The beloved teacher Dinh Dang Dinh just breathed his last breath and
passed away in the loving arms of his family and friends at 9:30 p.m. on
April 3, 2014, at his home in Dak Nong province.
After more than 2 years of imprisonment in harsh prison condition and
lack of medical care, teacher Dinh Dang Dinh died of stomach cancer in
final stages at the age of 50.
His permanent departure is an infinite grief for the democracy movement
in Vietnam for losing his dedication, contributions, and sacrifices for
the country.
Teacher Dinh Dang Dinh, born in 1963 in Hai Duong, was a former
lieutenant of the Vietnam People's Army. Due to his disagreement with
the Communist party, he left the army and became a high school chemistry
teacher at Le Quy Don High School in Dak Nong.
Witnessing the destruction of the Bauxite Project, teacher Dinh dang
Dinh had actively called on local residents to sign a protest against
this polluting project. His activism drew the support from many local
residents and also made him a target of harassment from the authorities.
Then he continued to publish many articles expressing his dissent with
the leadership of the Communist party. He strongly urged for democracy,
political pluralism and human rights for the people of Vietnam.
In October 2011, teacher Dinh Dang Dinh was arrested for allegedly
"conducting propaganda against the State" under Article 88 of the Penal
Code. A year later, the Dak Nong provincial court sentenced him to 6
years in prison.
Suffering stomach cancer and the harsh prison condition while serving
his jail term, his health had badly depleted. Although his family had
repeatedly requested the prison to take him to a hospital for treatment,
prison officials had deliberately delayed an approval for him to seek
the treatment he seriously needed.
At the end of 2013, when his health had become extremely bad, teacher
Dinh Dang Dinh was taken to a hospital to have 3/4 of his stomach
removed. Even though when his health was not recovered after the surgery
and he still suffered a lot of pains, teacher Dinh was immediately
taken back to the prison.
After returning to the prison, his health had become increasingly
depleted while the prison deliberately ignored the cries from his
family.
In early 2014, prison police took him back to Saigon for another
treatment; however, the cancer then was in the final stages and no
longer curable.
Talking to the journalist Truong Minh Duc, the teacher said when he
discovered blood in his bowel movement he requested going to a hospital
for an examination but the prison wardens beat him instead of
considering his request.
On March 21, 2014, teacher Dinh Dang Dinh received an “amnesty” from
President Truong Tan Sang when he was so close to his death.Reportedly,
the amnesty was granted for the purpose of "meeting the requirements of
domestic and foreign affairs of the state."
Sharing his thought with VOA after receiving the amnesty, the teacher said: "This order does not bring anything valuable anymore because I am going to lose all of my physical strength."
"No mercy, no humanitarian whatsoever. For those who are concerned,
please pay attention to the common objective which is the struggle
against the dictatorship of the Communist regime. I personally do not
have anything left to be cared for anymore."
After learning that he would not survive, teacher Dinh Dang Dinh
expressed his will to be taken back to his home in Dak Nong for spending
the little time left to live under the old roof aside relatives and
neighbors and to die in the arms of his loved ones.
On April 03, 2014, just a few hours before his death, the Redemptorist
Order priest Anton Le Ngoc Thanh had come to teacher Dinh’s home in Dak
Nong to perform a baptism ceremony for him; the teacher chose Peter for
his baptized name.
The Rev. Dinh Huu Thoai makes an announcement on his Facebook as follow:
"According to the wishes of teacher Peter Dinh Dang Dinh, the
Redemptorist Order will arrange the funeral for him. With the approval
of the Superiors and the family agreement, the arrangements are as
follow:
Enshrouding the body and closing the casket in Dak Nong. The casket will
be transported to the Hamlet 2 Catholic Chapel (Nhà nguyện Xóm giáo 2)
on Hoang Sa Street and Truong Dinh Street for a wake. Funeral Mass will
be celebrated at the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help at 38 Ky
Dong Street, District 3 in Saigon. Cremation ceremony will take place in
Binh Hung Hoa.
Detail information will be announced after consulting with the teacher’s family.
Respectfully announced for everyone to make arrangement at your convenience."
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