A letter signed by 37 members of the US Congress has urged Vietnam to release the two main leaders of a banned Buddhist church, a Paris-based organization said.
The International Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB) published the letter in which congressmen urged Hanoi to release Thich Huyen Quang, 86, leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, and Thich Quang Do, 74, its number two.
"These courageous leaders have spent much of the last 25 years detained without charge or trial for their peaceful advocacy of fundamental human rights and religious freedom rights guaranteed by the Vietnamese Constitution", the congressmen were quoted as saying by the IBIB.
"The international community has diligently worked to promote the efforts of the Patriarch and his Deputy and have continually advocated for their release".
The letter followed an astonishing meeting between Quang and Prime minister Phan Van Khai on Wednesday.
It was the first time a top official of the Vietnamese government had officially spoken to a member of the group since it was banned in 1981.
"In the last 20 years, there have been repeated efforts to nominate the Patriarch and his Deputy for the Nobel Peace Prize, including a recent effort by over 60 Members of the United States Congress calling for the nomination of the Venerable Thich Quang Do", the congressmen wrote.
By releasing the two, the government could "demonstrate that Vietnam is truly committed to the advancement of human rights and religious freedom", they said.
Quang has been under effective house arrest since 1982 near the Quang Phuoc Pagoda in the central province of Quang Ngai.
Do was sentenced to two years' house arrest in June 2001 for having launched a campaign for democracy in Vietnam. He is currently living in a monastery in the southern Ho Chi Minh City.
Thirty-one members of the European Parliament urged Vietnam on March 18 to release the two Buddhist leaders, shortly after two diplomats from the European Commission and an American envoy had met Quang in Hanoi.