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| Fr. Peter Nguyen Van Khai |
In the last episode of the conflict between Thai Ha parish and Vietnamese authorities, police has repeatedly summoned Fr. Peter Nguyen Van Khai, the spokesperson of Hanoi Redemptorists. During Saturday April 25, police sent to Thai Ha Monastery three “urgent summoning orders” asking Fr. Peter Nguyen to present “in person” at Hanoi Criminal Investigation Department for the "clarification of a number of documents".
Upon receiving the first summoning order, Fr. Peter Nguyen replied promptly that he could not go to the police department due to pastoral responsibilities that he needed to fulfill during the weekend. Nevertheless, police kept sending two more summoning orders in a threatening tactic devised to bind legal obligations against him.
Harassments against Hanoi Redemptorists occurred immediately after Fr. Matthew Vu Khoi Phung, the Superior of Hanoi Monastery, sent a complaint to various government organs asking for the suspension of a construction project at the 18,230 square meters area surrounding Lake Ba Giang which has been legally owned and managed by Thai Ha parish - the Redemptorist Monastery.
Citing article 70 in the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1992 which states "The places of worship of all faiths and religions are protected by the law", Fr. Matthew Vu strongly denounced the current situation of the area: “our land is being invaded and construction project has been illegally started.”
“We request the Dong Da District's People Committee to take actions by ordering the suspension of construction project being in progress at the Lake Ba Giang area, ceasing all work related-activities, pulling out all equipments and machinery from the premise of Thai Ha parish-Redemptorists in Hanoi,” wrote Fr. Matthew Vu.
In response to his letter, a series of summoning orders have been sent to Thai Ha Monastery threatening “criminal investigations” against his congregation.