WHEREAS, Buddhism has a 2,000-year tradition in Vietnam and the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) is an heir to this tradition; and
WHEREAS, The Vietnamese government in 1981 declared the UBCV, the largest religious denomination in the country, illegal, confiscated its temples and persecuted its clergy for refusing to join state-sponsored Buddhist organizations; and
WHEREAS, The government of Vietnam has often imprisoned UBCV clergy and subjected them to other forms of persecution and the patriarch of the UBCV, the 85-year-old Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, has been detained for 21 years in a decrepit temple in an isolated area of central Vietnam; and
WHEREAS, The Vietnamese government has held the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, the Executive President of the UBCV and his deputy, the Venerable Thich Tue Sy, in various forms of detention since 1977; and
WHEREAS, Many other leading UBCV figures, including Thich Thien Minh, Thich Thien Hanh, Thich Phuoc An, Thich Dong Tho, Thich Vien Dinh, Thich Thai Hoa, Thich Nguyen Ly, Thich Thanh Huyen, Thich Khong Tanh, Thich Phuoc Vien, Thich Hai Tang, Thich Dong Tho, Thich Nguyen Vuong, Thich Chi Mau, Thich Chi Thang, and Thich Thanh Quang have been detained, harassed, and under tight surveillance; and
WHEREAS, Several members of the UBCV have fled to Cambodia to escape religious repression and harassment; and
WHEREAS, Thich Tri Luc was kidnapped in Cambodia by Vietnamese authorities after being given refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), forcibly repatriated, held incommunicado for a year, and now stands charged with the vague crime of “fleeing abroad or defecting overseas with the intent to oppose the people’s administration” which carries the possible sentence of life imprisonment; and
WHEREAS, Vietnam has acceded to international covenants and treaties that prohibit the forced repatriation of UNHCR recognized refugees; and
WHEREAS, Vietnam has acceded to international covenants and treaties that protect the right to faith, belief, and practice; and
WHEREAS, Vietnam’s constitution protects the right of religious belief; and
WHEREAS, In a show of religious tolerance, the Vietnamese government in April 2003 allowed the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, the Fourth Supreme Patriarch of the UBCV to receive urgent medical care in Hanoi; and
WHEREAS, At that time, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai met with Venerable Thich Huyen Quang and assured him that his and Venerable Thich Quang Do’s detentions were mistakes by local officials and that he hoped they would extend Buddhist forgiveness toward past actions of the government; and
WHEREAS, In June 2003, the Vietnamese government ended the detention order against Venerable Thich Quang Do, the Executive President of the UBCV; and
WHEREAS, In September and October 2003, the UBCV held a meeting in Nguyen Thieu pagoda in Binh Dinh province to discuss church affairs, choose new leadership, which it has been without for a decade, and verify Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai’s promise of a new era of understanding and respect; and
WHEREAS, Vietnamese authorities attempted to disrupt these gatherings by restricting the travel of monks from other provinces and then intimidating those attending; and
WHEREAS, On October 8, 2003, Vietnamese authorities initiated a tense standoff following the meeting and police stopped a vehicle carrying the UBCV’s new leadership and subsequently detained the 11 passengers; and
WHEREAS, The Venerables Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do were taken to their respective pagodas where they have been effectively isolated and detained, four senior monks, the Venerable Thich Tue Sy, Thich Thanh Huyen, Thich Nguyen Ly, and the UBCV Supreme Patriarch’s personal assistant, Venerable Thich Dong Tho were immediately sentenced to 24 months of administrative detainment by written orders of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, and three others, the Venerables Thich Thien Hanh, Thich Thai Hoa and Thich Nguyen Vuong to 24 months administrative detainment by oral orders from various local authorities; and
WHEREAS, In protest of these events, the Venerable Thich Thien Hanh initiated a hunger strike on October 19, 2003; and
WHEREAS, According to reports by the State Department, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and the European Union, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam systematically limits the right of religious organizations to choose their own clergy evidenced by the fact that, prior to the UBCV incidents, authorities tried to restrict the Vatican’s appointment of Archbishop Pham Minh Man to the position of Cardinal; and
WHEREAS, According to these same reports, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam uses house arrest and long prison sentences to punish individuals for practicing their faith as evidenced by the jail sentences handed down to Father Nguyen Van Ly, his three relatives, Christian Montagnards, and Hoa Hao Buddhists; and
WHEREAS, Because of systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations of religious freedom, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that the President of the United States designate Vietnam as a “country of particular concern” under the provisions of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California strongly urges the Vietnamese government to respect the right of all independent religious organizations to meet, worship, operate, and practice their faith in accordance with Vietnam’s own constitution and international covenants to which Vietnam is a signatory and to restore freedom to all Vietnamese citizens imprisoned or under house arrest for practicing their faith or for advocating freedom of religion, and recommends that the United States Congress and United States Embassy in Vietnam to closely monitor cases of abuse of religious belief and practice, routinely visit detained clergy members, especially those in need of medical care, and report to Congress on specific measures taken to protect and promote religious freedom in Vietnam; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.