HRF's Oslo Freedom Forum Interview with Imprisoned Monk Thich Quang Do to Screen in California’s Vesak Festival
WESTMINSTER, CA (May 20, 2010) – The Human Rights Foundation’s Oslo Freedom Forum will screen its recently-filmed interview with The Most Venerable Thich Quang Do at the Vesak Festival in Westminster, California. The screening will be held on Sunday, May 23, at 11:00 a.m. PDT at the Dieu Ngu Pagoda at 14472 Chesnut Street in Westminster. The Vesak Festival is an event celebrated by Buddhists around the world, commemorating the 2554th celebration of Buddha’s birth. Thich Quang Do is the 81-year-old patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and an outspoken advocate for human rights and democracy in Vietnam. Currently under house arrest in Ho Chi Minh City, Thich Quang Do has been a prisoner of conscience of the Vietnamese government for more than 28 years.
“Venerable Thich Quang Do is a powerful, unifying symbol of the peaceful pro-democracy movement that faces brutal repression in Vietnam,” said Thor Halvorssen, president of HRF and founder of the Oslo Freedom Forum. “Freedom of speech is banned in Vietnam, and anyone who calls for human rights or democracy risks imprisonment and possibly torture. We are proud to share Venerable Thich Quang Do’s message of hope and peace with the Buddhist community on such an important occasion.” Thich Quang Do’s testimony – filmed exclusively for the 2010 Oslo Freedom Forum – is now available on YouTube.
As the head of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, an organization banned by the government, Thich Quang Do has peacefully challenged the government with political petitions to engage in discussions about human rights and democratic reform. He is the recipient of the 2006 Rafto Prize, a Norwegian human rights honor often awarded to future Nobel Peace Prize laureates (such as Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi and Iran’s Shirin Ebadi).
The Oslo Freedom Forum is committed to bringing together the world’s foremost human rights defenders to share their experiences and expertise with an audience of global leaders. It has included the participation of human rights heroes such as Vaclav Havel, Lubna al-Hussein, Anwar Ibrahim, Rebiya Kadeer, Greg Mortenson, Armando Valladares, Lech Walesa, Elie Wiesel, Lidia Yusupova, Harry Wu, and Leyla Zana.
HRF is an international nonpartisan organization devoted to defending human rights in the Americas. It centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. HRF does not support nor condone violence. HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Václav Havel, Mutabar Tadjibaeva, Ramón J. Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.Contact: Sarah Wasserman, Human Rights Foundation, (212) 246.8486, info@thehrf.org
To see Thich Quang Do’s video, click here.
For more information, please visit the Oslo Freedom Forum website or Que Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam.
Watch more fascinating videos from the Oslo Freedom Forum on blogging in Cuba, Russian corruption, Uyghur repression, WikiLeaks on Western censorship and rights abuses, Iran's dungeons, the fight against modern slavery, flawed democracy in Malaysia, women's rights in Sudan, the assault on sexual minorities in Uganda, and more.
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