FIFTY YEARS of VIOLATIONS of Human Rights in Communist Vietnam 1945-1995

THE REEDUCATION

The Violations of International Agreements

On January 27, 1973, representatives of the United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam signed the Agreements on Ending the War and Restoring the Peace in Vietnam. The Agreements were based on the respect for the Vietnamese people's right to self-determination and the contribution to the consolidation of peace in Asia and the world. Article 9b of the Agreements provided self-determination for the South Vietnamese people according to which "the South Vietnamese people shall decide themselves the political future of South Vietnam through genuinely free and democratic elections under international supervision." Article 11 of the Agreements promised to honor the civil and political rights of the Vietnamese people, with all citizens being equal and free to enjoy authentic democratic freedom.

Before its takeover of Saigon, the Provisional Revolutionary Government also gave, in its 10-point declaration, assurances to carry out the national concord and reconciliation policy. In his speech delivered during the May 75 victory celebration in Saigon, Party Secretary-General Le Duan promised that the party would turn the prisons into schools. Notwithstanding, the Military Administration Committee of Saigon-Gia Dinh, by its communiqué in June 1975, appealed to all superior officers from the rank of captain and above, and all officials from the grade of assistant director and vice governor or above from the former administration to turn themselves in at Gia Long School for Girls and Taberd High School for "reeducation." Officials, officers, members of the Senate and House of Representatives, politicians, and priests and monks of all Churches were to register with the Communist military authorities. Reeducation began in the awe of the South Vietnamese people.

The Reeducation Policy

The policy of reeducation was originally a political measure against political dissidents and reactionaries in North Vietnam before 1975. By the Resolution 49-NQTVQH of June 20, 1961 and the Circular No.121CP of September 1961, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam allowed the authorities to forgather obstinate counterrevolutionary elements. According to the Circular, these elements were defined as: "1. All old dangerous spies, guides or agents of the old puppet army or administration; former rangers with many heinous crimes, who received clemency from the Government and much education but still obstinately refuse to reform and who still commit acts threatening to public security. 2. All hard-core members of the former opposing organizations and parties, who previously committed many heinous crimes, received clemency from the Government and much education but still obstinately refuse to reform and who still perform acts threatening to public security. 3. Obstinate elements in the former exploiting class and all other counterrevolutionaries with deep feelings of vengeance towards our system who always act in opposition. 4. All dangerous counterrevolutionaries who have completed a prison sentence but refuse to reform." (Aurora Foundation, 1988: 39)

These two legal documents, thus, provided the authorities with the right to handle prisoners under a more elaborate and sophisticated system of control. They specifically helped effect arrest and detention of a large number of hostile elements without legal procedures. It effortlessly put them under control in times of political instability. At the same time, it created favorable conditions to gather a large number of potential dissidents for brainwashing. Therefore, it created an atmosphere of terror in the population for easy access to carrying out the Vietnamese Workers Party's political purposes.

Nguyen Ngoc Giao wrote in the magazine "Quan Doi Nhan Dan" (The People's Army):

Buu Lich reported that everyone in the South was duped, both common people who did not know anything about communism and those who experienced it through books. Credulous, subjective, rather critical and easily persuaded, the people of the South had much difficulty in believing and did not want to believe the new political system which was going to put everything in place to carry out its objective to eliminate their parents or friends.

Realists and pessimists were only a small group, however. They thought that whoever was linked to the puppet government would be executed. It seemed that such a happening would occur in some remote provinces and rural regions. But, what had happened in reality? There had been no bloodbath with precise intention. The new political regime had acted in such a clever manner that everyone was assured of its will of indulgence. When worries and the ideas about rebellion or escape calmed down--those facts that the Communists found with difficulty to control--the time for reeducation began. It took place about a month after the takeover of Saigon. The incident befell calmly, in a quite ordinary manner and without surprise. People accepted reeducation.

During this time, the lists of officers detached for temporary service at schools and officers working at commands were prepared. All were invited for reeducation in a polite manner. The cadres in charge at the committees of military administration made believe that reeducation was something of little importance. Once we live in a new regime, we have to change our ideology. So, we need to study the new ideology and politics. As far as time was concerned, the authorities gave everyone a hint that it would only take "a short time." Being pressed for a definitive answer, they only suggested that it would take "several weeks to a month." Under these conditions, why not then to report oneself to the committee? At the end of reeducation, a certificate would be accorded, and everyone would be able to live and work in peace.

