WASHINGTON, June 27, 2003--Vietnam's best-known dissident monk, Thich QuangDo, could be released from house arrest as early as next month, Radio FreeAsia (RFA) reports. Vietnamese authorities had previously suggested he would be freed in September.
The decision to expedite his release by several months came during a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City this week between Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Chairman Le Thanh Hai, according to sourceswho spoke on condition of anonymity.
Do is leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. He was sentenced tofive years' in jail in August 1995 for organizing a flood relief mission inthe southern Mekong Delta. He was released in a presidential amnesty inSeptember 1998 but Ho Chi Minh City authorities reinstated two years of hissentence. He was placed under house arrest on June 1, 2001, after hepublicly appealed for democracy in Vietnam.
The Foreign Ministry said earlier this year that Do's detention would expireon September 3, 2003.
RFA broadcasts news and information to Asian listeners who lack regularaccess to full and balanced reporting in their domestic media. Through itsbroadcasts and call-in programs, RFA aims to fill a critical gap in thelives of people across Asia.
Created by Congress in 1994 and incorporated in 1996, RFA currentlybroadcasts in Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, the Wudialect, Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham), and Uyghur. It adheresto the highest standards of journalism and aims to exemplify accuracy,balance, and fairness in its editorial content. #####