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Cablegate: Some Progress for Quang Ninh Protestants

VZCZCXRO8296
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1554/01 1740730
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 230730Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2495
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 1395
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001554

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KIRF PHUM PGOV HUMANR RELFREE VM
SUBJECT: SOME PROGRESS FOR QUANG NINH PROTESTANTS

REF: A) 05 HANOI 2838, B) HANOI 1466

HANOI 00001554 001.2 OF 003


1. (SBU) On June 16, Poloff met Quang Ninh Province religious
affairs officials and visited a Ha Long City Protestant house
church. Poloff was allowed to participate in a frank dialogue
between provincial officials and congregants at the church
concerning the group's one year delayed registration under the GVN's
new framework on religion. Officials noted that the province will
not let Protestants register soon, but will allow them to gather for
worship in small groups for the time being. Nevertheless, the
unprecedented access to the Protestant's place of worship we were
afforded and the fact that we were allowed to observe the dialogue
are positive developments and run counter to our expectations of
this normally recalcitrant province. End Summary.

2. (SBU) On June 16, Poloff and Pol Assistants traveled to Quang
Ninh Province and met with Mr. Nguyen Tran Truong, Deputy Director
of the provincial Department of Religion and Ethnicity (DRE). There
were no police or Ministry of Public Security (MPS) participants in
the meeting. Poloff stressed the importance of expanding religious
freedom for U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relations and inquired about the
DRE's efforts to fulfill the PM's instructions on Protestant
registration, noting that the GVN's Committee on Religious Affairs
(CRA) recently informed the Embassy that each province in the North
is developing its own plan to implement the registration policy (REF
B). Poloff expressed concern that despite longstanding
applications, three Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN)
congregations (one in Ha Long City and two in Mong Cai District)
have not yet been allowed to register (REF A).

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Protestant Registration Will Not Occur This Summer.
--------------------------------------------- ------

3. (SBU) Nguyen provided the standard historical overview that
Protestantism has only existed in Quang Ninh Province since 1990,
and that many Protestants are confused about their actual church
affiliation. Some congregations have multiple denominations or
frequently change their allegiances. Despite this, "provincial
authorities are strictly implementing the PM's instructions and have
established a roadmap to fulfill GVN policy on religion." This
includes conducting seminars for district and commune officials
responsible for "educating" Protestants about their legal obligation
under registration laws. Regarding the three unregistered
congregations, Nguyen maintained that his department has initiated a
long-term process to register the groups, but noted that "the
congregations need to understand their activities and establish
themselves according to the law" before they will be allowed to
register. For the time being, local commune officials will
"continue to provide the necessary guidance," and members will be
allowed to continue to meet privately in small groups, he said.

4. (SBU) Poloff noted that Vietnam's accession to the WTO and the
opening up of Vietnamese society will likely introduce more
Protestant denominations in the province. It is to the province's
advantage if Quang Ninh officials register the three ECVN
congregations before the number of applications increases. If local
officials use this opportunity to establish a coherent framework for
the registration process, the province will ensure a stable
expansion of religious freedoms in Vietnam, which is a core interest
of the United States. Nguyen promised to convey this message to the
provincial leadership.

Officials Are Open To Dialogue With Congregations.
--------------------------------------------- -----

5. (SBU) Nguyen attributed tensions between provincial officials and
Protestant groups to a "failure to communicate" and complained that
congregations do not report their meetings to authorities.
Provincial officials have sought out Protestant groups with a
sincere desire to discuss conditions for registering their
activities. Nguyen requested the Embassy team dispel Protestants'
fears about the local administration and expressed a desire to
establish a dialogue with congregations. Poloff observed that
Protestants' anxiety and frustrations with local officials are
legitimate and stem from negative experiences dealing with the DRE
in the past, but welcomed Nguyen's efforts to reach out to them.

