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Police blocked the site |
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Catholic protestors on the streets of Hanoi |
At 11:20 pm local time, “a crowd in great numbers surrounded our monastery and our church,” Fr. Matthew Vu Khoi Phung wrote in a letter set to People’s Committee of Hanoi City and police agencies of Hanoi and Dong Da district. “They yelled, smashed everything on their way, threw stones into our monastery, and shattered the gate of Saint Gerardo Chapel.”
In addition, “the gang yelled out slogans threatening to kill priests, religious, faithful and even our archbishop,” he added.
Fr. Matthew Vu went on expressing his deep concerns about the incident as “everything happened clearly in front of a large number of officials, police, security personnels, anti-riot police 113, and mobile police – those who in charge of keeping security and safety in the region – but they did nothing to protect us.”
Fr. Vu also reported that on Sunday evening a group of about 200 young men wearing blue shirt of Youth Communist League known as “Voluntary Youths” came to Thai Ha “to disturb order, smear and spit on the face of our priests, religious and faithful.” Again, everything occurred under indifferent eyes of police.
The superior strongly denounced that: “This is a sort of terrorism against Catholic faithful and clergy taking place right at the center of the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
Fr. Joseph Nguyen from Hanoi reported: “As at 4 pm local time today, the site where protestors used to gather to pray daily has been surrounded by rolls of barbed wire. Police and their dogs attack anyone who comes to the site. This shows a clear signal from an unyielding government which has been determined to persecute rather than dialogue.”
“Hanoi Catholics have been very upset with the assault; and they really concern for Thai Ha parishioners and their priests. Many pieces of the land in dispute were provided to high police officials. They were particular enraged with Thai Ha Catholics as they could not sell for money, at least at the meantime,” he added.