Banned Vietnamese Buddhist group accused of ‘disturbing public order’

Monks belonging to a banned Buddhist group in Viet Nam have been evicted from a pagoda by authorities, Agence France-Presse reported Sunday. The pagoda is to be used for a United Nations-sponsored international Buddhist meeting.

According to the article, the Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam (UBCV) is outlawed but still runs scores of pagodas. The group claims that state officials broke the locks of the Giac Hai pagoda, claimed it for use during the event, and temporarily detained its monks.

“Police interrogated the two monks for over three hours, accusing them of belonging to an ‘illegal organization,’ engaging in ‘political activities’ and ‘disturbing public order’,” said a UBCV statement issued in Paris on May 3.

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