Hanoi (AsiaNews) – A provincial council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha[*] (VBS), the only state-recognised Buddhist organisation in Vietnam, last weekend expelled Thach Chanh Da Ra. Vietnamese authorities accuse the ethnic Khmer monk of being “uncooperative".
Until his expulsion, the 33-year-old served as abbot at the Dai Tho Pagoda, in Vinh Long province, in the south of the country, in what seems to be a case of sectarian persecution by Vietnamese authorities.
According to state media, cited by Radio Free Asia (RFA), when a task force from the Tam Binh District People’s Committee came to the pagoda for “working purposes” on 22 November, the monk refused them entry and videotaped the visit to “defame local authorities and divide national unity.”
The state-run newspaper Giac Ngo Online accused Thach of "seriously violating Buddhist law" and the statute of the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam by carrying out "propaganda against the state" and refusing to obey regulations.
Local Khmer Krom Buddhists claim that neither Thach nor the Dai Tho Pagoda violated any laws.
The Kampuchea Krom Khmer Federation (KKKF) said the task force’s November visit, cited in state media, was in fact a planned attack on the Dai Tho Pagoda by more than 50 VBS members. At least three monks were injured in the incident.
In a statement, the group said the Sunday’s expulsion order was a way for the authorities to punish the "non-aligned" religious leader for defending the pagoda.
Almost 1.3 million Khmer Krom live in a part of Vietnam that was once southeastern Cambodia; in the past, they faced severe restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and movement.
In addition, the KKKF pointed out that Thach was never a member of the VBS because he was convinced that the affiliation of his pagoda to the state-controlled sangha would threaten the preservation of the cultural and religious autonomy of the Khmer minority.
In protest, dozens of villagers staged a sit-in at the pagoda to prevent his removal or, even worse, arrest by Vietnamese authorities.
Local activists claim that the monk disobeyed local authorities only to protect the Khmer Krom cultural heritage; for example, he directed pagoda residents to prevent police from cutting down a 700-year-old Koki tree inside the religious compound, which had special cultural significance to the Khmer Krom.
Thach Chanh Da Ra also went against local authorities by hosting Khmer Krom activists such as Duong Khai in the pagoda.
The Buddhist cleric told RFA that he feared for the safety and future of the Buddhist minority in Vinh Long province.
“I do not know how the future of Buddhism and our Khmer Krom indigenous culture will [turn out],” he said; for this reason, he urged the Cambodian government and human rights groups to defend the Khmer Krom community.
[*] Community of Buddhist believers.
