A renowned Buddhist teacher has protested the eviction of his followers from a monastery in southern Vietnam's Lam Dong province, and a group of Vietnamese intellectuals have issued a petition to support them. Thich Nhat Hanh [2], a Vietnamese-born Zen master who popularized Buddhism in the West, wrote a letter last week to President Nguyen Minh Triet criticizing the police eviction of nearly 400 from Bat Nha monastery. His followers say a mob including undercover agents descended on the monastery Sept. 27, damaged buildings and forced the devotees out, beating some with sticks.
This week, a group of Vietnamese intellectuals, artists, former Communist Party members and dissidents circulated a petition calling on Vietnam's leaders to investigate the incident and allow the media to report on the standoff, which the state-controlled media have ignored. The petition, drawn up by poet Hoang Hung, has been signed by over 200—roughly half from inside Vietnam and half Vietnamese living overseas. (AP [3], Oct. 9)
See our last post on Vietnam [4].
Please leave a tip [5] or answer the Exit Poll [6].
