n°7 1er septembre 2007

1.                  ONU : le Vietnam est candidat pour être membre non-permanent du Conseil de Sécurité des Nations-Unies

Le14.09.07 prochain, le Premier Ministre communiste vietnamien se rendra au Siège des Nations-Unies afin d'y plaider pour la candidature du Vietnam comme membre non-permanent du Conseil de sécurité.

La Belgique étant membre non-permanent de ce Conseil, nous demandons au Gouvernement belge et au Ministre des Affaires Etrangères Karel de Gutch de ne pas voter pour cette candidature , tant que le régime communiste vietnamien n'aura pas donné toutes les preuves de son respect pour les Droits de l'Homme au Vietnam , notamment en libérant tous les prisonniers d'opinions et en respectant la liberté de la presse et la liberté religieuse

2.                  Le régime communiste empêche les dissidents démocrates de rencontrer un diplomate américain à Hanoi

Le régime a empêché la rencontre entre les dissidents démocrates vietnamiens et M. Michael Orana, Directeur-adjoint du Département Démocratie – Droits de l'Homme et Droits du Travail du Ministère des Affaires étrangères des Etats-Unis. La rencontre était prévue le 30.08.07 à 15h au bureau de M. Nguyễn Phương Anh, à Hanoi. Une quinzaine de dissidents y étaient invités, dont Phạm Văn Trội, Vũ Hùng, Phạm Đức Chính, Đỗ Duy Thông,... La police communiste a empêché M. Phạm Văn Trội de rejoindre Hanoi en l'arrêtant et le retenant au poste de police de Hà Tây (banlieue de Hanoi), de même que 6 autres dissidents, dont M. Vũ Hùng.

La rencontre a quand même pu avoir lieu avec 8 autres dissidents, mais n'a pu durer qu'une demi-heure avant car la Sûreté avait, en force, arrêté les 8 autres invités.

Pourtant, la ‘loi' vietnamienne (art. 69) reconnaît aux citoyens les droits d'information, de réunion, d'association...

3.                  Vague d'intimidations du régime communiste vietnamien envers les responsables de l'Eglise Bouddhiste
                     Unifiée du Vietnam 

·                24.08.07  : le régime communiste a organisé à Tiền-Giang (d'où proviennent les paysans qui ont manifesté à Saigon contre la corruption du régime) 3 ‘manifestations officielles' près de 3 pagodes pour calomnier les Vénérables Thích Minh Nguyệt (Pagode Hồng Liên ), Thích Huệ Thông (Pagode Bửu Khánh ) et Thích Huệ Minh (Pagode An Tân) qui ont soutenu les paysans-manifestations à Saigon.

·                25.08.07  Associated Press : arrestation du Vénérable Thích Không Tánh à Hanoi, pour être venu soutenir les manifestants contre la corruption

              http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/25/asia/AS-GEN-Vietnam-Buddhist-Arrest.php

·                29.08.07  : convocation aux postes de police pour interrogatoire des Vénérables Thích Quảng Ðộ (79 ans, lauréat du prix Rafto 2006 des défenseurs des droits de l'homme), Thích Chơn Tâm, Thích Viên Hỷ et Thích Ðồng Minh à Saigon, et Thích Viên Ðịnh à Bình-Ðịnh.

(voir Annexe 1)

4.                  Témoignage d'un groupe de jeunes chrétiens sur la persécution du christianisme au Vietnam

Témoignage d'un groupe de jeunes chrétiens (6 américains et 2 australiens) sur la persécution du christianisme au Vietnam : lors de leur voyage durant l'été 2006, ces jeunes ont pu réaliser un film relatant leur témoignage, édité sous forme de DVD :

http://www.ur-video.com/main_page.html ou http://www.persecution.com/
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/11552243/

(voir Annexe 2)

5.                  Diminution des peines de prison pour 3 dissidents démocrates

17.08.09  : Diminution des peines de prison pour 3 dissidents démocrates en appel :
1.       le cyber-dissident Lê Nguyên Sang a vu sa peine diminuée de 5 ans à 4 ans de prison ferme
2.       le journaliste Hùynh Nguyên Ðạo a vu sa peine diminuée de 4 ans à 3 ans de prison ferme
3.       l'homme d'affaires Nguyễn Bác Truyền a vu sa peine diminuée de 3 ans à 2 ans et demi de prison ferme

Reporters Sans Frontières , qui a condamné toutes les dernières peines de prison infligées aux démocrates pacifiques au Vietnam, se réjouit de cette décision ‘judiciaire', mais continue à réclamer la libération de tous les autres dissidents emprisonnés et soutient notamment la Lettre Ouverte signée par M. Vaclav Havel et une douzaine d'autres leaders réclamant la libération du prête catholique Nguyễn Van Lý.
Ces ‘mesures de clémence' sont bien évidemment insuffisantes !
Pour rappel, le Parlement Européen, dans sa Résolution du 12 juillet dernier, " exige, par voie de conséquence, la libération immédiate et inconditionnelle de toutes les personnes détenues au seul motif qu'elles ont usé pacifiquement et légitimement de leurs droits à la liberté d'opinion, à la liberté d'expression, à la liberté de la presse et à la liberté de religion... " (point 2)
Nous attendons toujours la réaction de la Commission Européenne et de chacun des Etats-membres de l'Union !