The Province Still Needs More Priests.
--------------------------------------

6. (SBU) Turning to Catholic issues, Nguyen acknowledged that the
number of priests in the Catholic parish remains inadequate. Out of
the 57 new priests recently ordained in Vietnam, only one was
assigned to the province. Nguyen assured Poloff that he plans to
support any applications for priesthood to the Hanoi seminary from
his jurisdiction. (Note: when Ambassador Marine visited Quang Ninh
Province last October, there were only five priests assigned to the
parish, although the church estimates that it needs at least twice
this number to serve the needs of parishioners. End Note.)

HANOI 00001554 002.2 OF 003

Quang Ninh Allows Embassy Team To Visit House Church.
--------------------------------------------- --------

7. (SBU) In the afternoon, Poloff visited the ECVN-affiliated Ha
Long Congregation and met with members of its executive board.
Nguyen and Mrs. Kim (NFI), the DRE's Expert on Protestant Affairs,
also accompanied the Embassy team. Mr. Tan Truong Sy, Chairman of
the congregation's executive board, greeted Poloff in a busy Ha Long
City neighborhood and led the party to the group's place of worship,
which is located in a small triangular space above a grocery store.
This sparsely furnished room fronts the third floor of the building
which sits in the middle of the block and has picture windows facing
the street. As we arrived, a meeting was in session and hymns were
clearly audible from the sidewalk. There was no visible police
presence observing the storefront or the group's activities inside
the church. About fifteen congregants were present for the meeting,
most over the age of forty. Roughly two-thirds of those assembled
were women. The congregants cheerfully welcomed the Embassy team
and some wept for joy at the occasion throughout the ensuing
discussion.

8. (SBU) Tan gave a short introduction and summarized the hurdles
the congregation has faced since first applying for registration
over a year ago (REF A). He noted that after seeking the guidance
of provincial officials the congregation resubmitted a new
application on April 24 following DRE-stated guidelines. To date,
the group has still not received any official response and local
(ward) authorities have ignored all inquiries. The executive board
is discouraged and has now adopted a wait-and-see attitude, Tan
said.

9. (SBU) Poloff observed that this meeting was a good opportunity to
build trust between the congregation and provincial officials, and
noted that while the executive board has not always responded to the
DRE's meeting requests (which has frustrated officials), dealing
with local authorities is understandably intimidating for members of
the congregation. Nevertheless, the relationship between
congregation members and local officials appears to be moving in the
right direction. Poloff also emphasized the significance of Nguyen
and Kim's presence. Poloff encouraged members of the executive
board to share their concerns directly with DRE officials, and
invited Nguyen and Kim to clarify DRE policies on registration
procedures and explain why it has not responded to the
congregation's application within 60 days as required by law.

Congregation Members Express Their Grievances.
--------------------------------------------- -

10. (SBU) One member of the executive board (NFI) rose and, after a
ten-minute preamble in which he expressed the fervent desire that
"God will love Mr. Nguyen and Ms. Kim and the other officials in
Quang Ninh province and open their hearts to salvation," voiced his
frustration about the registration process and stated that "local
members feel helpless and do not know what else to do." "In the
interest of Christian truth," the man also complained about an
altercation between members of the church and authorities which had
occurred when a small prayer group had convened the previous
Saturday. He stated that local police officers interrupted the
prayers and ordered all members of the church to leave, claiming
that any such activities are illegal before the congregation's
registration is complete. Despite this setback, the man stated that
he still hoped for peaceful relations between church members and
local officials and he offered a prayer for them.

11. (SBU) Another male member of the church rose and also complained
about the length of time it has taken to receive any response to the
group's registration application and lamented continued harassments
from local police who routinely label Protestantism an "illegal
American religion" and spread other distorting rumors about
churchgoers' practices including that they worship drunk and in the
nude. By this point, the congregation, which had seemed timid and
cautious at the beginning of the discussion, had become more brazen
in showing its discontent. Emboldened by his co-religionists'
support, the man began to make increasingly provocative statements,
e.g. "we call on God and America and the international community to
force the Communist party to change." Poloff interrupted the man
before the discussion got too subversive, and invited the DRE
officials to reply.