Being in a peaceful state of mind and believing in the authorities' promises, military officers and members of the political parties reported themselves to the authorities in their districts. They must have thought that such a behavior would constitute a positive attitude. That was why few people tried to escape from the net of reeducation. And it was the first success of the Communists. The extent of success of their scheme was noticed when one saw those first and second lieutenants who were discharged from their duties asked for reeducation when they were not required to.

The prospective reeducated then left for reeducation, each supplied with a light sac. Had they not said that reeducation would only last 10 days for junior officers and 30 days for senior officers and generals? The authorities had, in addition, demonstrated their cleverness earlier by calling noncommissioned officers and privates for an on-the-spot reeducation for three days. Effectually, the course concluded at the anticipated date. Senior officers and generals were convoked for reeducation for a month after that. Everyone believed that the new regime would keep its promises. Later, it rectified the order by affirming that it only declared that the reeducated needed to bring food for 10 days. One could only explain that the text was ambivalent and the intentions doubtful. The ambiguity of the text serves as a mask over the real intentions (Buu Lich, 1984: 1-2).

The Camp and Prison Population--Denunciations

Until this day, there has been no official statistics issued by the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the number of reeducated prisoners.

Joan Baez, president of the International Human Rights Committee, denounced in her open letter to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam that "thousands of innocent Vietnamese, many whose only 'crimes' are those of conscience, are being arrested, detained, and tortured to death in prisons and 'reeducation' camps. Instead of bringing hope and reconciliation to war-torn Vietnam, your government has created a painful nightmare that overshadows significant progress achieved in many areas of the Vietnamese society. Your government stated in February that some 50,000 people were then incarcerated." Journalists, independent observers, and refugees estimate the current number of political prisoners between 150,000 and 200,000. Whatever the exact number, the facts form a grim mosaic.

Verified reports have appeared in the press around the globe, from "Le Monde" and The Observer to the Washington Post and Newsweek. We have heard the horror stories from the people of Vietnam--from workers and peasants, Catholic nuns and Buddhist priests, from the boat people, the artists and professionals, and those who fought alongside the NLF. The jails are overflowing with thousands upon thousands of detainees. People disappear and never return (Joan Baez, 1979: 1).

The Washington Area League for Human Rights reported that during the months that followed April 1975, the Communist administration in the South arrested and detained 400,000 patriots who had no connection with the former South Vietnamese administration, including intellectuals, clergymen, artists, writers, and even newborn babies and invalids. Arrests were also made upon 200,000 officers, officials, political party members, and 200,000 ex-Communists who converted and joined the South Vietnamese force during the "Open Arms" campaign (Chieu Hoi) from Ngo Dinh Diem's to Nguyen Van Thieu's time.

The Testament of Patriotic Prisoners in Vietnam, issued on April 18, 1979, maintained that "apart from 400,000 soldiers, officers, and civil servants of the former Government now serving life sentences in concentration camps, the present Communist Government has detained approximately 400,000 people from other walks of life: laborers, peasants, workers, patriotic intellectuals, those whose past was in no way connected with the former puppet Government in Saigon, and those who, on the contrary, have achieved a certain notoriety among the people for their past struggle for peace (Washington Area League for Human Rights, 1978: 14).

The daily "Saigon Giai Phong" (Saigon Liberated) reported, in June 1975, that approximately 400,000 officers, officials, and members of various political parties turned themselves in to undergo reeducation. In this category, about half (200,000) were ex-Communists who changed sides during the "Open Arms" campaign, and the remaining included former members of the Secret Police, the Special Forces, the South Vietnamese Marines, Parachutists, and "Flying Tigers" officers involved in operation Phoenix.

A December 1992 report to the Australia Congress pointed out that approximately 65,000 people had been executed in rural areas throughout the country and that 500,000 people, who were considered as sympathizers with the old political regime, were arrested and detained for four (4) to fourteen (14) years. This also means that to eradicate the political influence of the old regime, the Communists activated campaigns of propaganda to sustain the spur to arrests and detention of political dissidents, writers and artists, and religious leaders.

The French journal "L'humanite," in its issue of publication on January 10, 1977, talked about 60,000 prisoners. Vo Van Sung, Hanoi's former ambassador to Paris, put forward the figure of 50,000 prisoners. The official journal of the Vietnamese Communist Party, "Nhan Dan," only reported releases of prisoners. Even Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, in his interview with journalist Jean-Claude Labbe (Paris Match No 1530, September 22, 1978), simply declared that "during these three years [1975-1977] we have sent back more than a million (1,000,000) people, who collaborated in one way or another with the enemy, to the civil life and their families."

