RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE NORTH PART II: POLOFF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 HANOI 001113

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KIRF PHUM PGOV SOCI VM
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE NORTH PART II: POLOFF
VISITS HA GIANG PROVINCE, MEETS WITH PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC
GROUPS

REF: A) HANOI 1112; B) HANOI 894; C) HANOI 549

HANOI 00001113 001.2 OF 009


This cable continues the report in Ref A.

Summary and Comment
--------------


1. (SBU) At the recommendation of Protestants in Hanoi, an
Embassy team visited Ha Giang Province in the third week of
April to investigate allegations of district-level abuse
against Protestant groups. The team was able to discuss
with officials several serious allegations made against Ha
Giang provincial and district authorities. The access to
local Protestants and the frank and open discussion with
officials at all levels about the gap between the GVN's new
framework on religion and its local implementation were a
significant improvement over previous outreach trips (as was
the Lao Cai trip reported Ref A). Based on the team's
discussions, it appears that the GVN has given strict
instructions to northern provinces to change their approach
to our concerns on religious freedom. While the situation
for Protestants there has not yet markedly improved, it may
now be possible for house church congregations to register
their activities per the law and per Ha Giang's purported
plans. We plan to send another team to the region as early
as June to follow up on these developments. End Summary and
Comment.


2. (SBU) Poloff and Pol Assistant traveled to Lao Cai and Ha
Giang provinces from April 23-28 to investigate reports of
abuse of religious believers and to press provincial,
district and commune officials to improve their approach to
Protestants.


3. (SBU) In addition to meetings with Ha Giang provincial
officials, the team met with Xin Man, Bac Quang and Vi Xuyen
district and commune officials. The Ha Giang PPC also
facilitated unprecedented visits to ethnic H'mong villages
with Protestant residents in each district, including Che La
Village in Xin Man and Ngoc Lam Village in Vi Xuyen. Both
of these village visits were requested by the team in
advance on the recommendation of Pastor Vinh. In addition,
the team visited the sub-parish Catholic Church in Bac Quang
District at the suggestion of Hanoi Archbishop Ngo Quang
Kiet.

Ha Giang Province
--------------


4. (SBU) Following the Embassy team's visit with the Bao
Thang DPC in Lao Cai on April 25 (septel),officials
escorted the team to the provincial frontier with Xin Man
district in Ha Giang Province, a three-hour journey over
rough dirt roads. The principle single lane road between
the provinces is under construction and the convoy had to
take an alternate route at one point because heavy road-
grading equipment blocked one of the mountain passes. The
convoy was met at the provincial line in a remote pastoral
area by Mai Ngoc Huong, Deputy Director of Ha Giang's
Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee, and Hoang Tien Chu,
Vice Chairman of Xin Man's District People's Commmittee
(DPC). A television crew from Ha Giang's local TV station
recorded the ceremonial arrival.


5. (SBU) After a brief lunch in Xin Man Town, Chu invited
the team to visit the village of Che La in Di Thang Commune.
The road to the Di Thang base camp across the valley from
Xin Man proper is only passable in the dry season. The
route consists largely of a winding boulder track that
requires a four-wheel drive vehicle to surmount the many
obstacles, streams and hairpin turns along its four-hour
length. During the drive a Russian-made police jeep in the
front of the convoy blew out one of its tires and the
Embassy team vehicle nearly sheared an axle at a
particularly difficult juncture. Also, several vehicles in
the convoy got stuck in the mud and scree and had to be
extracted at various times. The convoy reached Di Thang
after nightfall.


6. (SBU) Two representatives of the commune People's
Committee (NFI) greeted the team and provided a brief
overview of the social development in the area. Di Thang
comprises 1,207 hectares of mountainous land containing
thirteen villages or 503 household for a total of 2,789
villagers. There are two ethnic groups. Some 58 percent of
the population is Nung, and the remainder is H'mong. The
villagers raise maize and rice along with buffaloes and

HANOI 00001113 002.2 OF 009


cattle at an average of one large animal per household.
They also raise chickens to sell for cash at the closest
market, which is eighteen kilometers distant. Close to 98
percent of the H'mong in Di Thang are Protestant followers
attached to the ECVN (more than 1,500 total members). At
present, there are no officially registered churches in the
commune, so the Protestants worship in their homes.
However, five separate congregations have applied to
officially register as places of worship, the commune
officials said.