DRE officials tell their side of the story.
-------------------------------------------

12. (SBU) Kim rose confidently to address the congregants'
criticisms and responded that the application the congregation had
submitted a year ago "was not in good form" and did not meet legal
requirements. She also added in an officious tone that "according
to the Ordinance on Religion," the congregation needs to establish
themselves for a year at the "grass-roots level" before the

HANOI 00001554 003.2 OF 003


provincial DRE can consider their formal registration request.
"This is the procedure laid out in the law." Her statement
immediately provoked an uproar among the members of the executive
board. Poloff noted that the ordinance does not lay out procedures
as she described and attempted to mitigate the tension in the room
by noting that each province has developed its own policies to
implement the Ordinance on Religion. He encouraged members of the
congregation to cooperate more closely with provincial officials, in
order to convince them to speed up their implementing plan.

13. (SBU) Nguyen intervened and suggested that Kim (who showed
extreme embarrassment at her loss of face) had only stated her
personal opinion about the law's language on the registration
process. He reiterated his wish to maintain "peaceful relations"
with church members, because the DRE respects "some of the
activities of the congregation." Since the GVN respects religious
freedom, the state will never intervene when followers conduct their
activities at home, but public gathering without proper
authorization is illegal. Even so, if the local police act
inappropriately, "local authorities will correct the situation and
not leave it unresolved," Nguyen stated

14. (SBU) Nguyen further noted that Protestantism is a new religion
in Quang Ninh Province; therefore, processing the congregation's
application will take time, because "not many local bureaucrats are
believers or even understand the religion." He compared the
development of Protestantism to the development of the Cao Dai sect,
which appeared in 1926 in Vietnam but was only recognized in 1999.
Nguyen also maintained that after receiving the congregation's
second application, the DRE promptly reported the issue to the
provincial leadership, which advised congregation members to
organize as smaller groups for the time being. According to the
provincial plan, Protestants should initially register their
activities at the grass-roots level, before the DRE can facilitate
the formal registration application. Nguyen concluded by saying
that the disagreement arising from lack of resolution of the
congregation's application has also bothered the DRE because
congregation members do not seek out the DRE to discuss the
implementation of provincial guidelines.

15. (SBU) Poloff commended the dialogue between members of the
executive board and the DRE officials, and reiterated that both
sides' frustrations are legitimate so more discussions are necessary
to develop mutual understanding and trust. Nguyen seconded Poloff's
statement and said: "I have learned something new at this meeting."
He promised to report the congregation's frustrations to
higher-level provincial officials and to work out a solution to
accelerate the registration process. Another member of the
executive board attempted to question Poloff about the USG
assessment of the condition of human rights in Vietnam and
illustrated his own assessment with another instance of harassment
during a Christmas celebration in December 2005. Tan concluded
the discussion by noting that the congregation is now optimistic
that local officials take their plight seriously and he asked
congregation members not to blame provincial officials for all their
ills. He urged members of the church to always report ward level
police harassment to provincial authorities, so that the DRE and the
Provincial People's Committee can investigate and resolve these
incidents as Nguyen suggested.

Comment
-------

16. (SBU) Although the conditions for the Ha Long City Protestant
congregation are much improved since the security-plagued visit last
October during which the PPC attempted to prevent the executive
board of the Ha Long congregation from meeting with the Ambassador,
it is clear that the Quang Ninh provincial government will not
register any Protestant congregations for the time being. Despite
Nguyen's assurances of good faith, the provincial strategy to
implement the PM's Instruction on Protestantism only at the
grass-roots level appears to be a stalling tactic as the province
resolves its suspicions about the "new religion." Nevertheless,
unprecedented Embassy access to the Protestants' place of worship
and the fact that we were allowed to observe the dialogue between
the congregation and DRE officials are strikingly positive
developments. Since our visit, the congregation has confirmed that
there have not been any repercussions from or police harassment
concerning the meeting.

MARINE

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