Bodyguard for Vietnamese monk controls his every move

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Then in November, the monk announced plans to travel on foot to India.

Who is Doan Van Bau?

On his personal YouTube channel, Bau described himself as a retired security officer and an active Communist Party member.

He previously held the rank of senior colonel and served as director general of the Political Theory Division within the Central Propaganda and Education Department.

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In early posts on YouTube, Bau described himself as a “retired ordinary citizen” volunteering to assist Minh Tue in his pilgrimage, saying he had a deep respect for the monk’s commitment to Buddhism.

In December, Minh Tue said in one of Bau’s YouTube videos about trip preparations posted that he only asked Bau to handle the immigration procedures on the way to India.

But in more recent comments on social media, Bau said the Vietnamese government had issued official documents assigning him to be the “head of the delegation.”

In another Facebook video on Jan. 7, Bau told Thich Minh Tue that while he has “no objections” to his “self-cultivation,” he hoped the monk “will not interfere with my planning, organization or management of the delegation.”

Bau has since rejected at least three people from joining the pilgrimage, including two monks.

Even before the pilgrimage started, officials appeared to be controlling the endeavor.

A document released on Dec. 1 by Phat Tam Thien Dinh Tue Ltd., a company founded by Thich Minh Tue’s elder brother, listed 10 individuals authorized by the monk to accompany and assist him during the pilgrimage to India.

But on the departure day, only two of them — Bau and Le Kha Giap – were officially allowed to join the delegation.

Media blackout

Bau is live-streaming the monk’s journey on YouTube – which many people in Vietnam are following – but the country’s state-run media has had no coverage of the entourage.

Vietnamese journalists told RFA that the propaganda department has told them not to publish any news about it.

After about a week of walking in Thailand, Bau said on his personal social media account that the delegation had many “adversities” in the journey so far, including foreign reporters and others observing the pilgrimage.

As Thich Minh Tue heads toward Bangkok, Bau continued to keep a tight lid on the monk’s interactions, particularly with the media.

“Bau has always spoken on behalf of the monk, taking over his right to communicate,” said Tuan Khanh, the musician who has been monitoring the pilgrimage closely. “The monk no longer has the opportunity to speak.”

Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Malcolm Foster.