[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 172 (Wednesday, December 12, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H9244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NOBEL PEACE PRIZE NOMINATIONS

  (Ms. SANCHEZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage Members to join 
me in nominating two revered Vietnamese spiritual leaders for the Nobel 
Peace Prize.
  Monday was International Human Rights Day. In accepting his Nobel 
Peace Prize on its 100th anniversary, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan 
urged all nations to focus more on human rights in a quest to end 
poverty, prevent conflicts, and to foster democracy.
  It is for these reasons that I urge my colleagues to join me in 
asking the Nobel Peace Prize Selection Committee to nominate the Most 
Venerable Thich Quang Do and Father Van Ly of Vietnam for the Nobel 
Peace Prize.
  The Most Venerable Thich Quang Do is the secretary-general of the 
banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Since June 2001, he has been 
under house arrest for announcing his intention to escort the ailing 
83-year-old Buddhist patriarch Thich Huyen Quang to Ho Chi Minh City 
for urgently needed medical attention.
  Similarly, earlier this year, Father Ly was placed under house arrest 
and banned from running his church for providing testimony to the U.S. 
Commission on International Religious Freedom, which urged this 
Congress to do something about human rights and religious persecution 
in Vietnam.
  Mr. Speaker, in recognition of their leadership and sacrifice, I urge 
my colleagues to join me in signing this letter to the U.N.

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