E/CN.4/1999/58/Add.2 page 3 Introduction 1. At his request and at the invitation of the Vietnamese Government, the Special Rapporteur visited Viet Nam from 19 to 28 October 1998 in the exercise of his mandate (resolution 1998/18 of the Commission on Human Rights). During his visit, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Hanoi (19-21 and 28 October), Ho Chi Minh City (24-27 October) and Tay-Ninh (27 October). 2. He had the opportunity to interview various officials (Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister of Public Safety, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Director of the Office of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Institute of Research into Religion) and representatives of the Buddhist Association of Viet Nam, the Catholic Church and the Administrative Council of the Cao Dai Holy See. Visits to places of worship and religious training establishments supplemented these meetings. 3. The Special Rapporteur regrets that he was not enabled to have talks with certain political leaders and with representatives of the Hoa Hao, Hindu, Confucianist and Taoist religious communities. 4. Some major and serious obstacles were encountered in connection with private interviews and movements. The Special Rapporteur was not enabled by the Vietnamese authorities to visit Danang and the hamlet of Nghia in Quang Ngai province; he was thus not able to meet the Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam (EBUV), Thich Huyen Quang. He was also prevented - physically - by several individuals in plain clothes, claiming to represent the local authorities but refusing to identify themselves, from meeting Thich Quang Do, Thich Tue Sy and Thich Tri Sieu, members of the EBUV who had recently been released within the framework of an amnesty declared by the Vietnamese authorities. Information subsequently received on this incident will be given below. Various private meetings that had been arranged with members of the Cao Dai, Hoa Hao and Khmer Krom communities were unable to take place for reasons which require clarification and concerning which information subsequently received will be given below. 5. At his request, the Special Rapporteur was able to visit re-education camp No. Z30A, at Zuan Loc, Dong Nai province, to hold talks with three members of the EBUV, Thich Khong Than, Thich Nhat Ban and Thich Tien Minh. On his arrival, the Special Rapporteur was informed of the release, the previous day, of Thich Nhat Ban, within the framework of a second amnesty measure decided upon by the Vietnamese authorities. Information concerning his present situation, received after the visit, is given below. The private interview with Thich Khong Than and Thich Tien Minh was able to take place in accordance with United Nations rules only after long discussions on the spot with the camp commander; the interview had, however, to be cut short by the Special Rapporteur because the camp commander kept coming in and, finally, stayed in the room, thus destroying the private nature of the interview. Moreover, the camp commander said, after checking, that a member of the EBUV, Thich Hue Dang, and three Catholics, John Bosco Pham Minh Tri, Bernard Nguyen Viet Huan and Michael Nguyen Van Tinh, were not in his establishment, whereas several concordant and trustworthy sources of information had confirmed their presence there (see para. 76 below). The representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although asked by the Special Rapporteur,