Vietnam Buddhists say followers beaten, detained
HANOI - A Buddhist sect has accused Vietnamese authorities of
detaining leaders during last month's visit by U.S. President Bill Clinton,
beating one man into a coma, and of breaking up a protest against such treatment.
The Maryland-based Overseas Hoa Hao Buddhist Association said thousands of
church members had protested last week in the southern province of An Giang
to demand religious freedoms and the freeing of their secretary-general Ha
Hai.
A statement from the group on Tuesday said Ha Hai was detained on November
18 while on his way to Ho Chi Minh City, where Clinton was visiting.
It said a dozen more members of the sect were detained and placed under
house arrest during Clinton's visit.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the
statement.
The statement said Ha Hai began a hunger strike during his detention at An
Giang's Cho Moi prison and authorities called in his wife to persuade him to
end it. When she failed, she, her two sons and daughter were ordered to leave
the prison and attacked on the way out, the statement said.
One of the sons, Ha Van Duy Ho, was clubbed several times on the head and
was now in a coma, while the other suffered a fractured left leg, the statement said.
It said the subsequent protest last Thursday by several thousand Hoa Hao
members carrying banners reading "human rights for Vietnam" and "freedom of religion
for Vietnam" was broken up by several hundred uniformed and plain-clothed
police officers.
The statement said one sect member slashed her throat in protest when police
burned Hoa Hao flags, while another tried to slit his stomach. It said both
were taken to hospital but gave no indication as to their condition.
The statement carried photographs of the alleged protest -- a rare event in
authoritarian Vietnam -- and of a man lying in bed surrounded by relatives
and said to be Ha Van Duy Ho.
In September, five members of the Hoa Hao sect were sentenced to between one
and three years in jail, accused of slandering the government and
"abusing democratic rights". Their church said they had complained of abuses
of power.
Communist Vietnam routinely denies restricting religious freedoms or holding
religious prisoners. During his November 16-19 visit, Clinton urged Hanoi to
show greater religious tolerance.
Reuters - December 12, 2000
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