Text: State Dept. on Detention of Vietnamese Religious Leaders
(U.S. calls on Vietnam to respect autonomy of religions)

The United States regrets that Vietnamese authorities have placed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam monk Thich Quang Do under house arrest, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in a June 4 statement.

"The United States calls on the Government of Vietnam to respect the autonomy of all religions, to allow all persons to practice their religious faiths freely, and to release the Venerable Thich Quang Do, the Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Father Nguyen Van Ly, and other religious leaders from detention," Boucher said.

Following is the text of the statement:

(begin text)

PRESS STATEMENT
Richard Boucher, Spokesman

Washington, DC

June 4, 2001

Religious Freedom in Vietnam

On June 1 the Vietnamese authorities placed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam monk Thich Quang Do under house arrest at his pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City. Our Ambassador in Hanoi has conveyed our strong concern to the Vietnamese Government. We regret that the Vietnamese authorities have taken this action. The United States calls on the Government of Vietnam to respect the autonomy of all religions, to allow all persons to practice their religious faiths freely, and to release the Venerable Thich Quang Do, the Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Father Nguyen Van Ly, and other religious leaders from detention. We also request that the Vietnamese Government allow the Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, the 83-year old patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, to travel to Ho Chi Minh City to receive necessary medical attention.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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