Vitenam Blames Religion for Violent Unrest

March 21, 2001

    A commune chief in Vietnam has blamed religion for last month's violent protests against the government by ethnic minority groups. The chief, known by the single name Wanh, blamed Protestants for the unrest, which took place in Vietnam's central highlands.
    February's wave of apparently co-ordinated protests involved several hundred people in Buon Ma Thuot, the capital of Daklak province, and about 4,000 people in Pleiku, in neighboring Gia Lai province, officials said.
    Minority groups in the central highlands have complained that the government has placed restrictions on the practice of Protestantism. Wanh, speaking to foreign journalists on a government-organized visit in Gia Lai province, said local Communist authorities opposed conversion of the ethnic peoples to Protestantism. "Only members of the church knew about the program (for the protests)," he said. "If they adhere to Protestantism, the villagers have to abandon all their cultural values ... That's why the government doesn't want them to adhere to Protestantism."
    "All Protestants in the area belonged to illegal underground 'house churches'," Wanh explained, "since the government had not given approval to build a church."

--Used by permission of Religion Today

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State of Religious Freedom in Vietnam Studied

February 20, 2001

    Vietnam's record on respecting religious freedom came under examination on Feb. 13 in a hearing of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Capitol Hill.
    Chairman Elliott Abrams, in prepared remarks, said that with a new administration in Washington, "this is precisely the time for the U.S. government to consider how the protection of religious freedom should factor into the development and implementation of U.S. policy, and it is the commission's mandate to make recommendations to our government in that regard."
    The commission was established by Congress with two purposes: to monitor the condition of religious freedom around the world, and to make recommendations.
    In September 2000 the State Department issued its second Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. The report on Vietnam reveals grave violations of religious freedom committed by the Vietnamese government. These violations concern the USCIRF, and, in addition to turning our own attention to them, "we have urged the State Department to monitor the situation," according to Washington File, U.S. Department of State.

--Used by permission of Religion Today

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Clinton Calls for Religious Freedom in Vietnam

Wednesday, November 22, 2000

    President Clinton's meeting with a Catholic leader in Vietnam sent a message about America's commitment to religious freedom, a religious rights advocate said. Clinton met with Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man, archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, during his visit to the communist country last week, according to news reports.
    The hour-long meeting "is an obvious statement that America cares about more than trade," Nina Shea of the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House told Religion Today. Before the trip, Shea had raised questions about the administration's objectives, noting that the delegation included 50 business leaders but not a State Department official who oversees religious freedoms. The center released 50 pages of Vietnamese government documents that detail what Shea said are policies to curtail freedoms.
    Clinton talked about religious freedom in a speech to students at Hanoi National University. Guaranteeing the right to religious worship "does not threaten the stability of society," he said in the nationally televised address. His comments and his meeting with the bishop annoyed communist leaders, according to news reports.
    Shea praised Clinton for raising the issue, "but he could have done more," such as asking about political prisoners or attending a church service, she said. More action is needed to guarantee religious freedom, she said. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom plans to hold hearings on Vietnam and conduct a fact-finding trip to the country, she said.

--Used by permission of Religion Today

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Group Criticizes Vietnam Repression of Religion

Wednesday, November 15, 2000

   A U.S.-based rights group criticized Vietnam's repression of religion on the eve of President Clinton's historic visit to the country. The Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House released 50 pages of Vietnamese government documents detailing oppressive policies against Christians, The Washington Times reported.
    Most of the policies are aimed at restricting evangelical Protestants. They include closing churches and turning public opinion against Christians, the paper said. "We must turn propaganda into an art form" so "they will not know they are being propagandized," one document reads. Officials are particularly concerned about the growth of evangelical Christianity among tribal groups in the northwest, the documents showed.
    The documents are labeled "Top Secret" or "Secret" and bear the official government seals and signatures, according to the paper. They have been translated into English and verified by Vietnam experts in the United States, Canada, and Thailand. Vietnamese officials say there is more religious freedom than ever and call the charges slanderous.
    Vietnam "is still very much of the communist mind-set in that they do not want any religious organizations they cannot control," Freedom House's Nina Shea said. She and others protested what they call the Clinton Administration's policy of promoting trade before human rights. "We are stunned at how trade has trumped human rights. If we cannot raise the issue of human rights in Vietnam, it is a complete sellout."
    Clinton has said he will address the issue in private meetings with Vietnam's leaders. He has pressed to have better relations with the country, ending a trade embargo in 1994 and establishing and embassy in Hanoi in 1996. He is the first U.S. president to visit the country since the communist North took over the South in 1975.

--Used by permission of Religion Today