7. (SBU) The village of Che La is at the top of one the
mountains flanking Di Thang's base facility, a hike of
several hours' duration. After some discussion, the commune
officials provided 125cc two-stroke motorcycles and
experienced drivers for the Embassy team and the provincial
and district officials. The path to the village was a mud
track with numerous switchbacks, rills, shallow streams and
drop-offs made more dangerous by the pitch dark. The group
rode for forty-five minutes until the path was too steep to
navigate by motorcycle and then hiked the remaining forty-
five minutes to the top of the mountain. Chu noted with
pride that the DPC had recently named this harrowing route
connecting Che La with Di Thang "The Great National Unity
Way" because villagers from the surrounding area had all
worked to build it.


8. (SBU) The group entered the first hut reached along the
path. It was constructed of compressed earth and thatched
with straw, but the building was electrified and contained
several PA system sized speakers, two new TVs and DVD player
in addition to the open pit fireplace and rudimentary stool
furniture. The hut was occupied by a man in his fifties,
his wife and their two children (NFI). The H'mong man was
nervous and subdued in front of so many policemen and local
officials; however, he became more brazen in his answers
after Poloff explained why the team was visiting and noted
the importance of seeing improvements in religious freedom
for Protestants in the north for our bilateral relationship.
The man stated that his family has lived in Che La Village
for generations. Living conditions have improved
significantly in the area since 1990. His family farms
1,000 square meters of land raising rice and maize. They
used to grow manioc as well, but gave it up because the soil
is so poor. The man completed fourth grade but quit school
when he was drafted during the war. His wife has had no
schooling. However, their two children are currently
studying at the local commune school, he said.


9. (SBU) The man said his village consists of 51 households
or 274 people, all of whom are Protestant. He and his
family have been Protestant since 1990. Before their
conversion they did not follow any religious traditions at
all. The family does not worship at home, but rather
assembles with others at a house church nearby. Local
officials did not allow the villagers to celebrate Christmas
in 2005, but they did permit each family to conduct special
observances for Easter this year. Poloff asked if the man's
congregation had applied to register with local officials.
After a quick glance at Chu, he said that "it seems we have
not applied," but the congregation does wish to affiliate
with ECVN. They hope that district and provincial officials
will coordinate with the ECVN to help them to do so. Though
he himself has never been to Hanoi, he added his wish that
local authorities facilitate his travel to ECVN headquarters
in the capital to acquire books and materials on
Protestantism. At present the congregation does not own any
bibles, he added.


10. (SBU) Poloff asked what Protestantism means to him. He
explained that Protestantism means God and God tells us to
be united and not to do bad things. Jesus Christ is a God
who made everything on Earth, including our crops. Poloff
asked why the man's family had converted to Christianity.
He explained that Protestantism is very suitable to the
H'mong because it "helps us save money and develop a better
economy." At this point a number of younger men from the
village entered the hut. The man looked at them then
studied the district officials and finally turned to Poloff
and said: "We want you to talk to local officials to get
them to help us register our congregation with the
government to allow us to worship and to build a real
church." One of the younger men leapt up and asked if
Poloff wanted to visit the house church. Before local
officials could intervene, Poloff accepted the invitation.


11. (SBU) The young man introduced himself as the local

HANOI 00001113 003.2 OF 009


house church deacon. (Note: This was Deacon Lo Seo Su that
Poloff met in Hanoi on April 5 (Ref A, Para 7). Strictly
Protect. End Note.) He took the team up the hill to his
own hut for a brief introduction to his father and five or
six other men from the village, and then proceeded up to the
very top of the mountain (around 500 meters from the first
hut) to a larger compressed earth structure. At least 100
people were in the house church. They sat divided by sex
with the colorfully costumed H'mong women occupying the left-
hand rail stools and the men squatting in more somber
colored clothing in the shadows on the right. All light
came from embers in the pit until a single low-voltage
lightbulb hanging from overhead was switched on. As the
team entered, all of the elder members, male and female, of
the congregation rose and clustered around Poloff and Pol
Assistant to shake their hands. Their excitement was
electric. Younger children stared with wide eyes as Poloff
and Chu squatted in front of the crude wooden cross beside
the pit fireplace. Poloff explained the purpose of the
team's visit and noted the particular importance of this
unprecedented visit to the Che La house church for our
bilateral relationship. He predicted that a day may come
when more foreigners may visit their village and church on a
regular basis.


