THE VIETNAMESE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY IN AUSTRALIA
26 November 2011
The Honourable Julia Gillard, MP
Prime Minister of Australia
Australian Parliament
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2600
Dear Prime Minister,
Abuse of Human Rights - Vietnam
We are writing to raise with you our concerns that human rights abuses are being perpetrated against religious minorities, and particularly against the Catholic communities of Vietnam.
We, the Australian Vietnamese Catholic community, are aware that discrimination against Catholics in Vietnam has been a constant theme for many years but we have become increasingly concerned that in more recent times the level of discrimination has become more pronounced and aggressive and is regularly targeted against the clergy and identifiable community groups.
Since the Communist takeover of North Vietnam in 1954, and South Vietnam in 1975, some 2,250 Church properties have been “borrowed” by the communist government on the pretext that they were needed for “social purposes”. However, with very few exceptions, these properties
have not been returned to the Catholic communities who owned the land. Rather, the buildings and land have been on-sold to developers with the proceeds from these sales being returned to high ranking government officials.
The Catholic Church in Vietnam has repeatedly requested the Vietnamese Government to return church properties unjustly requisitioned by them or their agencies or, where that might no longer be possible, to provide appropriate compensation for the losses incurred. The Catholic Church has asked that the Vietnamese Government recognise the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and acknowledge that “Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others” and that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”
Notwithstanding the claims made to it the Vietnamese Government has continued to ignore international conventions on human rights and, conversely, to exercise coercive practices in contravention of its own laws and in direct opposition to its responsibilities as a signatory to
International Conventions. The Vietnamese Government has made no attempt to put right the unjust acquisition of church property but, rather, has allowed the practice to continue.
We refer now to some specific incidents. On July 20, 2009, police in the province of Quang Binh launched a surprise attack against a group
of parishioners at Tam Toa. These parishioners were staging a peaceful protest on church land that had been illegally seized in 1996. In the conduct of this attack a large number, estimated to be in the order of hundreds of people, were injured while many were arrested, detained and taken away. [1].
In the following week, two Catholic priests were very seriously injured in an unprovoked attack by plain clothes police. This attack was motivated only by the priests wearing Christian symbols.
At the same time other Christians were attacked in the same way and their houses were robbed and vandalised. [2]. Similar incidents happened at Dong Chiem [3], Thai Ha [4], Con Dau [5], and other dioceses.
More recently, on November 3, 2011, a large number of “thugs” broke into the courtyard of the church. Once inside they used loud speakers to insult and to threaten the lives of priests and parishioners. The attackers used sledgehammers to damage the monastery. This attack was
perpetrated in the presence of security agents and was followed by distorted reporting run by the state-controlled media in Vietnam.
On November 21, 2011, a uniformed man burst into the church of Thai Ha where Mass was being celebrated. The offender insulted the priest and threatened terrorist actions against the church.
We note that this sacrilege proceeded in full view of police agents who failed to take any action against the offender. This sacrilege had strong similarities to an event in 2008 which was also directed against the Thai Ha parish.
On Sunday September 21, 2008 the monastery's chapel was ransacked, religious statues were desecrated and religious books destroyed. Following the desecration of this place of Catholic worship Fr. Matthew Vu Khoi Phung, Superior of Hanoi Redemptorist Monastery wrote to the People's Committee of Hanoi City and police agencies of Hanoi and Dong Da district. In part Fr Matthew observed "the gang yelled out slogans threatening to kill priests, religious, faithful and even our archbishop.”
On November 11, 2011 a second attack on the same church was perpetrated by an even larger gang of thugs. The Vietnamese government has steadfastly denied any responsibilities for these violent actions attributing them to “spontaneous people” who have acted “to protect the society and the Party”.
We, seek the rule of justice and equality before the law. We are offended by the use of the social media system, police and agents of the communist government of Vietnam to repress and deny the rights of our brothers and sisters to freely practice their religion of choice without having to endure discrimination, prejudice and, increasingly, persecution.
We fervently seek your goodwill and your intervention through diplomatic means to inspire the Vietnamese government to:
• Recognise the human rights of the people of Vietnam including the right to the freedom to freely practice their religion of choice;
• Pursue a peaceful solution to land disputes with the Catholic Church acknowledging that the right to own property is an internationally accepted human right;
• Ensure that operation of law is uniformly applied and does not act to discriminate against minorities;
• Recognise that the true strength of Vietnam can only be found in its social diversity supported and nurtured in cooperative endeavour.
• Absolutely respect Human Rights and Religious Freedom as the Charter of the United Nations affirmed.
In the spirit of unity and accord, we sign our names and pray that God will bless you and protect you in your capacity as Prime Minister of this great country. We ask that our spiritual father may bring consolation to our countrymen and Christians that they might achieve justice and peace
during the season of the coming of our Christ the Lord.
In Christ
Co-signatories:
1. Mgr. Paul Minh Tam Nguyen, Chairman, Adelaide.
Mob: 0421 331 475
Email: tam-paul2011@hotmail.com
2. Fr. Peter Xuan My Bui, Vice-chairman, Canberra.
Mob: 0411 328 077
Email: pierrexuanmy@gmail.com
3. Fr. Raphael Duc Thien Vo, Secretary, Melbourne.
Mob: 0418 334 806
Email: thien001@tpg.com.au
4. Fr. Paul Van Chi Chu, Treasurer, Sydney.
Tel: (02) 97730933
Mob: 0410 552 650
Email: paulvanchi@yahoo.com
5. Fr. Anthony Huu Quang Nguyen, (Dân Chúa) People of God Magazine, Melbourne.
Tel: (03) 9386 6522
Email: danchuaucchau@gmail.com
For your information:
[1] The Bishop of Vinh commends the faithful for their solidarity with the Catholics of Tam Toa
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/The-Bishop-of-Vinh-commends-the-faithful-for-their-solidaritywith-
the-Catholics-of-Tam-Toa-16221.html
[2] Priest beaten into a coma by police. Catholics Protest throughout Vietnam
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15896&size=
[3] In Dong Chiem Catholics beaten, a journalist wounded and a priest threatened
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/In-Dong-Chiem-Catholics-beaten,-a-journalist-wounded-and-apriest-
threatened-17324.html
[4] Sentence against faithful of Thai Ha upheld. Catholics protest injustice
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=14840&size=
[5] Da Nang bishop says no to violence and lies about Con Dau Catholics
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Da-Nang-bishop-says-no-to-violence-and-lies-about-Con-Dau-Catholics-20385.html
LIST OF SIGNATURES
| Name | Address | Signature |
0 comments:
Post a Comment