In 1981, Amnesty International established the information given by Hanoi that there were only 40,000 people being reeducated throughout the country. Members of the humanitarian organization were even invited to visit the typical camp at Ha Son Binh. There, several hundred detainees pretended to enjoy their reeducation as if they were in a kindergarten. Hoang Tung, then spokesman of the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Communist Party, portrayed them as "people on vacation." The members of Amnesty International might not have known that, before their visit, more than 4,000 prisoners at Ha Son Binh Camp were transferred to other camps and that policemen mingled with the group of detainees to welcome the delegate.

The report by Ginetta Sagan and Stephen Denney, which is based on the results of investigations and interviews, revealed that very few of the reeducated, if any, were freed after the period of 10 days or a month. Among the million who went to reeducation camps (more than 150 camps throughout Vietnam), approximately 500,000 people were released within three months; 200,000 were detained for two to four years and 240,000 were detained in camps for at least 5 years. Until now (April 1983), at least 60,000 people are still under detention.

Amnesty International reported that the figures issued by the Communist authorities in the two amnesties in 1988 suggested the release of 11,500 prisoners of whom nearly 5,800 had been held in administrative detention without charge or trial in "reeducation" camps. Among those who were released from "reeducation," over 1,000 people were held since 1975. At the end of 1990, the Ministry of the Interior of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam announced the arrest of 30,000 "reactionaries."

In November 1991, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam declared that there were no more political prisoners in Vietnam after it released more than 100 prisoners detained at Camp 230D at Ham Tan. On January 25, 1993, Nguyen Thi Hong, press attache at Vietnam Mission to the United Nations, told the San Jose Mercury News that Vietnam had released all former South Vietnamese military prisoners from "reeducation" camps. Although they thought that almost all the ex-military officers had been freed, many overseas Vietnamese groups believed that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam still holds thousands of the reeducated in an intricate network of prisons and reeducation camps throughout the country. Human rights groups such as Asia Watch and Amnesty International were reluctant to estimate the number of camp populations, saying that they had been refused access to the camps.

The Ideological Basis

In the North, as Hoang Van Chi noted, after the nationalization of private enterprises (1959), the Communist rule launched a "political struggle" against what they called "bourgeois ideology" and "petty freedom" which are conceived in the West as free enterprise, as Western parliamentary systems, as freedom of the press and of movement, and the like. The aim was to lead party-members, non party-members, workers and peasants towards the socialist ideology.

Truong Chinh, in his speech at the Third Congress of the Vietnamese Workers' Party (1960), asserted that

After the takeover of South Vietnam, the new political regime found itself in face of a society that was abysmally dissimilar in every aspect from that under the "first democratic republic of Southeast Asia." It is out of these differences that, in the years that immediately followed 1975, theoreticians and historians of the Party and State devoted themselves to inquiries that led to a systematic transformation consisting of evaluating, extenuating, and delineating all forms of productions of economy and all social, cultural, and religious institutions that had existed in the South before 1975. The Communists then called for the appropriation of properties of the bourgeoisie, landlords, and religions and then transferred their legal ownership to the working class and peasantry. They called this transfer of ownership "the Revolution of the People's Democracy." They set up priorities, liquidating one by one the following social components: the "counterrevolutionary" elements, the comprador bourgeoisie, and the religions. By means of socialization and nationalization of private enterprises and institutions, the Communist administration believed they would gradually eradicate the deep-seated political, social, economic, cultural, and religious institutions in the South. Again, Do Muoi was nominated by the Vietnamese Communist Party Politburo to be Chief of the Trade and Industry Reforms Bureau in the South. Do immediately formed a Steering Committee and eleven task force groups. Members of the task force were recruited from cadres in the army and the security police. Six of the eleven task force groups were under the command of Tran Van Danh, Vice Commander of Military Zone 7. The other five groups were under the direction of Cao Dang Chiem. During its operation throughout the South (1977-1978), the greatest amount of booties, which was valued at 6 billion dollars, was divided among the corrupted nomenclature (Bui Tin, 1993: 79).

War Booties

Again, the "comprador capitalists" were encouraged to offer their industrial and trade enterprises to the State. The processes of property offering to the State by the "comprador capitalist" in the South were, in general, similar to those applied in the North during the appropriation of private industry and business enterprise (1959-60). The proprietor had the "right" and was "allowed" to offer to the State his property, both his real estates and hidden wealth. This was only done on a voluntary basis. No one forced him to do that! The proprietor had to apply for an application and wait for the State's approval. He also had to apply for a job in a State joint-venture company and wait to see if he was hired. There was no official formula. But the cadres would show him how to write the application. This application must be written in a frank and earnest manner, declaring such things as "his reeducation was a great honor and happiness to him and his family, his chance to struggle to be a worker had been his long-brooding secret desire, and his offering of production establishment and business enterprise was totally voluntary." He was also to ask the authorities concerned to accept his offering and promise to willingly carry out all the State and Party's policies.

