On Apr 30, 2:34=C2=A0pm, tuna <tu...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 BREAKING NEWS: AT LEAST 7 PROTESTORS ARRESTED IN HANOI
BEFOR=
E
> TORCH RELAY IN SAIGON
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Hanoi =E2=80=93 4/29/08: At 9:15AM this morning, VCP
police =
officers in
> uniformed and plainclothes arrested 7 people at =C3=90=E1=BB=93ng
Xu=C3=A2=
n market, near
> Hoan Kiem Lake, in Hanoi.
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Two of the protestors, Mr. Nguy=E1=BB=85n Xu=C3=A2n
Ngh=C4=
=A9a, a writer, and Mr. V=C5=A9
> H=C3=B9ng, a high school teacher were arrested right after they managed
to=
> hurle several banners that say:
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CBoycott Peking Olympic 2008!=E2=80=9D
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CSpratlys & Paracels Islands belong to
Vietnam=E2=80=
=9D
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Others who were arrested included Mr. Vi =C3=90=E1=BB=A9c
H=
=E1=BB=93i, a former high
> school principal and a freedom and democracy fighter; Ms. Kim Thu, who
> is known for helping =E2=80=9CDan Oan=E2=80=9D (peasants whose home and
la=
nd have been
> confiscated illegally by the VCP, and are now homeless). The rest of
> the protestors are Ti=E1=BA=BFn Nam, Nh=E1=BA=A5t and Ng=C3=B4
Qu=E1=BB=B3=
nh, all college students.
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Organizers planed to orchestrate a large protest on the
occa=
sion
> of the torch relay in Saigon, due to Vietnamese people resentment of
> China=E2=80=99s recent formalization of their claims to
Vietnam=E2=80=99s =
Spratly and
> Paracel islands, two oil-rich archipelagos in the South China Sea; and
> of the China=E2=80=99s murder of Vietnamese fishermen along the coasts
in
> North Vietnam.
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 The demonstration did not materialize due to extremely
tight=
> security given jointly by the VCP and Chinese Communists.
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 As far as we know, as of near midnight tonight, these
protes=
tors
> are still being detained without any food.
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 The free people of Vietnam all over the world is urging
you =
to
> call on the VCP government to free these people immediately, and
> unconditionally.
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 These protestors did not break any laws. The right to a
peac=
eful
> assembly is currently protected by Vietnam's constitution.
>
> =C2=A0
=C2=A0http://www.trangdenonline.com/ArticleDetail.asp?item_id=3D861=
&
>
> *******************************************************************
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST INFORMATION BUREAU
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 (BUREAU INTERNATIONAL D'INFORMATION BOUDDHISTE)
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Official information service of Vien Hoa Dao, Unified
Buddhi=
st
> Church of Vietnam
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 B.P. 63 - 94472 Boissy Saint L=C3=A9ger cedex (France) -
Tel=
..: Paris
> (331) 45 98 30 85
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Fax : Paris (331) 45 98 32 61 - E-mail :
ubcv.i...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Web :http://www.queme.net
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 For immediate release
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Paris, 29 April 2008
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Buddhist dissident leader Thich Quang Do seeks to joins
prot=
ests
> at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch relay in Saigon
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 PARIS, 29 April 2008 (IBIB) - The Most Venerable Thich
Quang=
Do,
> prominent dissident and second-ranking leader of the outlawed Unified
> Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) left house arrest to attend a rally
> protesting the Beijing 2008 Olympics torch relay in Ho Chi Minh City
> today, but found the streets blocked with Security and riot police. He
> was responding to an appeal launched by young Vietnamese students and
> activists to protest China =E2=80=99s claims of sovereignty over the
Sprat=
ly
> and Paracel archipelagos and mark the UBCV=E2=80=99s solidarity with
repre=
ssed
> Buddhist monks and civilians in Tibet .
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Thich Quang Do, who is under house arrest at the Thanh
Minh =
Zen
> Monastery in Saigon, told Vo Van Ai, Director of the International
> Buddhist Information Bureau by telephone that he had taken advantage
> of his monthly hospital check-up to escape house arrest and attend the
> rally. =E2=80=9CI am only allowed out once a month, and luckily, it was
> today=E2=80=9D. He left his monastery early, and went straight from
hospit=
al
> to the Notre Dame Cathedral where the rally was secretly planned. He
> found the area completely blocked by Security Police, with vehicle
> access denied all around the Opera House, where the Olympic torch
> parade was set to begin. Thich Quang Do waited from 3.40pm until after
> 5.00pm, but saw no banners nor any sign of demonstrators. He told Vo
> Van Ai that the rally had clearly been pre-empted by security forces,
> who had orders to prevent all incidents and ensure =E2=80=9Cabsolute
> security=E2=80=9D.
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CThere were no protesters. But the streets were
fill=
ed with young
> Chinese waving China =E2=80=99s five-star red flags, singing loudly and
> shouting out slogans. This made me feel terribly sad. In Vietnam
> today, young Chinese can proudly parade their flag. Whereas young
> Vietnamese, the children of this land, whose ancestors shed their
> blood to preserve our territory, civilisation and our identity, are
> forbidden by their own government, in their own land, from expressing
> their national pride and protesting this indignity=E2=80=9D. He deplored
t=
hat
> =E2=80=9C Vietnam is too cowardly to confront China to claim back its
land=
s.
> And when the people do it for them, instead of encouraging them to
> stand up for their country, the government represses them and treats
> them as criminals=E2=80=9D.
>
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Jean Libby, editor
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0 VietAm Review
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0http://vietamreview.blogharbor.com
Yes, this is good! Good to see that, at least, the Vietnamese are not
cows to uniformity grazing in the field of a total control government
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