Plight Of Christians In Vietnam

EDM number 633 in 2004-05, proposed by David Drew on 01/02/2005.

That this House notes that the Vietnamese Government has arrested and imprisoned thousands of Christians over the last decade; recognises that the ethnic minority Montagnard and Hmong peoples have been heavily persecuted by the authorities, and that Christians within those groups have been particularly targeted; further notes, that when central areas of Vietnam suffered severe storms and floods in late 2003, many Christians in Quang Ngai and Ninth provinces were denied help and assistance from the Vietnamese Government because of their Christian faith; further notes that Buddhists, especially those linked to the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam, have also faced persecution; further notes that there is concern amongst religious groups about the Vietnamese Government's recent Ordinance on Religion; expresses strong concern at the arrests in particular of Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, General Secretary of the Vietnam Mennonite Church, Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest, and the Venerable Thich Quang Do, a Buddhist monk, is aware that their main 'offence' is that they have spoken out against the Government's violation of religious freedom; is strongly concerned at reports that some prisoners, notably a young Christian woman, Le Thi Hong Lien, have been severely ill-treated; calls for the immediate release of all religious prisoners, including those imprisoned under other pretexts; and calls upon the Vietnamese Government to honour the international human rights treaties to which it is a party, and to allow genuine religious freedom in Vietnam.

This motion has been signed by a total of 116 MPs.