The difference was that the wealth of the capitalists in the South was much more bountiful. Rows and rows of renting houses of the landowning capitalists, assembles of trucks, groups of steering boats of the capitalists in the transportation industry, large factories with hundreds of power looms, agricultural equipment and machines, radio and television assembling machines, manufacturing works for soap, cigarettes, light bulbs, filters, canned condensed milk, fish sauce, etc., were offered to the Party and Government (Bui Tin, 1993: 83-84).

Where has the Wealth Gone?

In 1978, at the end of the operations for private industry and trade reforms, commonly known as "campaigns for the dislodging of the capitalist compradors," directed by Do Muoi himself, reports to the Central Party Committee said that local authorities had confiscated 400 kgs of metal of gold color. Metal of gold color, as the words imply, may be real gold or metal plated with gold, which file and rank cadres substituted for real gold. The people of the South knew their wealth inside out, particularly the Chinese merchants who accumulated their wealth during the war. The Vietnamese were mostly concerned about politics. The Chinese, in contrast, were only concerned about conducting business, making profits, speculating stocks, and hoarding merchandise to bring in interests. Many of them became rich merchants. Only two or three unlucky Chinese merchants entrapped during inspection would bring back to the State hundreds of kilograms of gold. Nevertheless, it was really a surprise when throughout the South, from the Binh Dinh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien provinces in the North to the Long Xuyen and An Xuyen provinces in the South, cadres could only find some four hundred kilograms of gold. It was a real fable!

The division of the booties of war has continued to take place to a large extent. For instance, the golf course near the Tan Son Nhat airport was administered by the Commando Headquarters but was later transferred to the construction company of the Tan Binh District People's Council. The company then called for capitals to build a shopping mall. The department stores in the mall were finally sold to the public in exchange for gold. The people's properties were now sold back to the people, and the gold collected from the people was punctually divided among "the servants of the people"!

Such illegal division and transference of national properties have taken place in different forms, within the walls of the barracks in the Go Vap District and the Ministry of Public Works office buildings on Le Loi Street in Saigon. Distant or near relatives of rank and file cadres also have their shares. Well, in a way, the division was only a fair play! If you just wait, you would never have a share! It would be wiser to divide. I divide, you divide, and he divides. We all share, and everyone is happy! (Van Duc, 17 (1993)).
 
 

The Confiscation of Books

In the South, as Vo Phien observed, writing and reading were two of the basic freedoms the citizens enjoyed. Books, at times, can even cause problems to the government. Officials, at times, would rather ... leave the books alone. On the contrary, in the North, published materials of any sort were instruments of propaganda for the ruling regime, its dogmas, and its personalities. Books, magazines, and newspapers were there to deceive the citizens, to make them more subversive. It is no wonder that the Communist authorities had always taken in hand the distribution of reading matters. The size of an edition and the effort that went into production did not depend upon the needs and demands of the readers but upon the judgment of the authorities who determined if the material was good for the regime (Vo Phien, 1993: 37).

Thus, after April 30, 1975, all private printing houses, newspapers, bookstores, theatrical and opera troupes, tea rooms, film companies, cinemas, and publishers were ordered to suspend their activities until further notice. They remain closed until today. According to the review "Nghien Cuu Lich Su" in its issue of publication in November-December, 1977, the governmental reviewed reports confirmed the seizure of 2,711 m3 of books (10 million volumes) from Khai Tri bookstore (Saigon) alone, of which 66 percent were on the official list of banned books.

The confiscation process, Vo Phien further commented, was repeated over and over until there was no trace of any books was left. Fully six years after the conquest of Saigon, in early 1981, the Communists again mounted a new operation against the old books and any new ones that could be regarded as unorthodox. After three months, the new campaign tallied its accomplishments and had them published in the October 1981 issue of 'Tap Chi Cong San' (The Communist Review): millions of copies nationwide, and in Saigon alone, 60 tons of printed materials...

Today, writers who oppose communism have been made victims of a policy of systematic elimination... If Vietnamese books had no way of getting out and being safeguarded abroad, some day people would look at one another in bewilderment and wonder: Was there a Mr. Khai Hung? Was there a Mrs. Nha Ca? Was there a Mr. Phan Khoi ? Was there a Mrs. Thuy Vu?

