June 15, 2011
On June 13, 2011, about a hundred of people from the Vietnamese community gathered on the square in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris.
A banner “1 Candle for Pham Minh Hoang” was floating side by side with the yellow and three red stripes Vietnamese flag.
But who is Pham Minh Hoang?
Many curious were indeed wondering who this Peter Pham Minh Hoang was as he received an intercessory prayer during the Eucharist of the evening mass of Pentecost in our Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
First, according to the Bible, an intercession comes from persons who are aware of the seriousness of a situation and wish to plead the case for God’s intervention. An intercession prayer is thus precious and holy, even when things seem irreversible and predetermined. An intercession prayer is the hope to divert the course of the events or at least to save what can be.
Pham Minh Hoang is about to go on trial, and thus it was important for the Vietnamese community to intercede in his favor.
Peter Pham Minh Hoang may not be an important person in the sense that we may understand but he has an important place in the heart of those who have known him, in the heart of his students, and especially in the heart of his beloved family and friends.
After the service and the intercessory prayer, the family and the friends of Pham Minh Hoang gathered on the square before Notre-Dame to meditate, pray and to light a candle for Pham Minh Hoang.
Why was he arrested ?
- Because he signed a petition calling the Government to stop a bauxite mining project in the highlands of Central Vietnam.
- Because he participated in a conference relating to Vietnamese territorial sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands that are disputed by Vietnam and China.
- Because he wrote and published on his blog several chronicles on the Vietnamese society.
He has currently been detained without trial since August 13, 2010 for “attempting to overthrow the government” in accordance with Article 79 of the Vietnamese Judicial code.
Despite the support of several NGOs (Reporters without Borders, Amnesty International, ACAT, Human Rights Watch, the Society of Mathematicians from France, etc.) and local representatives from several Western countries, the Vietnamese government is preparing to send Pham Minh Hoang before a tribunal. He risks the DEATH PENALTY.
The evening ended in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame by recalling that Vietnam continues to violate human rights, that other people are also in arbitrary detention in Vietnam and that nobody should be imprisoned for peacefully protesting or expressing their political opinions.
Pham Minh Hoang is a Viet Tan member.