Vietnamese government to stop an alleged massive crackdown on religious rights activists and workers demanding better treatment.
In a letter to the EP seen by BosNewsLife Wednesday, April 5, the advocacy group accused Vietnam of murdering and imprisoning hundreds of "outspoken people who ceaselessly fight for democracy, human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam."
It came after reports that a mob in Vietnam’s central Quang Ngai province burned down five homes of Hre minority Christians of the legally-recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South). Church leaders reportedly said that authorities either allowed or instigated the burning of these homes owned by Hre Christians in the Son Tinh Commune area in Son Tay district of Quang Ngai province, on the morning of March 7.
Two other Hre Christians in the area, whose homes were destroyed in July 2005, had their storage facilities for paddy rice burned on March 4, Christian news reports said. One of the Christians, Dinh Van Heo, apparently lost 55 sacks of rice amid pressure to recant his faith in Christ.
DESPERATE DISSIDENTS
The International Movement For Vietnam’s Democracy and Human Rights, said it feared that desperate dissidents of a Buddhist background, including "Mr. Le Quang Liem, leader of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Congregation and 39 followers…will set massive self-immolations to call on people around the world to press the Vietnamese Communist authorities" to end the oppression of religious minorities and workers demanding more rights.
"After over 30 years of suffering under the atrocious oppression of the Communist Party of Vietnam, officials and faithful of Hoa Hao Buddhist Congregation and also labor workers in Bac Lieu Province…started a massive protest," the organization wrote to the Europarliamentarians.
The Movement, which has close contacts with dissidents, claimed that since March 20, there have been "massive protests" against the religious and labor policies of Vietnam’s government.
DEMANDING "JUSTICE"
It reported that the demonstrators also demanded "justice, including public fair trials for hundreds of workers who have been secretly arrested by police" in recent strikes. The detained workers had reportedly demanded "minimum pay rates, pay raises and fairly executing of labor contracts between employers, government and workers."
Demonstrators called for the "abolishment of state-control labor unions in their workplaces" as "in fact, these union representatives are spies and secret police, who work for the government and never represent workers," said the International Movement For Vietnam’s Democracy and Human Rights.
In addition they demanded the immediate return to their owners of land parcels, houses and other properties confiscated by local Vietnamese Communist authorities. The International Movement For Vietnam’s Democracy and Human Rights was to discuss these issues on its Internet forum on website paltalk.com despite apparent dangers. Since last year at least four users of that forum have been detained, BosNewsLife learned.
The organization said it was important that the EP "intervenes" to demand the release of both the recently detained activists and "all other political and religious dissidents who have been in jails for merely promoting democracy, human rights and religious freedom." The Vietnamese government has denied it violates religious rights, and has asuggested that several Christian rights groups spread Western propaganda. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Vietnam).
