Cablegate: More On Allegations of Quang Ngai Religious Freedom

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001009

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL PGOV KIRF VM RELFREE HUMANR ETMIN
SUBJECT: MORE ON ALLEGATIONS OF QUANG NGAI RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
VIOLATIONS

REF: HCMC 910

1. (SBU) Post continues to monitor closely reported incidents
involving severe harassment of two ethnic minority Protestant
house church congregations in Quang Ngai province in Vietnam's
Central Coastal region (reftel). A few days after we submitted a
letter to the HCMC External Relations Office (ERO) on the
situation, the usually anodyne GVN-controlled English language
"Vietnam News" ran a full-page article on September 5,
challenging previous reports of forced renunciation and stating
that Dinh Van Hoang -- the lay preacher at the center of the case
-- was a troublemaker and "not a good citizen." Hoang is accused
of preaching illegally and "luring people to blindly believe in
nonsense", of desecrating an ethnic minority animist cemetery and
of encouraging villagers to refuse to work. According to the
article, "his behavior tested the patience of the community
members, forcing them to burn his house."

2. (SBU) On September 9, PolOff met with Pastor Le Van Thien,
Secretary General of the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam

SIPDIS
(SECV) to review the Quang Ngai incidents. Thien confirmed that
the affected congregations were affiliated with the SECV, and
that lay preacher Dinh Van Hoang had his home burned down after
resisting pressure to renounce his faith. He also rebutted the
allegations in the Vietnamese media that Hoang had encouraged
villagers not to work or that he was involved in the desecration
of an ethnic Hre cemetery. However, Thien disputed Hoang's
allegation that seven other Protestant families were forced to
renounce their faith and had their homes destroyed when they
refused to do so. Thien explained that the ethnic minority
families were relocated to another area -- he was not clear as to
why -- and that their homes were subsequently rebuilt in the new
location.

3. (SBU) Thien was concerned about the local government's
treatment of Hoang but said that he did not believe that the
incident reflected a particular negative trend in the province.
According to Thien, local officials in Quang Ngai and elsewhere
in southern Vietnam tend to be tougher on SECV activities in
ethnic minority areas. The four other ethnic minority "meeting
points" for house churches that the SECV operates in Quang Ngai
have not faced the same level of harassment that lay preacher
Hoang experienced. (The SECV has twelve "meeting points" in
Quang Ngai": seven for ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) and five for
ethnic minorities.) Five to six Quang Ngai "voluntary lay
preachers" are scheduled to begin training to become pastors in
an upcoming course in neighboring Quang Nam Province. Once the
training is completed, those pastors will register with Quang
Ngai Province and supplement the three pastors already registered
with provincial officials.

4. (SBU) Comment: The SECV Secretary General's comment that
officials take a tougher line on Protestantism in the ethnic
minority communities tracks with our observations elsewhere in
southern Vietnam. That said, even in many parts of the Central
Highlands, the SECV is making good progress in normalizing its
operations in ethnic minority areas. With regard to the specific
allegations of forced renunciation, we will continue to press for
a formal reply from the ERO and consult with the SECV on whether
the provincial government has intervened to prevent further
incidents. End Comment.

WINNICK

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