S/P OFFICER ENGAGES GVN OFFICIALS ON RELIGIOUS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000465

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV, S/P, AND DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PREL PGOV VM RELFREE HUMANR ETMIN
SUBJECT: S/P OFFICER ENGAGES GVN OFFICIALS ON RELIGIOUS
ISSUES

Reftels: A) 04 Hanoi 1987, B) Hanoi 353


1. (SBU) Summary: An official from the Committee for
Religious Affairs (CRA) sees Vietnam's new Ordinance on
Religion and Instruction on Protestants as significantly
reducing restrictions on religious activities. The
situation for Protestants in the Central Highlands has
improved recently, he claimed. Furthermore, Protestants in
the Northwest Highlands will have new freedoms, including
the ability to hold meetings in private homes. A Ministry
of Foreign Affairs official echoed these claims and urged
the USG to think about regional issues and the health of the
bilateral relationship in assessing actions related to CPC.
End Summary.

Committee for Religious Affairs Explains Recent Changes
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2. (U) During their February 24 meeting, Nguyen Thanh Xuan,
Director for Protestant Affairs at the Government Committee
for Religious Affairs told S/P Officer William Inboden that
Vietnam's Ordinance on Religion, passed last June, is now
the highest legal document governing religion in the country
(Ref. A). New points in the Ordinance include setting clear
requirements for recognition of religious groups, relaxed
controls of transfers of clerics, fewer limits on the
external relations of religious groups and enhanced
abilities for religious groups to conduct charitable
activities. Under the Ordinance, there are now three levels
of Government control regarding activities of religious
groups: 1) "inform," 2) "register" and 3) "request
permission." In the past, most activities required "level
three control." Now, however, level one or two is the norm,
and level three is only necessary for major activities, such
as the construction of churches. Xuan acknowledged that the
Ordinance still has "special ways" of dealing with the
Vatican. Continued requirements for consultation on the
appointment of Catholic priests are a "sign of respect" and
not evidence of interference in Church affairs.


3. (U) Referring to the new Instruction on Protestants (Ref.
B),Xuan explained that, in addition to upholding the legal
activities to the two officially-recognized Protestant
Churches in Vietnam, the Instruction addresses unrecognized
denominations that were established both before and after
1975, as well as Protestants in the Central and Northwest
Highlands. Those denominations that were established in
Vietnam before 1975 will receive consideration for
recognition in a "more favorable manner." Post-1975
denominations should register their activities, and they can
be considered for recognition as they "fill all the
necessary requirements."


4. (U) In the Central Highlands, there has been a rapid
growth in the number of Protestants in recent years. This
in itself is not a problem, Xuan said, but separatists have
begun to act "under the guise of religion." Nonetheless,
there has been recent progress for Protestants in that
region. There are eighteen students from the Central
Highlands studying at the Southern Evangelical Church of
Vietnam's (SECV) Bible School in Ho Chi Minh City. Many new
congregations have been recently recognized in the region.
Bibles are available in ethnic minority languages, and SECV
is in discussion with provincial authorities about opening
special Bible classes for unrecognized preachers in every
Central Highlands province. (Xuan later acknowledged that
the State Religious Publishing House only prints the Bible
in Vietnamese, Chinese and English). House churches should
register their activities and show they have no affiliation
with separatist groups. Once they have at least 100 members
and a preacher in charge, they can begin the process of
seeking recognition as an independent congregation. A
church building is no longer a requirement for recognition,
which will end the previous "chicken and egg" problem of
congregations needing a church building to be official, but
not being able to build a church until they became official,
Xuan said.


5. (U) In the Northwest Highlands, Xuan said that believers
would be able to hold meetings in private homes so long as
they registered with provincial authorities. After some
time they may be able to develop into official
congregations, but that would depend on the charter of the
denominations with which they are affiliated. Xuan
suggested that such nascent congregations might be able to
affiliate with the Evangelical Church of Vietnam: North.
The CRA understands that dissemination of the new
Instruction to provincial authorities is extremely
important.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Think Regionally
--------------


6. (SBU) Nguyen Duc Hung, Assistant Foreign Minister and
Director General of the American Department, began his
meeting with Mr. Inboden by addressing regional issues. He
gave an overview on recent political developments in the
region, including a discussion about the East Asia Summit
and Vietnamese engagement in APEC and in ASEAN regional and
sub-regional forums. Hung talked of the "peaceful rise" of
China and the desire of the "smaller countries in the
region" to "live with China and keep good relations with the
United States." Hung then mentioned the positive progress
in the U.S.-Vietnam relationship over the past ten years,
including recent progress in "sensitive" areas such as
military cooperation and counter-terrorism. "Vietnam wants
to maintain this momentum," AFM Hung said. He implied that
the USG should consider the issue of religion within this
broader context.


7. (SBU) Addressing religious issues, Hung said that "the
situation in Vietnam is very different from the perception
in Washington." He made reference to a decree by Ho Chi
Minh that guaranteed freedom of religion in Vietnam and
mentioned the new Ordinance and Instruction. "We will
follow these very closely," Hung promised. The GVN has
worked hard to improve the lives of ethnic minorities. In
the past, "fanatics and sects" had sometimes deceived these
believers and taken their money. Authorities have had to
take measures against this. Vietnam's openness to religion
is reflected in the way it has welcomed the recent
appointment of a new Archbishop to Hanoi and the visit to
Vietnam of long-exiled Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh. CPC
designation for Vietnam has "hurt my people," Hung said.
Hung said that the GVN is preparing for diplomatic
discussions over the CPC issue and appealed to Ambassador
Hanford to "remove Vietnam from the CPC list."


8. (U) In the interest of expediency, S/P William Inboden
asked post to send this cable without his clearance.
MARINE