MERCI D'INTERPELLER VOS RESPONSABLES POLITIQUES !

 (voir Annexe 3)

6.                  Les manifestations des paysans contre la corruption et la confiscation de leurs terres continuent tant à                     Saigon qu'à  Hanoi
Malgré les vagues quotidiennes d'arrestations et d'intimidations brutales des forces de l'ordre. Chaque jour, le régime ramène de force les paysans vers leurs villes d'origine avec des dizaines d'autocars, et le lendemain, ils reviennent manifester, inlassablement depuis plus de 2 mois... N'ayant plus rien à perdre, ces paysans n'ont plus peur, ni de la prison, ni de la torture...

7.                  un suisse d'origine vietnamienne élu Maire d'une commune en Suisse

Le premier maire genevois d'origine extra-européenne vient du Vietnam. Agé de 51ans, M. Đinh Mạnh Uông règne sur Confignon, une commune suburbaine de 3800 habitants sous la bannière PDC. Il est responsable des dicastères suivants : finances et gestion, développement économique, administration générale, état civil, environnement (politique énergétique, gestion des déchets), développement durable, mobilité et transports.
Arrivé en Suisse en 1975 et naturalisé en 1988. Habite à Confignon depuis 1993 et conseiller municipal depuis 1998.
Félicitations et bon travail, Monsieur le Maire !

http://www.letemps.ch/envoiarticle.asp?artid=212919

8.        Pétition pour l'unité de la Belgique

Si vous êtes attaché à l'unité de la Belgique , vous pouvez signer cette pétition sur le site :

http://www.lapetition.be/petition.php?petid=408

9.                  Agenda du mois de septembre 2007

02.09.07 de 10h à 16h :     Fête de la Piété , Pagode Tuê-Giác, 4030 Liège-Grivegnée, rue de l'Espoir, 2
08.09.07 à 19h30 :            Vernissage de l'exposition ‘Boat People Tragedy' d'André Paquet à Malmédy
09.09.07 à partir de 10h :   Fête du Bouddhisme à l'Institut Yeunten Ling, à Huy
14.09.07 à 19h :                Accueil de M. Lý Tống à Bruxelles
15.09.07  :                        Tournoi de Tennis VTA 2007 Fall à Barchon
22 et 23.09.07  :               En Fanfare à Blégny
29.09.07 :                         Fête de la Mi-Automne à Bruxelles et à Liège

Annexe 1

Vietnamese security police arrest Buddhist monk, 8 others
The Associated Press
August 25, 2007

HANOI , Vietnam : Police have arrested a dissident Buddhist monk and eight other people, accusing them of planning illegal demonstrations against Vietnam 's communist government, state media reported Saturday.

Police arrested monk Thich Khong Tanh in Hanoi on Thursday, accusing his outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam of plotting an illicit protest, the Vietnam News Agency said.

The report described the church's chief, Thich Quang Do, as a "gang leader," and said he had been planning anti-government protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City .

The article said Do and other church leaders had collaborated with unspecified "reactionary forces in exile," raising money from overseas to finance the protests.

Do sent Tanh to Hanoi with 300 million Vietnamese dong (US$18,750; €13,772) to use to incite protesters, the agency reported. It did not identify the other people who were arrested.

The International Buddhist Information Bureau, a Paris-based group that supports the church, said in a statement that Tanh had planned to distribute aid to peasants and farmers whose land had been confiscated by corrupt local officials.

International human rights organizations have praised Do for his refusal to accept government control of his church.

Vietnam 's communist government tightly controls religious organizations, which must be officially sanctioned to operate legally in the country.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/25/asia/AS-GEN-Vietnam-Buddhist-Arrest.php

Annexe 2

The Ultimate Reality: American Teens Experience Persecution In Vietnam
Janet Chismar

It wasn't your typical summer vacation. Last year, eight teens—six Americans and two Australians—travelled to Vietnam to witness firsthand the persecution of Christians in the Asian nation. Their adventure—Underground Reality: Vietnam—was captured on film and is available now on DVD from The Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry dedicated to helping persecuted Christians in nations like Vietnam.

“We've seen a lot of reality TV over the last five years or so,” says Todd Nettleton, spokesperson for The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). “Well, this is the ultimate reality -- the reality of life and death for Christians in Vietnam . It's the reality of Christians paying the price to live out their convictions and serve God.”

