The leader of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam has met the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, capping a list of high-profile meetings that observers say suggest Hanoi is softening its stance toward the group.
Thich Huyen Quang, 86, patriarch of the outlawed group who has been under effective house arrest since 1982, received a visit from envoy Raymond Burghardt on Friday, the embassy said. "He met him on Friday afternoon," an embassy spokesman said.
It was the first visit from a U.S. ambassador since the state imposed restrictions on the Buddhist leader.
The Buddhist group headed by Quang was replaced by the state-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Church in 1981.
Last Wednesday, Quang held an unprecedented meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. The patriarch was also permitted to see European Commission representatives during his stay in Hanoi where he has been recovering from an operation.
The most recent meetings follow last Tuesday's release of the State Department's annual report on human rights that criticized Vietnam's record on religion and democracy. Hanoi denies rights abuses.
Quang left the capital on Monday for his home in the central Quang Ngai province, the Paris-based International Buddhist Information Bureau, an advocacy group, said in a statement.
The group is urging that Hanoi release Quang as well as Thich Quang Do, the church's deputy leader who has been under house arrest since June 2001. An EU delegation was denied permission to visit Do last September.