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The federal government in Vietnam’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau province is obstructing the restore of a 35 year-old Buddhist pagoda as a result of the spiritual group that owns it isn’t state-sanctioned.
On Monday, Thich Vinnh Phuoc, the abbot of Phuoc Buu pagoda, mentioned native officers advised employees to cease filling cracks and changing tiles and “look ahead to recommendation from superiors.”
The seven-person delegation was led by Phuoc Thuan Commune Folks’s Committee Vice Chairman Dinh Van Tam, the deputy head of the commune police Pham Van Dung and a consultant of the commune army command.
“They mentioned based on the legislation on faith you should ask permission and the spiritual chief should make a report,” the abbot advised Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.
“What did we do mistaken? If the home leaks it’s painted so what ought to I report?”
In accordance with the 2016 Regulation on Faith and 2020 amendments to the legislation, spiritual institutions solely have to use for a development allow within the case of latest spiritual works.
As for renovations, development permits are solely wanted if the renovations change the useability, have an effect on the encircling surroundings or influence development security.
Abbot Thich Vinh Phuoc mentioned his order is usually harassed by native authorities.
Final 12 months, they have been ordered to request permission to construct a firewood retailer.
“They don’t implement the spiritual legislation. They all the time ignore it and pay very strict consideration to the work at Phuoc Buu Pagoda, ” mentioned the abbot.
In 2019, the native authorities put in a digital camera on the entrance gate to observe the temple, with a high-powered floodlight pointed on the temple yard.
The abbot mentioned the explanation for the monitoring and harassment was that his group belongs to the biggest unbiased Buddhist group in Vietnam and sometimes speaks out for democracy and non secular freedom.
The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam is a spiritual group that existed earlier than 1975, unbiased of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha established by the federal government in 1981.
RFA referred to as the individuals’s committee of Phuoc Thuan Commune to ask concerning the abbot’s allegations however nobody answered the cellphone.
Translated by RFA Vietnamese Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.
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