Police
violently attack Buddhist monastery
VietCatholic News (29 Sep 2009)
Police in Vietnam
accompanied by armed mob attacked a Buddhist monastery in a province in Central
Highlands of Vietnam, smashed the monastery and evicted about 400 monks and nuns
out of their homes.
At 9am
Sunday Sept. 27, hundreds of police men and pro-government armed thugs attacked
a Buddhist monastery in Lam Dong province. The attack lasted for the whole day.
The angry mob smashed windows and knocked down doors to drag out monks and nuns
who were trying to hide inside their dormitories in the Bat Nha monastery.
“They beat us brutally, yelling at us cursive words. They torn up our clothes in
order to humiliate us, smashing everything within their reach,” said Buddhist
Monk Thich Phap Tu in an interview with Radio Free Asia on Sept. 28. “Also,
police poured water into our computers and other devices to damage them,” he
added.
“We tried to sit down to pray together ignoring what were happening. But they
kicked and dragged each of us out to the courtyard, and forced us to stay there
braving heavy cold rain,” he continued noting that having waited for hours, 150
monks and 230 nuns were herded onto buses and were transported to a location far
away from their monastery. They were then ordered to return to their place of
origin.
Police have since seized the monastery threatening extreme actions against those
who dare to return.
The Buddhist monks and nuns, who were assaulted on Sunday, were followers of
Thich Nhat Hanh, an exiled Vietnam-born monk living in southern France. The
attack against his followers on Sunday highlights the true color of religious
freedom in Vietnam and its policy of using religions for diplomatic gains.
Vietnam began the WTO accession process in 1995. On entering the final stage of
accession, many attempts were made to cover up its notorious human rights
record. In 2005, Vietnam authorities invited Thich Nhat Hanh’s followers to
settle at the pagoda, a move that surprised many Vietnamese Buddhists and
believers of other faiths.
In 1981, the Unified Buddhist Church (UBCV) was outlawed and the “patriotic”
Buddhist Church of Vietnam was established. Many leaders of the underground UBCV,
which has claimed the support of 80 percents of Vietnamese Buddhists, were
imprisoned for years. While the UBCV was still being outlawed, the permission
for an exiled monk to open a monastery was seen by many as a significant move
towards religious freedom in Vietnam. Also, the return of Thich Nhat Hanh to his
native land after 39 years of exile made headline in most state-owned
newspapers.
The WTO General Council approved Viet Nam's accession package on 7 November
2006. Viet Nam became the WTO's 150th member on 11 January 2007. Things have
since changed, slipping quickly back into the pre-WTO era.
The Vietnam's atheist government, which closely monitors religious affairs, has
been trying to evict the monks from Bat Nha for several months. Thich Duc Nghi,
a member of the official Buddhist Church of Vietnam, who himself invited Thich
Nhat Hanh’s followers to settle at his pagoda, announced last year that he had
changed his mind and wanted to kick the monks out of his venue.
Three months ago, an angry mob assaulted the monastery demanding all Thich Nhat
Hanh’s followers to leave. Religious authorities had given Hanh's followers
until Sept. 2 to leave the monastery but they had refused to go. Since then,
they have lived without electricity and running water.
As of Tuesday, Sept. 29, religious police in Lam Dong are still hunting for
Thich Nhat Hanh’s followers who are still wandering around the site.