Vietnamese fast for freedom

Sydney
6 January 2002

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Vietnamese fast for freedom

Dragon dancing was among the Vietnamese cultural performances at the end of the fast

An International Human Rights Day fast for religious freedom organised by Sydney’s Vietnamese community attracted onlookers and supporters alike in Sydney’s Town Hall Square.

Twenty members of the Vietnamese community fasted for 24 hours, sitting on a stage erected in the square.

To celebrate the end of the fast - and to draw attention to the plight of Vietnamese religious leaders such as imprisoned Vietnamese priest Fr Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly - the group presented a series of Vietnamese cultural performances. Lunching office workers were dazzled by displays of Vietnamese martial arts, dance, music and dragon dancing.

But the day had a more pressing purpose - to highlight the plight of imprisoned religious leaders in Vietnam.

Representatives of Prime Minister John Howard Opposition Leader Simon Crean, Premier Bob Carr, and State Opposition Leader Kerry Chikarovski, attended, as did Unity MP Dr Peter Wong and Vietnamese Catholic chaplain Fr Paul Van Chi.

Opposition MP Laurie Ferguson, representing Mr Crean, said that “quite clearly the Vietnamese Government has a credibility problem in the West”.

Senator Marise Payne, representing Mr Howard, reminded those gathered

of the importance of the day as the anniversary of the day the first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed (in 1948) and Nelson Mandela promulgated South Africa’s new constitution.

“Now, more than ever, human rights must be supported by countries like Australia, not just for its own citizens but also in other countries,” Senator Payne said.