The idea for a DVD was generated as VOM staff wrestled with how to present the reality of persecution to an American audience. "Many Americans think persecution existed in the book of Acts, then it stopped." Nettleton says. "But it is still going on all the time. This DVD serves as a way of confronting the American church with the daily reality of our brothers and sisters in restricted nations."

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) listed Vietnam in its May 2007 report as a “Country of Particular Concern” regarding religious freedom. According to Tears of the Oppressed, an Australian Christian human rights organization, although Vietnam has a constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, the State has a range of decrees and laws in place to control religious activities and detain religious leaders. Christianity is incompatible with the Marxist/Communist political ideology of Vietnam , which denies the existence of God, and so Vietnamese authorities go to great lengths to suppress and hinder Christian activities.

"The Vietnamese government wants people to be Communists first and Christians second," Nettleton explains. "But the people we filmed say they are Christians first and everything else comes after that." The government allows some Christian meetings but they are closely monitored and watched. These groups are subject to having the police raid their services or having people arrested and locked up. In some cases, they are even attacked physically.

One of the things that happened right before the VOM group travelled to Vietnam is that a house church was torn down by the government. "The people came in swinging clubs and some of the Christians were roughed up pretty badly," says Nettleton. "That's the reality for Christians in Vietnam – that's what we wanted to capture on the DVD -- what it is like for an American Christian teenager to come face to face with that type of reality."

Bethany , one of the teens who made the trip, admits she was shaken by the reality she experienced. "When I went to Vietnam , everything got shaken up,” says Bethany . “One day I interviewed a girl we called Esther. This was my greatest moment in Vietnam . Her dad was the first Christian in their village. When he started having services in their house, the police asked him to come to meet them."

Looking at the floor, the Vietnamese girl told Bethany , "I never saw him again or heard about him for three years."

All of a sudden, says Bethany , "it hit me and I began crying too. I thought, 'She is 16 and living without her dad who is suffering in prison.' I talk to my own dad four or five times a day. He always says to me, 'I am praying for you. I love you.' I do not know how I could go on without him."

Bethany asked Esther, "How do you do it? How are you not angry at God? How can you be the backbone in your family?'' The girl answered, "God has moved and filled the void in my life when my father was imprisoned. God is my heavenly Father—the only Father that I need."

During their visit, the teens also interviewed a pastor whose house church has been repeatedly torn down by the police and were even forced to flee from a Christian youth camp when police suddenly arrived. No one was hurt, but the experience brought home vividly the danger of standing for Christ in Vietnam .

VOM carefully considered the safety issue before the project started and students were selected. "Because of the amount of trade going on between the United States and Vietnam ," Nettleton explains, "it seemed very unlikely that the students would be arrested or held for any amount of time, although there was the potential they could be blacklisted and put on a plane out of the country. But we felt the risk was less in Vietnam than it might have been in other countries."

During the trip, says Nettleton, each of the teens had to wrestle with his or her own faith and what it means to follow Christ. The film shows one of the girls saying, “I don't know if I would keep going to church and keep following Christ if people were sticking a gun in my face and threatening to kill me." At different times during the trip, all of the students had to answer the question: "What would I do?”

That's really a crucial question for all Christians to ask, Nettleton says, but particularly for these young people, who are at the beginning of their lives and at the beginning of walking with Christ. "It's a powerful and important question and the answer to it can be life changing."

Nettleton says he thinks every Christian should wrestle with such questions: "What would I do if they closed down my church? What would I do if someone put a gun in my face?" These are questions that Underground Reality: Vietnam presents – up close and personal. "It forces you to think about what the answers are for you," he adds. "That can only strengthen the faith, not only of American teenagers, but of American adults."

To order your copy of Underground Reality: Vietnam , visit
http://www.ur-video.com/main_page.html or http://www.persecution.com/

Find this article at: http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/11552243/

Annexe 3

Reporters Without Borders
17 August 2007

Cyber-dissident's prison sentence cut from five years to four on appeal

Reporters Without Borders notes that a Ho Chi Minh City court reduced cyber-dissident Le Nguyen Sang's five-year prison sentence to four years on appeal yesterday.

This decision shows that the Vietnamese judicial authorities recognise that their sentences are disproportionate, the press freedom organisation said. We hope they continue on this course and that they end up reviewing all of the draconian sentences being served by the nine cyber-dissidents and journalists currently held in Vietnam.

The four-year sentence imposed on journalist Huynh Nguyen Dao on 10 May and the three-year sentence imposed on businessman Nguyen Bac Truyen the same day have also been reduced to three years and two and a half years respectively.

Reporters Without Borders supports the open letter signed by former Czech dissident Vaclav Havel and a dozen other leading figures calling for their release and the release of Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest who was arrested in March and convicted of propaganda against the government.

nother Bloc 8406 member, Tran Quoc Hien, who is the spokesman of the United Workers-Farmers Organization (UWFO), is to appear in court on 15 May on charges of sabotaging national security, as well as defaming the state and anti-government propaganda under article 88 of the criminal code.