Dear friends and colleagues,
We are writing this letter to express our deep concerns about the harassment-turned-persecution against Catholic journalists in Hanoi stemming from a seemingly ordinary land dispute between Redemptorists/parishioners versus the local government of Vietnam. We have been deeply troubled by recent religious and human rights violations against the said religious order, Catholic faithful who have been assembling since January of this year for peaceful prayer vigils at the site in dispute, and now the journalists who have been working around the clock to report what's truly happening at this site to their fellow Christians and Catholic agencies, helping us to see an accurate picture of which right and principle the Redemptorist and proud parishioners of Thai Ha stand for, a far cry from what has been distortionally portrayed by the state-owned media.
The property in question consists of 15 acres of land purchased by the said religious order in 1928. After the Communist takeover of Northern Vietnam in 1954, most of the Redemptorists in Northern Vietnam had moved South to avoid persecution. Of those five who remained in Hanoi, two were arrested, imprisoned without being released until their death; another pair who had foreign citizenship were deported, thus leaving a local priest solely in charge of the entire property. Despite the pastor's protests, local authorities, following a harsh anti-religion policy, had allowed individuals and state-run organisations to seize the parish's land one section at a time. The 15-acre plot has been reduced to only about half an acre.
Since 1996, this religious order has been repeatedly requesting the requisition of the property claiming that it was seized illegally – all to no avail. The Redemptorists and their followers in their desperation were left with no choice other than holding peaceful protests completely complying with Vietnam law to call out for justice from the authorities since 5th January, 2008.
In response, the government of Vietnam launched a terrorising campaign against Hanoi Catholics, starting with a media campaign threatening to use "extreme actions" against the Redemptorists, depicting them as "criminals" who have used their influence to incite the faithful in a confrontation against the government, destroying state property, assembling and praying illegally in public areas, and disturbing the public order. The campaign, which has incited a social sentiment not only against the Redemptorists but also the Church as a whole, has been stepped up by a series of arrests on 28th August.
On the same day, numerous of priests and lay people were kicked and beaten brutally by police when they peacefully requested for the release of detainees. Demonstrators had claimed the police beat them brutally and used stun guns on them.
Even worse, on Sunday 31th August, Vietnam police disrupted a Catholic prayer vigil on the ground of Thai Ha Redemptorist Monastery. Fr. Peter Nguyen Van Khai was personally attacked when he was leading the prayer service. A policeman in uniform sprayed the priest, altar boys and people nearby with tear gas at close range causing many to faint and vomit. That created a total chaos among the faithful, many ran and cried out in panic. About thirty parishioners, most of them were children and elderly, suffered badly from tear gas inhalation. Among them at least 20 were hospitalised. Needless to say, a supposed-to-be peaceful religious event had been completely ruined as it was showing a clear signal from an unyielding government which was determined to persecute rather than negotiate.
On September 8th, the New Hanoi newspaper carries a report in which Lt. General Nguyen Van Huong, Vice-Minister of Public Security, virulently accusing Catholic protestors in Thai Ha of "belittling the laws and disrupting public order" threatening to punish severely "anyone who incites protests."
To make the term "anyone who incites protests" clearer, Major-General Nguyen Duc Nhanh, the Director of the Hanoi Police Agency claimed that "the presence of priests where Catholics assemble to pray illegally, or to perform riot behaviours, or to destroy state properties, by itself, is an act of riot stimulation."
Nhanh also threatened to punish anyone who writes and distributes articles relating to Catholic protests on the Internet.
Immediately after that, a series of "urgent order of arrest" has been issued. Here are the list of people who already been arrested since Sep. 1.
List of people who have been arrested since Sep. 1
1. Mr. Le Quang Kien of 8/162 A Ton Duc Thang St. Dong Da, Hanoi.
2. Mr. Nguyen Dac Hung of Thon Dam, Tan Hoa, Quoc Oai, Son Tay.
3. Mr. Thai Thanh Hai of 42 Nguyen Luong Bang St., O Cho Dua, Dong Da, Hanoi.
4. Mr. Nguyen Thi Viet of A2 Thuy Tinh, Thinh Quang, Dong Da, Hanoi.
5. Mrs. Le Thi Hoi of 8/62 Tho Quan, Dong Da, Hanoi.
6. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Nhi of Ha Thao, Phu Xuyen.
Vietnamese government is hunting for:
1. Mrs. Ngo Thi Dung of 306 C3 Vinh Ho, Nga Tu So, Dong Da, Hanoi who was forced to go fugitive to avoid persecution.
Hanoi Police also summoned some of our Catholic reporters and threatened them with severe consequences if they keep reporting to Catholic agencies on developments at Thai Ha.
As we are reporting this news to you, we are not sure how many more Christians journalist and citizen reporters have been arrested and punished for doing what is expected of them in this line of work: they report the events as they're happening. No more, no less. Question is: why the government is so afraid of these reports that these journalists have to be silenced at any cost?
It seems most people in Vietnam already knew the answer. They however cannot speak out in defending their constitutional right to speech in Vietnam, since all News agencies including major newspapers and broadcasting systems belong to the state. Without our intervention, voice of the truth will not be able to reach out to the global community.
As much as we are in solidarity with our colleagues, our Christian brothers and sisters in Vietnam whose lives have been in jeopardy for what their hearts were yearning to do: seeking for the truth, we hope with this letter you will have a better understanding of the danger those journalists and loved ones have to face on a daily basis. Please help us in telling the truth, even though it surely comes with a hefty price, as the Bible says: The Truth Will Set You Free"
Please accept our sincere wish for good health and happiness to you, your family, and unending success.
