National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers

The National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers meeting in annual conference on October 15th to 20th, 1996, at the La Salette Center for Christian Living in Attleboro, Massachusetts, issued the following statement:

Nations and peoples prosper only in the context of the open exchange of goods and ideas. The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam has increasingly opened its borders to enjoy the benefits of the economic marketplace. A further step in the development of a prosperous nation would be an open marketplace for the exchange of ideas and viewpoints.

With this in mind, the National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers, a group composed of veterans who are ordained clergy representing a variety of viewpoints within the Religious community, call upon the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to take the following steps in demonstrating a commitment to the tolerance and open exchange of ideas and viewpoints:

• The release of Professor Doan Viet Hoat from imprisonment and return him to his family.
  
• The release of Venerable Thich Quang Do, Secretary-General of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, from imprisonment.
  
• The release of Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Executive Secretary of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, from imprisonment.
  
• The release of Venerable Thich Hai Tang, of Linh Mu Pagoda in Hue, from imprisonment.
  
• The release of all other prisoners detained for the expression of their non-violent ideas and viewpoints so that these named and other prisoners may receive proper medical care, freely communicate with families and colleagues, and join with all the people of Viet Nam in benefitting from citizenship in a prosperous nation.