IRF Ambassador at Large Hanford's March 4 Meeting

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SUBJECT: IRF Ambassador at Large Hanford's March 4 Meeting
with Committee on Religious Affairs Chairman Thi


1. (SBU) Summary: During a nearly three-hour meeting March
4, Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) Chairman Ngo Yen Thi
told visiting Ambassador at Large for International
Religious Affairs John V. Hanford that the situation for
religious freedom in Vietnam has never been better, with the
recent Prime Minister's Instruction on Protestantism and the
upcoming implementing regulations for the Ordinance on
Religion creating a new and more open atmosphere.
Ambassador Hanford acknowledged the many positive changes
that have taken place and stressed his desire to find a way
to address the concerns that had led to Vietnam's
designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for
religious freedom violations.


2. (SBU) Summary, cont'd: On legal and regulatory changes
made possible by the new Instruction and implementing
regulations, Chairman Thi said that Decree 26 would no
longer be valid. For the most part, religious groups would
not have to seek permission from authorities for their
activities but rather inform. The CRA would have the
responsibility to monitor the performance of local
authorities in dealing with religious matters and make
"timely interventions" when necessary. CRA Chairman Thi
stressed that local authorities will have increased
responsibilities to be aware of the religious situation in
their area and play a greater role in facilitating religious
life. End Summary.


3. (SBU) Ambassador at Large for International Religious
Freedom John V. Hanford met March 4 for nearly three hours
with GVN Committee on Religious Affairs Chairman Thi. The
Ambassador, DRL/IRF officer Matthew Schmolesky, Pol/C and
Poloff also attended. Chairman Thi opened by noting that,
in the area of religious freedom, Vietnam has made much
progress recently. For example, the 2004 Ordinance on
Religion and the Prime Minister's recent Instruction on
Protestantism will ensure that those who want to practice
religion will be able to do so, will prohibit forced
renunciations and will punish those who violate this
proscription and will simplify the processes for registering
religious groups. (Note: The long-awaited implementing
decree for the Ordinance was made available to us March 7,
and we will transmit it septel. End note.) The GVN will
also facilitate the opening of schools for "religious
officials," Chairman Thi said.


4. (SBU) The Prime Minister's Instruction has important
provisions for Protestants in the Central Highlands,
including language prohibiting forcing people either to
renounce or follow a certain faith, Chairman Thi continued.
The GVN will also recognize Protestant congregations in the
Central Highlands and work to ensure that they have their
own places of worship. In 2005, "the situation should
improve greatly," Chairman Thi observed. In places where it
is not yet possible to build churches, the GVN will identify
places for people to worship. "Protestants in the Central
Highlands are very happy with the Prime Minister's
Instruction," he noted.


5. (SBU) Continuing, Chairman Thi said that, on the occasion
of the February Tet amnesty, the GVN had released a number
of people "detained for breaking the law." The GVN is also
trying to help Protestant congregations in the Central
Highlands and the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam
(SECV) to organize training courses in theology, the
Chairman said.


6. (SBU) Thanking Chairman Thi for his remarks, Ambassador
Hanford agreed that significant progress has been made.
According to our Vietnamese religious contacts, religious
leaders in Vietnam have been encouraged by Vietnam's new
policy direction. Ambassador Hanford described for Chairman
Thi the reasons behind his visit to Vietnam, in particular
his hope that an agreement could be reached that would
obviate the need for other CPC-related action, as required
under U.S. law. He also expressed his desire to work with
the GVN to find a way to address some of our concerns about
the state of religious freedom in Vietnam, particularly
those concerns that led to Vietnam's designation as a
Country of Particular Concern (CPC).


7. (SBU) Chairman Thi described the CRA's "functions and
responsibilities" as carrying out the policies and
guidelines of the GVN in the area of religion, and that
Vietnam's policy is to respect religious freedom and allow
people to either follow or not follow a particular religious
belief. In short, the CRA has the responsibility of
ensuring the "normal religious life" of the people.
Religious groups consider the CRA to be a "member of the
family" and frequently approach the Committee to discuss
issues of concern. Turing to the purpose of Ambassador
Hanford's visit to Vietnam, Chairman Thi noted that this is
a "very delicate issue" that, if not treated sensitively,
could cause international public opinion to think that the
United States has exerted pressure on Vietnam. Vietnam
cannot provide its commitment to ensure the religious life
of Vietnamese believers because this is a natural and
essential responsibility of the State. That said, the CRA
appreciates the chance to exchange thoughts with Ambassador
Hanford and others, and there is no obstacle to continuing
to do this, Chairman Thi said.

8. (SBU) Remarking on Chairman Thi's comment that religious
groups consider the CRA to be part of the family, Ambassador
Hanford said that most of the complaints from religious
leaders and adherents have seemed to be directed towards
local and provincial authorities, not the CRA. Ambassador
Hanford agreed that the issue at hand must be handled
delicately. One of our goals is to strengthen bilateral
relations while creating a better atmosphere for the
practice of religion in Vietnam. Hopefully, improvements to
the state of religious freedom in Vietnam will lead to a
good atmosphere for the Prime Minister's hoped for visit to
the United States this summer. Religious freedom is a key
issue for the American people and the President, and we hope
to eliminate this matter as a source of tension between the
United States and Vietnam, Ambassador Hanford said.
Chairman Thi thanked Ambassador Hanford for his efforts and
urged him to discuss the practical aspects of this matter
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


9. (SBU) Turning to specific issues contained in the recent
Prime Minister's Instruction and Ordinance on Religion,
Ambassador Hanford asked if the new Instruction or the
Ordinance trumped Decree 26 (which deals broadly with
religious issues). Chairman Thi responded that Decree 26,
released in 1999, contains "certain provisions not
appropriate to current practice." The Ordinance therefore
supersedes Decree 26 and "any inappropriate use of it." In
short, "Decree 26 has no more role," Chairman Thi said.