12. (SBU) Deacon Su cheerfully explained that this
particular house church comprises 27 households; another
church nearby serves the remaining households in Che La.
Every Thursday evening the congregation meets for psalms and
each Sunday they meet for prayers. In addition, every night
three households get together in the church for individual
family prayers on an alternating basis. On Saturday
afternoons, a choir of young men and women uses the church
for practice. Poloff asked the choir to sing a hymn. Three
men aged about 20 wearing black and two women of a similar
age in striped pink and neon green clothes stood and sang a
H'mong language hymn set to the tune of the American folk
song "My Darling Clementine." The women were barely audible
and the men equally nervous though they sang with a great
deal of volume. Vice Chairman Chu gave a short speech to
conclude the visit exhorting the Protestants to become more
productive members of society in support of great national
unity.

Xin Man District
--------------


13. (SBU) On April 26, the Embassy team met formally with
Chu and other members of the Xin Man DPC. Poloff thanked
the DPC for arranging the team's visit at such a busy time
for the Government. He noted that during Ambassador
Hanford's recent discussions with DPM Vu Khoan, Vice
Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Huong and Committee
on Religious Affairs Chairman Ngo Yen Thi, the GVN
acknowledged that the Northwest Highlands remains the most
problematic area of the country on religious freedom,
particularly with regard to Protestants. The GVN has made
registration of Protestant groups a clear domestic policy
priority in the region over the next six months before the
President's visit in November. Ha Giang's openness to frank
discussion of its failure to register Protestants to date is
an important step forward, as is Xin Man's willingness to
allow the team to visit Protestant communities in the
countryside, Poloff added.


14. (SBU) Chu gave a brief overview of the district's recent
social developments. There are two main ethnic minorities
in Xin Man, the Nung and the H'mong. The Nung constitute
the majority of the population. Total area of the district
is 58,192 hectares. In the past, there was no religion in
Xin Man, but since the 1990s Protestantism and the Vang Chu
phenomenon appeared. After a period of time Vang Chu
disappeared. By 2002, the main religion of Xin Man's
believers was ECVN-affiliated Protestantism, although some
were influenced by Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam
(SECV) and Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) missionaries.
At any rate, by this time a number of H'mong Christians had
dismantled their families' traditional ancestral altars,
which led to conflict in some families. Part of this
"disruption in solidarity" stemmed from the terrain in the
district which leaves many villages remote from other
centers of habitation. Religion and traditions in these
areas are only poorly understood in the context of larger
society. The confusion of doctrines between the ECVN and
the SECV and CMA also contributed to this discord, he added.


15. (SBU) Chu asserted that as a result of practical

HANOI 00001113 004.2 OF 009


decisions taken by the GVN and the Ha Giang PPC on religion,
Xin Man's DPC has disseminated information on the new
framework on religion to all cadres and citizens in the
district. He noted, however, that these policies were
promulgated only recently and, though the district has tried
to implement them, it has been slow to do so. Poloff made
familiar points about the importance of implementing the
PM's Instruction on Protestantism regarding registration of
Protestant groups. He asked how many groups in the district
applied to register. Chu stated that five groups applied,
but that they did not do so in a manner that allows the DPC
to grant them recognition. For example in Di Thang Commune,
two separate congregations in Che La Village applied to
register, but since they live in one village, it should be
one group and thus one application. The congregations did
not consult with the district before submitting separate
applications and therefore the delay in registration is
their own fault, he said.


16. (SBU) Poloff observed that the bureaucratic problem
outlined by Chu is not an acceptable reason to hold up
registration of either group. The ECVN has complained that
across the north, local officials use bureaucratic reasoning
like this to delay the policy of registration. For example,
in some localities congregations are told that only PPC's
can accept applications and they have to be submitted
directly by the ECVN in Hanoi. In other areas, the ECVN is
told that only DPC's can adjudicate such requests that
originate directly from local congregations. In still other
locations, the ECVN and the local congregations are told
that only communes can consider applications, but neither
ECVN nor the local groups can submit them. As an example,
Poloff showed Chu a copy of the returned letter and
envelopes from the Quan Binh District ECVN congregation
application that Pastor Vinh provided on April 5 (Ref B,
Para 2) and noted that the USG and the GVN agree that the
main problem in the North is the gap between the GVN's
framework on religion and its local implementation. It is
important that the Xin Man DPC undertake to implement the
law, he said.


17. (SBU) Huong replied that it is unfair for Poloff to just
criticize local authorities in the region. The ECVN should
have consulted with the CRA about bureaucratic problems.
They have never been in direct contact with provincial
officials. The ECVN only interacts surreptitiously with
Protestant groups. Chu said that the Xin Man DPC's position
is to facilitate church registration according to the PM's
Instruction on Protestantism. In 2006, the district will
strictly implement the instruction according to circular
decree Number 5 that orders all local authorities to
facilitate registration of "groups that have a pure
religious intent." Poloff noted that this circular clearly
instructs local officials to register groups within 30 to 60
days upon receipt of their application. It is already four
months into 2006 and no groups have been registered, even
though most submitted their applications before October

2005. Chu replied that the plan is now in place, but the
district is awaiting formal guidance from the province
before implementation.