Sincerely,
Fr. John Nghi Tran
Director of VietCatholic News Agency
We are writing this letter to express our deep concerns about the harassment-turned-persecution against Catholic journalists in Hanoi stemming from a seemingly ordinary land dispute between Redemptorists/parishioners versus the local government of Vietnam. We have been deeply troubled by recent religious and human rights violations against the said religious order, Catholic faithful who have been assembling since January of this year for peaceful prayer vigils at the site in dispute, and now the journalists who have been working around the clock to report what's truly happening at this site to their fellow Christians and Catholic agencies, helping us to see an accurate picture of which right and principle the Redemptorist and proud parishioners of Thai Ha stand for, a far cry from what has been distortionally portrayed by the state-owned media.
The property in question consists of 15 acres of land purchased by the said religious order in 1928. After the Communist takeover of Northern Vietnam in 1954, most of the Redemptorists in Northern Vietnam had moved South to avoid persecution. Of those five who remained in Hanoi, two were arrested, imprisoned without being released until their death; another pair who had foreign citizenship were deported, thus leaving a local priest solely in charge of the entire property. Despite the pastor's protests, local authorities, following a harsh anti-religion policy, had allowed individuals and state-run organisations to seize the parish's land one section at a time. The 15-acre plot has been reduced to only about half an acre.
Since 1996, this religious order has been repeatedly requesting the requisition of the property claiming that it was seized illegally – all to no avail. The Redemptorists and their followers in their desperation were left with no choice other than holding peaceful protests completely complying with Vietnam law to call out for justice from the authorities since 5th January, 2008.
In response, the government of Vietnam launched a terrorising campaign against Hanoi Catholics, starting with a media campaign threatening to use "extreme actions" against the Redemptorists, depicting them as "criminals" who have used their influence to incite the faithful in a confrontation against the government, destroying state property, assembling and praying illegally in public areas, and disturbing the public order. The campaign, which has incited a social sentiment not only against the Redemptorists but also the Church as a whole, has been stepped up by a series of arrests on 28th August.
On the same day, numerous of priests and lay people were kicked and beaten brutally by police when they peacefully requested for the release of detainees. Demonstrators had claimed the police beat them brutally and used stun guns on them.
Even worse, on Sunday 31th August, Vietnam police disrupted a Catholic prayer vigil on the ground of Thai Ha Redemptorist Monastery. Fr. Peter Nguyen Van Khai was personally attacked when he was leading the prayer service. A policeman in uniform sprayed the priest, altar boys and people nearby with tear gas at close range causing many to faint and vomit. That created a total chaos among the faithful, many ran and cried out in panic. About thirty parishioners, most of them were children and elderly, suffered badly from tear gas inhalation. Among them at least 20 were hospitalised. Needless to say, a supposed-to-be peaceful religious event had been completely ruined as it was showing a clear signal from an unyielding government which was determined to persecute rather than negotiate.
On September 8th, the New Hanoi newspaper carries a report in which Lt. General Nguyen Van Huong, Vice-Minister of Public Security, virulently accusing Catholic protestors in Thai Ha of "belittling the laws and disrupting public order" threatening to punish severely "anyone who incites protests."
To make the term "anyone who incites protests" clearer, Major-General Nguyen Duc Nhanh, the Director of the Hanoi Police Agency claimed that "the presence of priests where Catholics assemble to pray illegally, or to perform riot behaviours, or to destroy state properties, by itself, is an act of riot stimulation."
Nhanh also threatened to punish anyone who writes and distributes articles relating to Catholic protests on the Internet.
Immediately after that, a series of "urgent order of arrest" has been issued. Here are the list of people who already been arrested since Sep. 1.
List of people who have been arrested since Sep. 1
1. Mr. Le Quang Kien of 8/162 A Ton Duc Thang St. Dong Da, Hanoi.
2. Mr. Nguyen Dac Hung of Thon Dam, Tan Hoa, Quoc Oai, Son Tay.
3. Mr. Thai Thanh Hai of 42 Nguyen Luong Bang St., O Cho Dua, Dong Da, Hanoi.
4. Mr. Nguyen Thi Viet of A2 Thuy Tinh, Thinh Quang, Dong Da, Hanoi.
5. Mrs. Le Thi Hoi of 8/62 Tho Quan, Dong Da, Hanoi.
6. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Nhi of Ha Thao, Phu Xuyen.
Vietnamese government is hunting for:
1. Mrs. Ngo Thi Dung of 306 C3 Vinh Ho, Nga Tu So, Dong Da, Hanoi who was forced to go fugitive to avoid persecution.
Hanoi Police also summoned some of our Catholic reporters and threatened them with severe consequences if they keep reporting to Catholic agencies on developments at Thai Ha.
As we are reporting this news to you, we are not sure how many more Christians journalist and citizen reporters have been arrested and punished for doing what is expected of them in this line of work: they report the events as they're happening. No more, no less. Question is: why the government is so afraid of these reports that these journalists have to be silenced at any cost?
It seems most people in Vietnam already knew the answer. They however cannot speak out in defending their constitutional right to speech in Vietnam, since all News agencies including major newspapers and broadcasting systems belong to the state. Without our intervention, voice of the truth will not be able to reach out to the global community.
As much as we are in solidarity with our colleagues, our Christian brothers and sisters in Vietnam whose lives have been in jeopardy for what their hearts were yearning to do: seeking for the truth, we hope with this letter you will have a better understanding of the danger those journalists and loved ones have to face on a daily basis. Please help us in telling the truth, even though it surely comes with a hefty price, as the Bible says: The Truth Will Set You Free"
Please accept our sincere wish for good health and happiness to you, your family, and unending success.
Sincerely,
Fr. John Nghi Tran
Director of VietCatholic News Agency