10. (SBU) On the subject of religious training in the
Central and Northwest Highlands, Ambassador Hanford noted
that Protestant leaders have expressed concern about the
efforts of certain other groups to try to "hijack" religion
with teachings not in conformity with SECV or Evangelical
Church of Vietnam: North (ECVN) teachings or doctrine. The
SECV and ECVN leadership thus believes that increased
teaching and training opportunities would help eliminate
these problems. Similarly, training of local officials
about the requirements of the new Instruction and other
regulations will be essential. On the Prime Minister's
Instruction, it was helpful to read that the "chicken-and-
the-egg" problem of churches' not being able to register
without property, but not being able to own property without
being registered has been addressed, Ambassador Hanford
said.


11. (SBU) Chairman Thi noted that, in addition to providing
guidance, the Central Government will also require
localities to have concrete implementation plans in place
for the Prime Minister's Instruction. The CRA intends to
monitor and assess the performance of localities, Chairman
Thi said. Ambassador Hanford noted that the desire of house
church groups to register means that they desire to be legal
and above ground, and the Prime Minister's Instruction's
provisions on registration can eliminate problems for many
religious groups that have to date been outside the law.
Another important provision of the Prime Minister's
Instruction is the language indicating that religious groups
will not have to seek permission but merely inform about
certain activities. Ambassador Hanford expressed his hope
that the Ordinance on Religion's procedures for registering
churches are streamlined and achievable. It would be
especially significant if these procedures have a particular
timetable for local officials to respond to registration
requests, Ambassador Hanford said.


12. (SBU) Based on the Ordinance on Religion's implementing
decree, depending on the type of activity, religious groups
will have to contact the authorities in one of three ways,
Chairman Thi explained: 1) Notify the local authorities but
not have to seek permission; 2) Register activities; 3) or,
Register and wait for the local authorities to respond,
within a specified time limit for both local and Central
Government authorities. The GVN wants to apply this three-
level model as part of a broader administrative reform
effort, in addition to seeking to facilitate the nation's
religious life. The GVN's position is that local officials
should not abuse their discretion, and, to that end, the CRA
is currently trying to set up an inspection team to carry
out checks at the local level and make "timely
interventions" when necessary, Chairman Thi explained.


13. (SBU) In response to Ambassador Hanford's question about
religious groups' right to appeal a locality's rejection of
a particular request, Chairman Thi said that Vietnamese law
has a separate right of appeal. That said, the CRA's
"inspection section" would deal directly with local
authorities on written requests for appeals. Responding to
Ambassador Hanford's request for clarification on the
question of the re-registration requirement - and the
possibility that local authorities would abuse this
requirement to keep religious groups "in line" - Chairman
Thi said that, in fact, there is no re-registration
requirement. There is a requirement, however, for religious
groups to file annual reports about their activities to
local authorities.


14. (SBU) Ambassador Hanford expressed his hope that some of
the positive provisions in the Prime Minister's Instruction
on Protestantism would be extended to other religious
groups. For example, we are aware that Hoa Hao and Cao Dai
faithful hope to take advantage of the new atmosphere of
religious freedom. Catholics also would like to increase
their seminary capacity. Furthermore, perhaps this new
atmosphere could allow for the GVN to resume its dialogue
with the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). GVN
permission for UBCV leaders to move freely and meet with
friends and fellow believers would be a welcome step
forward, Ambassador Hanford said.


15. (SBU) In response to a question from Ambassador Marine,
Chairman Thi said that the implementation regulations for
the Ordinance on Religion would be released in March (Note:
The official release date was March 1; we received a copy
COB March 7. End note.) In response to Ambassador Marine's
request for further clarification of the issue of contact
between the Central Government and local authorities on
religious matters, Chairman Thi said that the GVN will
require local authorities to carry out a survey to determine
the "picture" of religious activity in their area. For
congregations already recognized by the ECVN, the
authorities will have to make sure that the pastor has been
trained by the ECVN and that everything is squared away in
terms of land and property. For those congregations not
meeting the ECVN's requirements for recognition, the local
authorities are required to help them to establish
themselves to practice their religion. The CRA will provide
instructions to local authorities to that effect, Chairman
Thi said.


16. (SBU) Chairman Thi also noted that it will be possible
for groups without an established church property to
register, with someone's home becoming the registered place
of worship. Chairman Thi concluded by stressing that there
will likely be problems that arise in spite of the new
regulations and Instruction. These documents will
hopefully, however, form the basis for further improvements.
There will also likely be issues that come up that are not
dealt with in the regulations, and the GVN will have to
direct its attention to these matters, the Chairman said.


17. (U) Ambassador Hanford cleared this message.

MARINE