On 7 February 2007 the Rafto Foundation received a letter from the Vietnamese embassy in Copenhagen informing that a long planned visit to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to meet with Vietnam’s leading dissident, Venerable Thich Quang Do, is not possible. The Rafto Foundation is accused of harming good relationships between Norway and Vietnam. Right, Arne Lynngård of the Rafto Foundation. (13-FEB-07) 

This information has been prepared for publication by Gunta Venge, the Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen.

Thich Quang Do.jpgPress statement from the Rafto Foundation, Bergen, 13 February 2007
In November 2006 the Venerable Thich Quang Do, deputy leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, was awarded the Rafto Prize. Since 1998 the Venerable Quang Do has been under “pagoda arrest”, confined to his temple in Saigon. Mr. Arne Lynngård, the Chairman of the Rafto Foundation, was planning to travel to Vietnam in the beginning of March 2007 to visit Vietnam’s leading dissident in his pagoda and to hand over the Rafto award to him. However, in a letter of February 7 the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Denmark is informing Mr. Lynngård that he is not welcomed in the country. Above left, Thich Quang Do. Photo: International Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB), Paris.

The Rafto Foundation opposes the Vietnamese decision and accusations.
The protest includes the following points:

1. There is an ongoing human rights dialogue between the governments of Norway and Vietnam. The Rafto Foundation made an official request to visit Vietnam in a spirit of dialogue, not only to hand the Rafto award to Venerable Thich Quang Do, but to meet officials and learn about Vietnam´s democratic reforms aimed to build a state that is governed by law and committed to democracy, promised last year by prime minister of Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung.

– How can Vietnam expect the international community to learn about the progress happening inside the country if such visits from international persons are denied? The Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Denmark says the Rafto Foundation’s attitude is “contrary to the reality in Vietnam” – so why don´t they let me see this reality for myself, says Mr. Arne Liljedahl Lynngård.

2. Thich Quang Do is not a violator of Vietnamese laws, as claimed in the official letter, but an internationally recognized personality, respected worldwide for his non-violent efforts to promote peace, democracy and human rights in Vietnam. In 1995 Venerable Quang Do was sentenced to 5 years re-education camp at an unfair trial in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms to harm the interests of the State” for sending a critical essay to the Communist Party leadership and organizing a Relief Mission for flood victims in 1994. The Rafto Foundation was therefore totally justified in awarding the Prize to such a person, and was by no way harming good relationships between Norway and Vietnam.

On 29 September 2006, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre commented from New York Rafto´s decision to give Thich Quang Do the Award: “This prestigious prize has previously been awarded to active human rights campaigners such as Rebiya Kadeer, Aung San Suu Kyi and Shirin Ebadi. I am delighted at the committee’s decision to award this year’s prize to Thich Quang Do.”

3. Venerable Thich Quang Do has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize many times, also in 2007. Nobel Peace Prize laureates such as the Dalai Lama, José Ramos-Horta, Mairead Corrigan Maguire have repeatedly called for Thich Quang Do’s release, as well as the United Nations, and many Resolutions in this sense have been adopted by the European Parliament, the US Congress and national parliaments worldwide.

– According to Hanoi, Thich Quang Do is currently “totally free”, he is therefore officially subject to no restrictions under Vietnamese law, and should be entitled to receive visits, Mr. Lynngård ends.

The Rafto Foundation has contacted the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take a position on this affair and to raise the issue in the ongoing human rights dialogue between the governments of Norway and Vietnam.


Contact information:
Arne Liljedahl Lynngård, Chair of the Board of the Rafto Foundation
Phone: +47 951 52 290
E-mail: arne@bts.no< /A >

Rafto Foundation secretariat, Bergen
Phone: +47 55 21 09 50
E-mail: secretariat@rafto.no

Press release on the Rafto Foundation’s website:
http://www.rafto.no/DesktopModules/ViewAnnouncement.aspx?ItemID=264&Mid=42

Pictures of Thich Quang Do:
http://www.rafto.no/DesktopModules/ViewAnnouncement.aspx?ItemID=233&Mid=42