What the Communist authorities had done was "setting up" a literature, piece by piece, and order cultural cadres to raise quite a brouhaha about it. The motive behind it all was to create an impression that this was the true literature of the South, the true, free expression of the South Vietnamese people. The corollary of all this, of course, was that anything that had been written and circulated in the entire length and breath of Vietnam, south of the 17th parallel, during the twenty years in question was no cultural and artistic creation at all. Nothing but cultural bric-a-brac ordered by the American CIA! (Vo Phien, 1993: 5).

Reevaluation on the Culture of the South

When the Communists came into power in April 1975, they immediately began to clamp down the community of journalists, writers, artists, and intellectuals in South Vietnam. Successive operations were renewed in late 1975 and early 1976 as part of the campaign against "decadent and reactionary culture." The campaign of repression began with a "censure" of all intellectuals. These people were called up to sign themselves in and to report all details of their life, works, and activities. This was ostensibly just "a counting of heads," but, in fact, it was later used as a complete file system for the police. It was given the name "reevaluation" by the Communist authorities that was justified in a declaration made by Tran Bach Dang, Head of the Propaganda Branch of the North Vietnamese Government in the South (Summer, 1975). The culture of the South, in his views, is a slave culture, promoted by the American imperialists to destroy the Revolution. If the literature of the South is not reactionary, it is at least decadent. Therefore, the Party and the Government of the North must reevaluate the whole culture of the South.

Categorization of Literary and Scholarly Works

The Washington Area League for Human Rights (1978) noted that the reevaluation involved the division of all literary and scholarly works into six categories, and all published works had to be subject to this classification:

Category A: Works that opposed communism in any way. Examples of writers in this category were: Andre Gide, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, Pearl Buck. Among the Vietnamese writers were Doan Quoc Sy, Vu Khac Khoan, and Nghiem Xuan Hong.

Category B: Works considered by the northern cultural authorities as decadent, for example, those of Henri Miller, Elia Kazan, D.H. Lawrence, Erskine Caldwell, Herman Hesse, and existentialists such as Camus, Sartre, and De Beauvoir. Among the Vietnamese authors in this category were Tuy Hong, Nguyen Thi Thuy Vu, Trung Duong, and Nguyen Dinh Toan. Even authoress Nguyen Thi Hoang, who described in the most modern and poetic terms, a love affair between a sixteen-year-old student and her teacher, was classed as decadent because such emotions are not permitted by the moralistic northerners.

Category C: Romantic works, approximately like works of nineteenth century authors such as Alexandre Dumas, Lamartine, Chateaubriand, and George Sand. Pre-nineteenth century authors were not considered necessary for evaluation. Also in this category were Carson McCullers, Eric Segal, Somerset Maugham, Quynh Dao, and Han Suyin. The writers in this category were considered bourgeois unaware of the miseries of society around them. South Vietnamese writers in this category were Linh Bao, Tu Ke Tuong, Trong Nguyen, Hoang Ngoc Tuan, etc... Poets of love and romance were also classed here, such as Tue Nga, Nhu Hien, Nguyen Sa, and Hoang Anh Tuan.

Category D: Philosophical and Religious Works: According to the principles of "reevaluation," behind every religious system, and in every philosophical school, the literature of a capitalist state aims gradually to destroy the will of mankind to struggle and to debilitate man's spirit. Therefore, all translations of Tagore, Omar Khayyam, and poems praising Shakyamuni (Buddha), Kwan-Yin, Christ and the Virgin Mary were classified as category D. Works of poets Pham Thien Thu, Pham Cong Thien, Bui Giang, and the Zen poet Vo Chan Cuu and Huy Tuong were also in this group.

Category E: Works considered by the cultural authorities of the North to be healthy, constructive, and progressive, for example, were those of Emile Zola, Honore de Balzac, and all works praising the working class struggle. Vietnamese authors included in here were Nguyen Van Xuan, Phan Du, Nguyen Thi Thuy Vu, Vu Mai Anh, etc., ... Poems by Mac Khai, Truc Phuong, and Kien Giang Ha Huy Ha were also admitted.

Category F: This is the highest category and includes all works based on Marxist thought, which were considered to have contributed to the revolutionary struggle, for example, works of Maxim Gorky, Vu Hanh, and Nguyen Van Xuan who attacked the decadent culture of the South, celebrating their Anti-French Resistance movement. Finally, what was known as the "Autumn Collection" was classified here, as well as works of Phan Du, Nguyen Van Xuan, Bien Ho, and Ho Truong An (Washington Area League for Human Rights, 1978: 22-23).

