2013, 206). This order is affiliated with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and was welcomed back to Vietnam in 2005 as a show of greater religious tolerance at that time (ibid.). USCIRF reports that monks of this order were "beaten, degraded, defrocked and sexually assaulted" (ibid.). Human rights organizations report that in December 2009, a mob that included police officers attacked several hundred monks and nuns from this order at the Phuoc Hue pagoda in Lam Dong province and forced the abbot to agree to expel the monks and nuns from the pagoda (AI 23 Dec. 2009; Human Rights Watch 16 Dec. 2009).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 2013. "Viet Nam." Amnesty International Report 2013: The State of the World's Human Rights. [Accessed 4 Nov. 2013]

_____. 23 December 2009. "Urgent Action: Monks and Nuns Threatened with Eviction." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2013]

Human Rights Watch. January 2013. "Vietnam." World Report 2013. [Accessed 8 Nov. 2013]

_____. 24 April 2012. "Australia--Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue." [Accessed 8 Nov. 2013]

_____. 12 December 2011. "Vietnam: Release Hoa Hao Buddhist Activist." [Accessed 12 Nov. 2013]

_____. 16 December 2009. "Vietnam: End Attacks on Bat Nha Buddhists." [Accessed 4 Nov. 2013]

Indigenous. 2012. Vietnam Shadow Report to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. [Accessed 4 Nov. 2013]

Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH). 4 July 2012. "Clampdown on Peaceful Protests: Another Illustration of the Government's Disregard of Its International Human Rights Obligations." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

_____. 25 January 2012. "Viet Nam (2010-2011). Situation of Human Rights Defenders." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH) and Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR). 17 June 2013. Universal Periodic Review of Vietnam, United Nations Human Rights Council. Joint Submission. [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF). 4 June 2013. "Letter of Appeal--June 4th 2013: Protesting Human Rights Violation." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

_____. January 2012. Briefing Paper Concerning the Tenth to Fourteenth Periodic Reports of Vietnam (CERD/C/VNM/10-14) Under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. [Accessed 4 Nov. 2013]

_____. N.d. "About KKF." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

Minority Rights Group International (MRG). N.d. "Vietnam Overview." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

Radio Free Asia (RFA). 17 May 2013. "Khmer Krom Monks in Hiding from Vietnamese Authorities." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

_____. 7 May 2013. "Banned Vietnamese Buddhist Group's Pagoda Blockaded." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

_____. 30 November 2012. "Buddhist Leader Slams New Decree." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

_____. 6 August 2012. "Religious Leaders Barred." [Accessed on 1 Nov. 2013]

_____. 24 July 2012. "Khmer Krom NGO Status Revoked." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

_____. 3 May 2012. "Crackdown Ahead of Buddha Day." [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

Society for Threatened People (STP). 7 September 2012. Written Statement Submitted by the Society for Threatened Peoples, a Non-Governmental Organization in Special Consultative Status. (A/HRC/21/NGO/98) [Accessed 4 Nov. 2013]

United States (US). 20 May 2013. Department of State. "Vietnam." International Religious Freedom Report for 2012. [Accessed 4 Nov. 2013]

_____. April 2013. US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). "Vietnam." 2013 Annual Report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO). January 2012. Alternative Report Submitted to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the 80th Session During Consideration of the 10th to 14th Periodic Reports of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. [Accessed 1 Nov. 2013]

Vietnam. 12 August 2013. Government Committee for Religious Affairs. "Policies and Guidelines of the Communist Party of Vietnam Regarding Belief and Religion." [Accessed 8 Nov. 2013]

_____. N.d. Government Committee for Religious Affairs. "Religions Recognized by the State." [Accessed 8 Nov. 2013]

Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR). January 2012. Alternative Report on the Implementation of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Violations of the Rights of Ethnic and Religious Minorities in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. [Accesed 1 Nov. 2013]

Vietnam Human Rights Network (VHRN). 2012. Report on Human Rights in Vietnam 2012. [Accessed 4 Nov. 2013]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Asian Centre for Human Rights; Asian Human Rights Commission; ecoi.net; Factiva; Forum 18; Freedom House; Hudson Institute, Center for Religious Freedom; United Nations - Integrated Regional Information Networks, Refworld; World Organization Against Torture.