NORTHERN PROTESTANTS REPORT SOME RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002313

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STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KIRF VM RELFREE HUMANR ETMIN
SUBJECT: NORTHERN PROTESTANTS REPORT SOME RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
PROGRESS


1. (SBU) Summary: On September 6, Pastor Au Quang Vinh of
the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) shared with Poloff
his impressions of the status of religious freedom in
Northern Vietnam. He noted that his organization's recent
interactions with the GVN have been mostly positive, though
there is some divergence between official GVN policies on
religion and local authorities' interpretation. He said the
ECVN is encouraging congregations to approach local
officials to begin registration and to educate authorities
about GVN policies. Though this strategy has not been
completely successful, Vinh seemed pleased with the overall
success of the ECVN's efforts to "change the mood" of local
officials, leading to fewer arrests and less harassment of
Protestants. Vinh also reiterated the ECVN's desire for
official GVN recognition of title to their Hanoi property.
End Summary.


2. (SBU) At a September 6 meeting with Poloff, Pastor Au
Quang Vinh, General Secretary and Senior Pastor of the
Evangelical Church of Vietnam - North (ECVN) shared his
impressions of the status of religious freedom in Northern
Vietnam from the perspective of Vietnamese Protestants.
Vinh said that his organization's recent interaction with
the GVN has been mostly positive, although there is still
some divergence between the central government's official
policies on individual beliefs and religions and the local
authorities' interpretation of those policies. He stated
that despite this, the ECVN is actively encouraging rural
congregations to approach their local People's Committee
officials in order to begin the registration process in line
with the GVN's new policies.


3. (SBU) Pastor Vinh observed that the ECVN's local
engagement strategy has not been completely successful. On
several occasions their sub-parishioner's approaches have
elicited an official rebuff and increased difficulties with
local officials who had previously ignored their existence.
These setbacks notwithstanding, Vinh expressed satisfaction
with the overall success of the ECVN's engagement. He noted
that most local authorities are "changing their mood" which
has resulted in fewer arrests and less harassment of
Northern Protestants. Pastor Vinh explained that part of
the strategy is to educate local authorities about the GVN's
own policies on religious freedom and to explain to these
local officials what the protestant religion is and is not.
Vinh proudly provided examples of the documents that the
central church and its sub-groups use for this purpose,
including: the official GVN handbook on belief and religion
which outlines official policy, Communist Party General
Secretary Nong Duc Manh's statement on religious freedom,

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and a copy of the first issue of "Thong Cong" a bi-weekly
bulletin newly printed by the ECVN (with GVN permission)
which includes prominent photos of Deputy Prime Minister Vu
Khoan posing with church leaders at a recent church
conference. He noted, however, that even faced with these
incontrovertible documents some People's Committee
apparatchiks in the provinces still refuse to accept the
change in the central government's policy. One (unnamed)
People's Committee chairman reportedly scoffed that the
official policy is "only official in Hanoi."


4. (SBU) Pastor Vinh said that he was pleased on the whole
with the ECVN's educational outreach efforts and the GVN's
response overall, even considering the opposition of some
local officials. In particular, he noted that several Hmong
congregations in the Northwest Highlands area positively
changed the local authorities' views towards them after
explaining that although Hmong protestants often refer to
Jesus Christ with the honorific term of address "Vang Chu"
(phonetic),they should not be confused with Laotian
militant groups who worship a different "Vang Chu" as has
happened in the past. Pastor Vinh expressed confidence that
similar educational efforts would continue to lower local
officials' apprehensions about church efforts to organize in
the rural North.


5. (SBU) Returning to one of his perennial complaints, Vinh
reiterated the ECVN's desire to receive official GVN
recognition of their title to the Hanoi property on which
their church compound resides. He noted that it is
impossible for the congregation to improve or reconstruct
their dilapidated facilities until they have clear title and
asked the Embassy to raise this issue with the GVN whenever
possible.


6. (SBU) COMMENT: Pastor Vinh's upbeat attitude about the
future for religious freedom in the North has held solid
since the issuance of the Prime Minister's instruction on
religion in the Spring of 2005. We are encouraged by the
success of the ECVN's educational outreach policy at
overcoming local authorities' resistance, which remains the
greatest obstacle to religious freedom in the North. The
condescending behavior of the unidentified People's
Committee Chairman is, unfortunately, quite plausible and
characteristic of resistance in some provinces to Hanoi's
interference in what they feel is a local concern.
Continued attention to the issue by U.S. Embassy officers in
Hanoi combined with the ECVN's grassroots education efforts
in the provinces will remain the best strategy for
institutionalizing recent gains for Protestants in the
North.

MARINE