[Berta]

But its better then China...

Zen master: Vietnam paid mobs to evict followers - Yahoo! News


Thich Nhat Hanh has accused Vietnam's communist government of hiring mobs of people to violently evict his Buddhist followers from two monasteries.

Thich Nhat Hanh, who helped popularize Buddhism in the West and has sold millions of books worldwide, has also called on Vietnam to lift restrictions on religious freedom and respect human rights.

The government denied any involvement in forcing Nhat Hanh's followers from the monasteries, saying the eviction stemmed from a dispute between two Buddhist groups. Nhat Hanh made the comments in a letter to his Vietnamese followers in late December, days after they were pressured by a mob and government authorities to leave the Phuoc Hue temple in the southern province of Lam Dong.

"Our country does not yet have true religious freedom, and the government tightly controls the Buddhist Church machinery," Nhat Hanh wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press on Monday. "The Buddhist Church is helpless, unable to protect its own children. This is a truth clearly seen by everyone." At a news conference Monday, Vietnamese officials denied the allegations.
"This is a dispute between two Buddhist factions," said Nguyen Ngoc Dong, vice chairman of the Lam Dong provincial government. "We have tried our best to ensure safety and social order for the people involved."

Vietnam tightly controls religion, and only officially sanctioned churches are allowed to operate. The government, however, initially gave Nhat Tranh's followers permission to worship on a temporary basis. Now it says that authorization has expired. The conflict between the government and Nhat Hanh marks a dramatic turnaround from 2005, when Nhat Hanh returned to his homeland, a move seen by many as a step forward for religious freedom in the communist country.

His return made the front pages of state-run newspapers. While his teachings may be more popular abroad, particularly in the West, he is well known in Vietnam, but it is impossible to say how many people follow him there.

In spite of the conflict, Nhat Hanh said in his letter that he believes Vietnam will eventually open up its society. Young Vietnamese, he wrote, "realize that Vietnam needs more democracy, more citizen rights and more human rights."
It is always interesting that when you call for a country to have less government control, the government comes down on you...