A summary of Reverend THICH GIAC LUONG ‘s statement to the Conference on Religious freedom in Vietnam. 

July 22, 2000 Orlando, Florida 

(Rev. Thich Giac Luong is Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Overseas  Vietnamese Unified Buddhist Church) 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

            The timing of this Conference is very critical because of the following reasons:

-         Freedom and human rights are blatantly violated by the atheist and inhumane regime of the Communists,

-         International Communism has been disintegrated in most countries in the world,

-         The Vietnamese Communist Party is in its final phase,; its members are fighting among themselves for power. Bribery, elimination of the opposition, persecution of religious activity are common practice in Vietnam.

The government has set up a national official religious organization toprevent and prohibit in a very clever way the practice of religions. 

I myself cannot ignore this heartbreaking and tragic situation in my home country of Vietnam.  I am fighting for my countryfellows. 

On this occasion, I request that: 

1. Religious and community organizations lend support to all organizations that fight for freedom and restore basic human rights in Vietnam,
2. Religious organizations must be active and strong,
3. The goal of this conference is to create opportunities for oppressed people to escape from bondage or in this case from the Communist yoke,
4. We support the position of the Committee for Religious freedom for Vietnam.  there should be peace and mutual respect among various religious organizations to bring about the common goal.
5.