Thus, independent writers and personalities such as Nguyen Manh Con, Doan Quoc Sy, Ho Huu Tuong, Bui Giang, Le Xuyen, Pham Viet Tuyen, Pham Van Tam (Thai Lang Nghiem), Le Van Tien, Vu Hoang Chuong, Pham Dinh Tan, Pham Trong Nhan, Nguyen Viet Khanh, Ho Van Dong, Hoang Hai Thuy, Vo Long Trieu, Thich Quang Do, Thich Huyen Quang, Tran Van Tuyen, Nguyen Hoat, Nguyen Ngoc Tan (Pham Thai), Vu Quoc Thong, and Hoang Hai Thuy whose free thinking and modern ideas presented a prime obstacle which imposed on the austere ideology coming from the North were arrested. Although, as Amnesty International and Asia Watch have argued, "given the de facto division of Vietnam in 1954, it would not be reasonable to expect those Vietnamese who found themselves, willingly or unwillingly, under the jurisdiction of the Saigon administration after that date to have observed and be bound by the legislation of the RVN as well as that of the DVN and PRG," hundreds of journalists, writers, and artists who had worked for or who had joined or been conscripted into the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam were arrested and detained. Among them were: Thanh Tam Tuyen, Van Quang, Nguyen Dinh Toan, Nhat Tien, Duy Lam, Do Tien Duc, Thao Truong, Dang Tran Huan, Nguyen Huu Nhat, Lam Hao Dung, Cao My Nhan, Duong Hung Cuong, Ha Thuc Sinh, Dang Chi Binh, Pham Quoc Bao, Phan Nhat Nam, Ta Ty, Dang Giao, Khuat Duy Trac, Nguyen Duc Quang, and Tram Tu Thieng.

According to Aurora Foundation (1988), the third wave of repression began on May 2, 1984. Among those who were rearrested were Nguyen Hoat, Duong Hung Cuong, Khuat Duy Trac, Hoang Hai Thuy, and Nguyen Ngoc Tan (Pham Thai). Nguyen Hoat died of serious illness in Chi Hoa prison. Duong Hung Cuong died during his pretrial in Phan Dang Luu prison. Eighty former prisoners of conscience interviewed by the Aurora Foundation independently claimed that the Communist's goal was to prevent contacts between Vietnamese writers and the foreign intellectual community (Aurora Foundation, 1988: 77).

Still, a significant number of journalists, writers, and intellectuals were arrested and sent to various reeducation camps. Among them were Vu Duc Hai, To Huy Co, Doan Van Khang, Mac Thu Luu Duc Sinh, Nguyen Thach Kien, Dang Giao Tran Duy Cat, Sao Bien Tran Tu Binh, Vo Long Te, Doan Thanh Liem, Nguyen Dan Que, and Doan Viet Hoat.

Enumeration of Arrests

After two years of research, the Washington Area League for Human Rights (1978) compiled 163 of such personalities who were arrested, a list which is evidently far from complete due to the difficulties of communication with South Vietnam. The Vietnamese Lawyers Association and Amnesty International, in a press release in December 1991, expressed their concerns over the fates of long-term prisoners detained by the Vietnam Communist administration. The two organizations particularly requested the Vietnam Council of Ministers to release forthwith and unconditionally all intellectuals, writers, and artists being detained. Among them were the Venerable Huyen Quang, the Venerable Thich Tri Sieu, the Venerable Thich Tue Sy; writers Doan Quoc Si, Nhu Phong Le Van Tien, Duong Thu Huong; poets Nguyen Chi Thien, To Thuy Yen; the attorney Doan Thanh Liem; Dr. Nguyen Dan Que; and Prof. Doan Viet Hoat. Several of them were released, but others are still imprisoned simply because of their expression of opinions.

