Speech on the War in Ukraine of the Overseas Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation

SPEECH ON THE WAR IN UKRAINE

        A fierce war is being witnessed in Ukraine since Thursday, February 24^th, 2022 when the Russian army attacked Ukraine’s. Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, together with his people, was determined to fight against their enemy to protect their homeland. They received the support of most countries and people in the world. It has continued for over three weeks, making more than one million Ukrainians move to the neighbouring nations as thousands of innocent inhabitants have been killed or injured by Russian’s bombs or shootings. Many cities and towns have been devastated. On March 9^th, a maternity hospital located in the portal city of Mariupol has been bombed, causing deaths and serious injuries to patients, many who were female or children.

        On Thursday, March 10^th, 2022, UNCHR reported that 549 civilians had been killed, including 41 children. International sources claimed that the number of deaths in the armies of both sides numbered in the thousands.

        Deeply touched by the war disaster occurring in Ukraine, the Inter-Continental Co-Ordination Office of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregations of Australia & New Zealand and the United Vietnamese Buddhist Congregations in Europe, the United States and Canada, have together,

Raised Our Voice To:

1/ Ask that Russia’s army stop bombing and shooting in Ukraine and withdraw immediately their forces from Ukraine.

For whatever reasons given, bringing an army or shooting into another country is considered as an invasion by us and this has violated Chapter One; the Purpose and Principle of the United Nations’ Charter;

2/ Ask that the neighbouring countries of Ukraine, or the free countries in Europe, welcome more Ukrainian refugees and help them settle down and overcome their crisis due to the war/the loss of their relatives;

3/ Ask that the leaders from the developed countries to let go of their desire to invade other countries in the name of their ideology and to reconsider their wishes to control or take over other territories; as they can learn from the Ukrainian lesson that civilians and the armies of both nations are miserable victims of the war;

4/ Eagerly ask that the valued Vietnamese and Overseas monks and nuns and practitioners show their compassion towards the human grief by sharing parts of their meals, their pocket money to send aid to the Ukrainian refugees and people in Ukraine who are still directly affected by the war. We also ask that any religious premises belonging to the United Associations of Buddhism in the five continents, depending on your conditions, conduct prayer meetings for the safety and the peace of the world, and raise funds to contribute to this human charity program.

 Overseas, March 12^th, 2022. BCE 2566

the Overseas Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of

The Inter-Continental Co-Ordination Office

 Head of Office

Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac

The Head of the Executive Council of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Australia and New Zealand

Most Venerable Thich Tin Nghia

 Chairman of the Executive Council United Vietnamese Buddhist

 Congregation in the United States

Most Venerable Thich Tanh Thiet

 Prime Chairman of the Executive Council of United Vietnamese

Buddhist Congregation in Europe

 Most Venerable Thich Bon Dat

 Chairman of the Executive Council of United Vietnamese BuddhistCongregation in Canada