B4-0048, 0069, 0092, 0101 and 0108/95

Resolution on the human rights situation in Vietnam

The European Parliament

A.noting that, while freedom of belief and religion is extended to all citizens of Vietnam in the Constitution of 1992, the policy of the Government of Vietnam since 1982 has been to give support and recognition to the Vietnam Buddhist Church (set up in 1981), largely to the exclusion of other Buddhist sects,

B.aware that the Unified Buddhist Church (UBCV, set up in 1951 and which, during the 1960s, had been involved in protests against the regime in South Vietnam) has publicly campaigned against this policy of having a single Buddhist church,

C.concerned that, as a result, a number of monks of the Unified Buddhist Church (Thich Tri Tuu, Thich Hai Tang, Thich Hai Chanh, Thich Hai Thinh, Thich Han Duc and Thich Thien Tho) were punished, in 1993, for public order offences following legal proceedings which, in certain cases according to Amnesty International, were questionable,

D.concerned, moreover, that a number of monks and other leading figures of the Unified Buddhist Church (Thich Long Tri, Pham Van Xua (Nhât Thuong), Thich Tri Luc and Nguyên Thi Em (Dông Ngoc), Thich Khong Tanh, and Thich Nhât Ban) were arrested, in November 1994, while organizing relief efforts (financed by a Convention of the Unified Buddhist Church in Houston, Texas), without the permission of the authorities, following the serious flooding in the Mekong Delta in October, having made an earlier relief mission, financed locally, without interference from the authorities,

E.concerned that the Head of the Unified Buddhist Church, Thich Huyen Quang (who had been detained in the Hoi Phuoc Pagoda in Quang Ngai since 1992) and his Deputy, Thich Quang Do, were also arrested on 29 December and 4 January respectively, after protesting against these arrests in November,

F.concerned at reports by Amnesty International that more than 60 political prisoners are still imprisoned in Vietnam, among whom 38 are prisoners of conscience held solely because of their beliefs,

G.whereas respect for human rights constitutes an integral part of the development and economic cooperation policy of the European Union,

1.Considers that the policy of the Government of Vietnam towards the Unified Buddhist Church contradicts its general policy of political reform;

2.Notes that the Vietnamese authorities have also dealt harshly with certain representatives of other religious groups, as well as a number of writers, artists and intellectuals, when these are perceived as threatening the national integrity or public order of Vietnam; in this connection, draws attention to the case of Mrs Duong Thu Huong;

3.Hopes that the Vietnamese authorities will quickly move to a more liberal and tolerant approach in matters of internal security;

4.Welcomes the decision of the Government of Vietnam to accept a standard human rights clause in the Cooperation Agreement which is currently being negotiated with the European Community;

5.Calls on the Council and the Commission to raise human rights concerns with the Vietnamese authorities;

6.Calls on the Vietnamese Government to release all the officials and members of the UBCV who have been imprisoned without trial for the non-violent expression and exercise of their religious beliefs;

7.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Government of Vietnam.