October 10, 2008
Thanh Thao: In the last few days, the fight to reclaim the Hanoi Diocese Toa Kham Su from the Vietnamese authorities and the Thai Ha Parish and the Redemptionist Monastery land dispute has taken a new turn when the city of Hanoi decided to convert these two landmarks into parks instead of returning them back to the church. Hanoi’s decision to use a large police force on September 19th to evacuate the Toa Kham Su area and urgently transform it into a park – when the area was still under dispute between the city and the Archdiocese – was an attack on the church and, most importantly, showed contempt for the Catholics’ wish. At the same time, the police used hooligans to harass and provoke the Catholics ho held prayers in the Thai Ha area, causing altercations and giving the police an excuse to evacuate the area. However, most Catholics remain unfazed by the police provocation. Failing to disband the Catholics, the police started a new campaign by using the media to attack Hanoi Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet.
To shed light on the struggle of the Catholic priests and their Hanoi parishioners, we will discuss the situation with Mr Ly Thai Hung, General Secretary of Viet Tan.
Thanh Thao: Why did the Vietnamese authorities attack Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet by distorting his words during his meeting with the head of Hanoi people committee? The Archbishop only expressed his shame when Vietnamese passport holders were harshly scrutinized abroad in comparison with Japanese and Korean citizens. At the same time, they ignore the Catholics’ wish when converting the Toa Kham Su and the Thai Ha parish into parks.
Ly Thai Hung: In last few days, Vietnamese people are very angry because the action of the Vietnamese government in seizing the two pieces of land from the Kham Su and Thai parish. The Toa Kham Su was confiscated since 1947 when the Vietnamese Communist Party took over North Vietnam in 1945, the land of Thai Ha parish since 1961.
At first, these two pieces of land were administered by state enterprises, but since 1994 when the Vietnamese authorities started implementing a market economy, they were transformed into private properties for high ranking officials who sold them for profit. At the same time, since 1994, the Hanoi Archdiocese as well as the Thai Ha parish church have repeatedly requested that the government returns the land to the Church for religious use. Instead, the government decided in July of this year to turn the disputed land into public parks. Showing contempt for the Catholics’ request on September 9th the government had the Kham Su area leveled and began building a park. In just two days, they claimed the park was 80% completed.
The goal of the Vietnamese authorities is to establish the park as „fait accompli“ while soothing the Catholics’ sentiment as well as getting cooperation from the Hanoi Archdiocese. On September 20th, the Hanoi People’s Committee held a dialog with Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet. According to the Vietnamese state media, the discussion was friendly even though Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet was firm in his demand and refused another parcel as compensation like the city of Hanoi had suggested. However, after that meeting, the Vietnamese authorities mobilized state newspapers and radio stations to distort Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet words as attacks on the Vietnamese government.
The Vietnamese state media distortion of the last few days shows that the regime tried to cover up the land issue by partially quoting Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet out of context, thereby inciting the people and encouraging some extremists into violence against these Catholics during prayers. The police then used this excuse to suppress the protest. However the government’s plan is to make public opinion forget about the land issue and only pay attention to the illegal behavior of the Hanoi diocese and the distorted words of Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet.
When a regime uses illegitimate tactics to distort and attack the people or religious leaders like Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet, as they have done in the past with Buddhist monks Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do, it only adds fuel to the fire and causes more anger among the people. That’s why the propaganda campaign and the insolent attacks against those spiritual leaders show that the Vietnamese government is in a dire situation. Thanh Thao: Why did the Vietnamese authorities refuse to return the Kham Su land to the Hanoi Diocese and offer instead three parcels (one in Co Nhue, Tu Liem, one in Phung Khoang, Tu Liem and a 7500 m2 parcel at 67 Pho Duc Chinh, Ba Dinh district) for the Diocese to choose from, which the diocese has declined?
Ly Thai Hung: The Vietnamese government employed article 23 of Nov 11, 2003 – stating that confiscated land will not be reconsidered nor returned – to reject all requests to return land confiscated from private citizens as well as religious organizations. This article was the cause of the waves of people demanding justice in the last few years. The pressure from the Catholics priests and their parishioners forces the government to return land to the Church but they do not dare returning the confiscated parcels like the Toa Kham Su but must substitute another parcel because of the following three reasons.
First, the Vietnamese government does not want to establish a precedence. If the Toa Kham Su was returned to the Archdiocese of Hanoi, other private citizens and organizations and religions will use this precedence to file claims for properties that were confiscated by the authorities in the North as well as in the South after 1975.
Second, if the Toa Kham Su or other private and religious properties are returned, this will create turmoil within the Communist Party because the properties were given to high ranking party officials.
Lastly, the Vietnamese government must correct Vietnamese property law, in effect voiding article 23 written by the 9th Congress. Land issues will be very difficult to resolve and will affect the party leadership the most because the party leadership has appropriated much of the land in the North as well as in the South.
Because of these three reasons, the Vietnamese authorities avoid returning any land confiscated from religious organizations at all cost. They tried finding other parcels to compensate but Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet of the Hanoi Archdiocese and the priests of the Thai Ha parish are firm in their demand for the original confiscated properties. Since the Vietnamese government cannot return them, they must convert them into public parks to present the Hanoi Archdiocese and the Thai Ha parish with a „fait accompli“. But I think the matter will not stop here, but the protest will become bigger in the future.
Thanh Thao: One last question: the current situation is that the Hanoi Archdiocese and the Thai Ha parish continue to protest by holding prayers while the city of Hanoi is firm in converting the disputed land into public parks. In your opinion, what will be the outcome?
Ly Thai Hung: As I said earlier, the Vietnamese government wants to present the Hanoi archdiocese and the Thai Ha parish with a „fait accompli“ by converting the Kham Su land and the Thai Ha parish land into public parks. Once they became public parks, the Vietnamese authorities believe the Hanoi Archdiocese and the Thai Ha parish no longer have a base to hold their protests and for the Catholics to gather to hold their prayers. They underestimate the faith and wish of the Catholics and they ignore public opinion concerning land confiscations. When people demand land to be returned, the Vietnamese authorities convert them to parks and use hooligans to terrorize and create difficulties for these Catholics. I compare these actions to pouring more fuel in the fire and cause even more anger among the Catholics.
And recently, at the bishop conference in Saigon, the bishops issued a statement indicating that Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet and the four priests leading the Thai Ha parish are not wrong in their protest. And remarkably, the bishops have stated the following opinions concerning the current protest.
First, the bishops believe that the Vietnamese government must respect private property rights and must resolve the issue of properties confiscated from individuals and religious organizations.
Second, the bishops criticize the national media for distorting the truth in reporting the last few days and demand that the Vietnamese authorities establish a truthful media and not distort the statements and events regarding the noble cause of the Catholics and their priests.
The bishops request that the Vietnamese government resolve the conflict in a spirit of understanding and peace, and especially condemn the recent violence in Hanoi
I think the Bishops agree with the protest of the Catholics and of the Archbishop of Hanoi and the Thai Ha parish. Their statement of support for the protest in Hanoi shows unity among the Catholic Church. The dioceses of Thai Binh, Saigon and other provinces and a number of overseas Vietnamese Catholics have held prayers in support of the Hanoi diocese. I think the protest in the Catholic community will spread and will become bigger in the future. As Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet said, the protest will continue until the Kham Su land is returned to the archdiocese, thus the confrontation between the Catholic Church and the Vietnamese authorities will only intensify. We, the overseas Vietnamese, must strongly support this protest so the Vietnamese government can no longer ignore public opinion and the wish of the people.