-Protesters display German and yellow and red South Vietnamese flags during a demonstration in Berlin in 2015 against a visit by Vietnam's then-President Truong Tan SangFour Buddhist activists have been jailed in Vietnam for anti-state propaganda for flying the flag of the defeated southern regime loathed by the ruling communists, state media said Wednesday. At least 24 activists were convicted last year alone, with another 28 arrested, according to Human Rights Watch. The flag is a symbol of the defeated southern regime -- Hanoi's bitter enemy in the long and bloody Vietnam War -- and it is considered incendiary to display it. The Buddhist-majority communist country has been accused of religious intolerance, especially against religious groups which have adopted social or political causes. The small Hoa Hao sect has come under fire in the past for its criticism of the state.

Source: Daily Mail January 24, 2018 06:22 UTC