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Lien Tri Pagoda incident: Land clearance for national developments
Lien Tri Pagoda incident: Land clearance for national developments
5/8/16
The incident of removing Lien
Tri Pagoda has recently received a great deal of attention – mostly extreme
violence and outrage – from so-called activists and religious dissidents inside
and outside the country. This once again raises the matter of land clearance
and disputes over land ownership between the State and religious organizations.
So, this article will give a look at the matter through the incident of Lien
Tri Pagoda.
Firstly, it must be agreed that land in
Vietnam belongs to the people and the State, which elected by and represented
for the people, takes ownership to serve the national interests and common
needs of the country and people. That is in the Vietnam’s legislation, and all
individuals and organizations operating in the country must abide by it.
Otherwise you can go elsewhere abroad and ask.
And Lien Tri Pagoda, which is located on Thu
Thiem peninsula at 153 Luong Dinh Cua Street, District 2 in Ho Chi Minh city.
The Thu Thiem peninsula is a quasi-circular area about 7 square kilometers in
area (1,726 acres). The peninsula is carved from the banks of the Saigon River
as it meanders its way to the South China Sea. From the air, one can see that
the southern tip of the peninsula points to the center of the city. Due to its
location, the Thu Thiem peninsula has played an important role in the city’s
development in particular and in the country’s in general. So, it’s been
selected to be site of an ultra-modern and ambitious upscale housing and
financial center development project dubbed the New Thu Thiem Urban Area. For
this project to become a reality, several houses and places will have to be
cleared away. Unfortunately, Lien Tri Pagoda is located in the area, and it
must be cleared for the projects. Of course, the city authority has prepared
another place for the pagoda to be rebuilt. On September 3, 2014, the Chairman
of the People’s Committee of District 2, HCM City, Mr. Nguyen Cu, signed a
Decision to “approve the plan to compensate and support the Lien Tri Worship
Establishment in the Thu Thien planned city development zone”. The Decision
provides a 5.4 billion VN Dong (USD 275,000) compensation for Lien Tri Pagoda
to fund the costs of moving, rebuilding and re-establishing the pagoda and its
operations elsewhere. It would be a common matter if some activists and
dignitaries of the pagoda, typically the abbot of Lien Tri Pagoda Venerable
Thich Khong Tanh, has protested and tried to distort the policy as a crackdown
on religions.
A self-claimed religious
group called the Interfaith Council of Vietnam, which includes extreme
individuals and some dignitaries from the five major faiths of Vietnam –
Buddhism (Venerable Thich Khong Tanh, Thich Vien Hy…), Catholicism (Priests Phan Van Loi, Dinh Huu Thoai, Le Ngoc Thanh, Le Xuan Loc,
Nguyen Cong Binh), Protestantism (Pastor Nguyen Hoang Hoa, Dinh
Uy, Dinh Thanh Truong, Nguyen Trung Ton, Nguyen Manh Hung, Le Quang Du),
Hoa Hao (Nguyen Van Dien, Le Quang Hien, Le Van Soc, Phan Tan Hoa, Tong Van
Chinh, Bui Van Luoc) and Cao Dai (Hua Phi, Nguyen Kim Lan, Nguyen
Bach Phung)– have issued a Joint Declaration to protest the government’s
decision to take down Lien Tri Pagoda. They condemned what they called the
blatant violation of human rights and relentless suppression of religious
freedom by the Vietnamese government in this 2016 announcement.
Numerous efforts to collect signatures
pledging support for Lien Tri Pagoda have been initiated to protest against the
government. Religious organizations, civil society organizations, and Buddhists
inside and outside of the country have reacted strongly against the
government’s decision to take back the land on which Lien Tri Pagoda stands.
So ironically that something belongs to the
State’s administrative jobs now has become an issue of democracy and human
rights. One thing you should know that Lien Tri Pagoda is a unit of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam which religion has not been registered to
the State, not the Vietnamese Buddhist Church, which has legally been
registered and operated in Vietnam for a long time. The
pagoda is where anti-government civil society organizations, even reactionary
groups hold many of their meetings and anti-government activities. It is also
the location where Venerable Thich Khong Tanh illegally holds his recognition
and gift-giving sessions for disabled veterans of the Republic of Vietnam, an
old puppet regime in the Vietnam war and distributes offerings or fees to
people participating in anti-government protests.
Lien Tri Pagoda and other religious facilities
that are unfortunately located in clearing areas for the country’s development
projects should consider sacrifices for the national interests, for the
people’s sakes. Is that what religions always claim for?
Religion in Vietnam today
looks markedly different than it did 40 years ago. People should come to
Vietnam and see how religious freedom has expanded in the last four decades.
The Vietnamese government has often paid attention and gathered suggestions to
complete the law on religions and beliefs to protect and promote the freedom
rights of practicing and following religions.
Vietnam has made significant progress in
religious freedom, and that help Vietnam meet international standards on
religious freedom. It is also clear that Vietnam want to have good relations
with the United States and other countries, and Vietnam knows that religious
freedom is an issue that these nations always use to keep pressure on us. So if
you don’t believe, just come to Vietnam to see for yourself our progress on
religious freedom. Do not only base on what hostile forces slander about
that./.
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All comments [ 11 ]
In Vietnam, the people hold all ownership rights with the State as the administrator. However, the laws of Vietnam allow ownership of a right to use land. This right is called the Land Use Right.
I think the compensation is reasonable. The government determines land price based on the actual value of the land under normal circumstances. If there is a large discrepancy between their calculations compared to the market price, the Government must adjust the price.
Everyone, every organizations, every religions in Vietnam must abide the Vietnamese law of land, and all must be sacrifice for the national interests.
Lien Tri Pagoda and its abbot should consider to remove for the country's and people's benefits.
Investment in infrastructure development is pivotal to Viet Nam's journey towards becoming an industrial nation by 2020, and land clearance is needed for developments.
A major problem with land law, viewed broadly, is that it lack
s a core set of principles related to the definition of rights,
their orderly transfer, and their adjudication and protection.
Land issues in Vietnam are more sensitive now than at any time since the ruling Communist Party launched its economic reforms (doi moi) in the late 1980s. The government’s ability to resolve these land issues will play a critical both in determining Vietnam’s future political atmosphere and its relations with the West.
Land in Vietnam is the property of the people (or government), and there is no legal concept of private land ownership. Under the Constitution, the government is responsible for the allocation of land to individuals and organizations and allows land users to transfer land use rights.
Thich Khong Tanh is not just a Buddhist dignitary but also a political dissident which I think opposite to his religion.
Conflicts over land clearance and compensation have driven a significant wedge between farmers and the Communist Party over the years. To maintain strong economic growth, the government must provide land for new development projects while appeasing the rural population.
It's a pity that Buddhism is always a good religion in Vietnam, many Buddhist dignitaries sacrificed their lives not just property for the country's sake.
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