Bac Quang District
--------------


18. (SBU) Following the meeting in Xin Man, Huong took the
Embassy team to Ha Giang City, a three-hour trip by car
along mountain roads. The road is paved but not graded.
Officials in the in the PPC vehicle reportedly were car sick
from the meandering route at high elevation, as was Poloff.
The road follows the valley of the Chay River. Many
terraced fields along the valley walls were abandoned. PPC
officials later explained that the local inhabitants left
the region because the river water is badly polluted by a
Chinese mine upriver. Few crops will grow in paddies with
water taken from the river.


19. (SBU) Twenty minutes outside of Ha Giang City, the team
stopped to visit Bac Quang District's sub-parish Catholic
church. The church is a low, ramshackle building off of the
main highway. The chairman of the Bac Quang DPC as well as
representatives of the district's ethnic affairs committee
and the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF),the GVN's umbrella
watchdog of all popular organizations, greeted the team and
introduced the parish laity. Nguyen Van Tra, chairman of
the board of laymen, explained that the church in theory
belongs to the Hung Hoa Diocese, although in the past Ha
Giang was its own parish under a different diocese

HANOI 00001113 005.2 OF 009


comprising Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang provinces. The Catholic
Church has been trying to reconstitute this parish and to
assign a priest to serve the Bac Quang sub-parish of 106
households and 450 people. Ha Giang's PPC has not allowed
the Church to assign a priest to Bac Quang to date. (Note:
Hanoi Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet has been seeking permission
to visit Ha Giang to discuss this problem directly with the
PPC for the last year. In March, two priests from
neighboring provinces were permitted to visit the PPC as a
team to prepare the way for Kiet's visit. End Note.) The
parish is visited by a priest one time a year. In the
absence of regular services, the board of laity leads
parishioners in prayers every Sunday. Though some new
Catholics have joined the church by marriage, the parish has
not grown significantly over the last 30 years, Tra said.


20. (SBU) At least one hundred parishioners were present
when the team toured the church. Poloff took the
opportunity to explain to them in front of district and
provincial officials that under the May 2005 exchange of
letters with the United States, Vietnam committed to
improving the conditions for all religious believers.
Following the February Human Rights Dialogue, the GVN and
the USG agreed that significant problems remain in Ha Giang
and the other northern border provinces regarding
Protestants, but conditions for Catholics are improved. It
is therefore surprising that the church has not yet been
allowed to assign a priest to Bac Quang, he said. Poloff
promised to raise this problem directly with the Ha Giang
PPC as all Catholics in the province should be able to
worship and conduct religious festivals as they please.

Ha Giang PPC
--------------


21. (SBU) On April 26, Ha Giang PPC Vice Chairman Vuong Mi
Vang gave a brief overview of social developments in the
province. Ha Giang is a mountainous province bordering
China and is home to many different ethnic minority groups.
Historically, Ha Giang was originally part of Tuyen Quang
Province. Since the split, there has been significant
improvement in living conditions in Ha Giang, particularly
in recent years. Vang noted that the PPC strongly supports
the framework of U.S.-Vietnam friendship laid out in the
Joint Statement signed by President Bush and Prime Minister
Phan Van Khai in Washington last year. Ha Giang hopes that
further improvement in this relationship will mean greater
mutual benefits, including further economic and development
assistance for the province. Regarding ethnic minorities,
he asserted that the PPC always ensures equality among
ethnicities according to law, especially with regard to
economic development under the 135 (anti-poverty) Program.
The PPC also implements Program 134 (land reallocation for
poor villages) and focuses on providing clean water to all
communes, he added.


22. (SBU) Turning to religion, Vang acknowledged that there
are four catholic communities in Ha Giang. Poloff noted
that the Bac Quang church is in dire need of a priest. He
also encouraged the PPC to accept a visit from Hanoi
Archbishop Kiet to discuss the reconstitution of the Ha
Giang Parish. Ha Giang's failure to facilitate Catholic
worship at a time when Catholics across Vietnam are enjoying
great improvements in religious freedom is particularly
unfortunate, he said.