The Press Policy

Aurora Foundation noted:

The Measures

Nguyen Ho pointed out that by believing in such Marxist concepts as that materialism is antagonistic to spiritualism and atheism to theism, the Vietnamese Communists have executed policies of oppression, repression, and even murderous terrorism against the religions in Vietnam, namely Caodaism, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Buddhism. They think that religion is theist; therefore, it is antagonistic to materialism; it is anti-Communist. Religious followers are "reactionaries" and "henchmen of the imperialists." With the armed forces they had at hand, the Communists went on sweeping operations against the Caodaists and Hoa Hao Buddhists. They launched waves of attack and executed series of mass killing of dignitaries and followers of these religions during the first years of the Resistance War against the French invaders (1945-1949). The targets for elimination of the Caodaists were those areas in the Eastern region of South Vietnam comprising the provinces of Tay Ninh, Gia Dinh (now, Ho Chi Minh City), Thu Dau Mot (Song Be), Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), and Ba Ria (Ba Ria-Vung Tau). With the Hoa Hao Buddhists, the targets for elimination were those areas in the Western region of South Vietnam comprising the provinces of Long Xuyen, Chau Doc (now, An Giang), Rach Gia (Kien Giang), Bac Lieu (Minh Hai), and Can Tho.

Throughout the nine years of Resistance against the French invaders (1945-1954) and twenty years of the country's partition, the Catholics and Protestants in the North were objects of fierce repression of socialism. At the time the Geneva Agreements were signed (July 1954) regulating the partition of the country, two million Catholics and Protestants instantly immigrated in waves to the South to escape "the Communist peril." Those twenty years (1955-1975) were, to the dignitaries and followers of these two religions who stayed in the North, a grievous endurance. They were treated as if they were in a large prison (Nguyen Ho, 1993: 39).

The Persecution

When the Communist took over South Vietnam in 1975, dignitaries, priests, and religious followers became victims of hatred and discrimination. Hundreds of prominent priests were detained and imprisoned because of faith expression and religious practices or for unfounded reasons. Among them were Mgsr. Nguyen Van Nam, the Reverend Nguyen Van De, the Reverend Le Thanh Que, the Reverend Joseph Nguyen Cong Doan, Pastor Dinh Thien Thu, Pastor Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Pastor R' Mah Boi, Pastor Tran Dinh Ai, Pastor Tran The Thien Phuoc, Pastor Vo Xuan, the Venerable Thich Quang Do, the Venerable Thich Duc Nhuan, the Venerable Thich Thong Buu, the Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, the Venerable Thich Tri Sieu, and the Venerable Thich Tue Sy.

Amnesty International (1992) published a long list of Catholic priests and Buddhist monks whom it recognizes as prisoners of conscience. Catholic priest Tran Ba Loc was arrested in 1975 and detained at Nhu Xuan reeducation camp, Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam. Catholic priest Nguyen Thai Sanh was arrested in 1975 and detained at Nhu Xuan reeducation camp, Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam. Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ky was arrested in 1983 and detained at Ba Sao reeducation camp, Ha Nam Ninh Province, North Vietnam. Catholic priest Nguyen Khac Chinh was arrested in 1975 and detained at Xuan Loc, Long Khanh Province, South Vietnam. Buddhist monk Thich Huyen Quang was placed under house arrest in 1982 at Quang Nghia Village, Nghia Binh Province, Central Vietnam. Buddhist monk Thich Quang Do was placed under house arrest in 1982 at Vu Thu Village, Thai Binh Province, North Vietnam. Buddhist monk Thich Duc Nhuan was arrested in 1985, then in 1988, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Buddhist monk Thich Tri Sieu was arrested in 1984, sentenced to 20 years in prison, and detained at Xuan Loc reeducation camp, Dong Nai Province, South Vietnam. Buddhist monk Thich Tue Sy was arrested in 1984, sentenced to 20 years in prison, and detained at Xuan Loc reeducation camp, Phu Khanh Province, Central Vietnam. Buddhist monk Thich Nguyen Giac was arrested in 1984. Buddhist monk Thich Thien Tan was arrested in 1978, sentenced to life imprisonment, and detained at Xuan Phuoc reeducation camp, Phu Khanh Province, Central Vietnam. Buddhist monk Thich Phuc Vien was arrested in 1980, sentenced to 20 years in prison, and detained at Xuan Phuoc reeducation camp, Phu Khanh Province, Central Vietnam. Pastor Vo Xuan was arrested in June 1975 and detained in a reeducation camp until 1987. The reverend was rearrested on December 12, 1989, and detained at Thuan Hai Province. Pastor Tran Xuan Tu was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to three years of "reeducation," (his term in prison was extended to three other additional years in 1990, and he was detained at an unknown forced labor camp).

Indochina Journal, a magazine on human rights, in January 1992, published a list of 10 pastors of the Vietnamese Evangelical Christian Church. The Reverend Vo Xuan was arrested in June 1975 and detained in camp until April 1987. The Reverend Tran Xuan Tu was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to 3 years of "reeducation." His prison term was extended to three other additional years. In 1990, he was detained at Vo Dat forced labor camp in Ham Tan District, Thuan Hai Province. The Reverend Vo Minh Hung was arrested in December 1989 and detained at Camp A20, Dong Xuan District, Phu Yen Province. The Reverend Tran The Thien Phuoc was arrested in November 1989 and detained at Camp Tong Le Chan, Song Be Province, (the Reverend has never received a trial). The Reverend Dinh Thien Tu was arrested on February 22, 1991 and detained at Chi Hoa prison, Ho Chi Minh City. The Reverend Tran Dinh Ai was arrested on February 27, 1991, and detained at Chi Hoa prison, Ho Chi Minh City. The Reverend Tran Mai was arrested in October 1991 and detained at Phan Dang Luu prison, Ho Chi Minh City. The Reverend R'Man Boi was arrested in August 1989 and detained at Camp A20, Dong Xuan District, Phu Yen Province. The Reverend Ya Tiem was arrested in August 1990 and detained at Dalat, Lam Dong Province. The Reverend R'Mah Loan was arrested in June 1991 and detained in Ban Me Thuot, Dac Lac Province.

Asia Watch visited Vietnam in mid-March 1993. It was among the first Western human rights groups to visit Vietnam. A Vietnamese official, who requested anonymity, said that the U.S.-based human rights organization would check civil rights in Vietnam. However, it did not put out a number of the political prisoners in the camps it visited. Western diplomats estimated between 100 and 300 political prisoners. News that reached Vietnam Human Rights Watch in February 1993 said that, at the Z30 Thu Duc Camp only, there were at least 1,000 political prisoners. They were all subject to strict measures.

Sources from the Office of the Propagation of the Buddhist Faith in Exile announced in March 1994 that approximately 2,000 political prisoners, be convicted or not, are still under detention in various labor camps or prisons in South Vietnam. From 400 to 500 hundred political prisoners are detained at Camp A20 in Xuan Phuoc, Phu Yen Province. Approximately 600 political prisoners are detained at Camp Z30D & C in Gia Trung, approximately 400 political prisoners at Camp Z30A in Gia Rai, Pleiku Province, and nearly 400 political prisoners at Camp C3 Suoi Mau in Dong Nai. They also specified with proofs that among political prisoners at Camp K3 Suoi Mau are Monks Thich Tri Sieu Le Manh That (20 years in prison), Thich Tam Tri Huynh Van Ba (20 years in prison), Thich Tam Can Nguyen Van Tinh (20 years in prison), Thich Hue Dang Nguyen Ngoc Dai (20 years in prison), Thich Nguyen Giac Nguyen Dung (20 years in prison), Thich Thanh Tinh Hoang Van Giang (not convicted), citizen Nguyen Van Tho (not convicted), citizen Tran Van Tu (not convicted), citizen Nguyen Van Hoang (not convicted), and citizen Nguyen Van Trung (not convicted).

Life in the Reeducation Camp

Life in reeducation camps was little known by the outside world until the beginning of the 1980's. Along with waves of "boat people," veteran camp prisoners came to settle in the free countries. They registered accounts about life in the reeducation inferno in their memoirs and stories. The world, again, receives literary works about life in the Communist prisons besides those published by international personalities such as "The Gulag Archipelago" by Alexander Solzenitsyn. Among these writers were Tran Huynh Chau, Pham Quoc Bao, Ha Thuc Sinh, Dang Chi Binh, Ta Ty, Pham Quang Giai, Nguyen Van Hung, and Nguyen Chi Thiep. Through their accounts, memoirs, and stories the readership recognizes every aspect of the cruel and savage treatment the Vietnamese Communists have exercised to trample underfoot their fellow countrymen. In different literary forms and through various styles of expression, these writers develop the same themes that were well versed into a form of popular song that almost every camp prisoner learned by heart:

Human Rights Asia Watch asserted that, in 1994, Vietnam kept "tight controls on political and religious dissent as economic reform continued, an approach that seemed to heighten internal tensions. The government continued to imprison people for peaceful dissent." The religions are watched with severe attention. While Christians are subject to intermittent repression, members of the majority Buddhist faith have been prime targets of the police. A state-controlled Buddhist Church is permitted, but the Unified Buddhist Church is outlawed. Vietnamese writers, too, are subject to repression. Doan Viet Hoat was rearrested for publishing a reform-minded newsletter called Freedom Forum. Mark Abley of the Montreal Gazette, on December 10, 1994, reported that, on its listing of countries that seriously violated human rights throughout the world on December 15, 1994, Freedom House, a New York-based organization, listed Vietnam the "most repressive places on earth."