23. (SBU) Vang stated that the ECVN and SECV have both
recognized denominations and groups in Ha Giang. (Note:
According to the ECVN, Ha Giang has a total of 126 house
churches comprising 2,178 families, or 13,010 total members.
End Note). Both organizations have also sent information to
the PPC on their activities, including applications to
officially register a number of congregations. These
requests have not yet been approved because these groups
have not yet legally contacted local officials. Poloff
showed Vang the copy of the returned letter and envelopes
from the Quan Binh District ECVN congregation application
and observed that technically the local authorities in Quan
Binh hadn't received an application, but this did not mean
one hadn't been made. He reiterated our concerns about
local officials implementing the GVN's new framework on
religion and our concerns that local officials are using
bureaucratic excuses to delay registration of protestant
groups.


24. (SBU) Vang replied that PPC implementation of the policy
promoting freedom of religion and non-religion has been

HANOI 00001113 006.2 OF 009


consistent. Ha Giang recently conducted a conference for
district and commune officials to discuss the PM's
Instruction. The Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee has
also been instructing local cadres so they may teach common
citizens about religion and the law on religion. Provincial
and local officials are thus fully aware of their
responsibilities to implement the new religious framework,
he said.


25. (SBU) Vang observed that part of the problem is that
missionary activity in Ha Giang is "not transparent."
Missionary work is undertaken by many different
denominations and not just by the ECVN, the one officially
recognized Protestant church in the North. These different
denominations are in competition with each other to "collect
as many converts as they can." Furthermore, the
Protestants' faith is not deeply rooted because Ha Giang is
not a traditional home for Christians. Many believers are
not really familiar with their faiths because of their "low
level of culture." Many follow Protestantism "because they
were told to." All of this has caused social instability in
the province and sows distrust among common citizens.


26. (SBU) Vang also complained that the ECVN circulated
application documents to congregations in Ha Giang
inappropriately. Nevertheless, as of 2006 the PPC has been
trying to implement circular Decree Number 5 to facilitate
Protestant worship. Vang claimed that outside criticism of
Ha Giang is based on reports taken out of context. He asked
that the Embassy objectively report this so that Vietnam
will be removed from the list of Countries of Particular
Concern (CPC). We are developing a plan to implement the
laws on religion in the coming months, he added.


27. (SBU) Poloff thanked the PPC for arranging the team's
visit at such a busy time for the government. He noted the
importance of religious freedom within the context of the
bilateral relationship and that it is a regular feature of
high-level U.S.-Vietnam contacts. Ha Giang's openness to
frank discussion of its failure to register Protestants to
date is an important step forward, as is the PPC's
willingness to allow the team to visit Protestant
communities in the countryside. He urged the PPC to share
their plan to implement the registration of Protestants with
the Embassy as soon as it is finalized.

Ha Giang Committee of Mass Mobilization
--------------


28. (SBU) On April 27, the Embassy team met with Ly Thin
Luu, the Deputy Director of the Ha Giang Communist Party
Committee on Mass mobilization. Poloff reiterated standard
points on the importance of registration of northern
Protestants for the bilateral relationship. He also
reiterated concerns about the status of Catholic believers
in Ha Giang and encouraged the Party to work with the PPC to
accept a visit from Archbishop Kiet. Luu noted that Ha
Giang's population of 600,000 includes people from 22 ethnic
minorities. Therefore, the Party and the PPC must respect
all traditions and religions. Luu noted that he personally
ascribes to the traditional worship of the souls of his
ancestors. The gods of the mountains and rivers will help
us overcome our difficulties, even though living conditions
for ethnic minorities remain harsh in the region and
economic insecurity has made it hard to ensure peaceful
coexistence between ethnic groups, he added. Luu
acknowledged that the attitude of local officials towards
religion remains problematic, but this is because the Party
is trying to ensure that new and old customs will be
mutually beneficial and coexisting. The local party
officials support the national policy on religion and are
working to disseminate information on the policy to all
levels.


29. (SBU) Luu asserted that the PPC has not allowed the
Catholic Church to assign a priest to the Bac Quang church
because it has not followed proper procedure. In Vietnam,
all organizations, even the Party, must follow procedure.
For this reason, the Party is taking steps to guide local
people to apply to register per procedure. Poloff
reiterated points about necessity of local government
obeying both the spirit and the letter of the law. Luu
observed that misunderstandings about conditions in Ha Giang
have led to rumors taken out of context by the international
media. He expressed the hope that the Embassy would report
objectively on conditions in Ha Giang.


HANOI 00001113 007.2 OF 009



30. (SBU) Luu reiterated that the PPC and the Party respect
the desires of some citizens to turn to Protestantism so
long as their desires are purely religious. The Party plans
to guide people in how to celebrate their religion and how
to select the best representatives to the outside world.
Poloff observed that under the framework on religion, it is
not the Party's role to train people in their beliefs or in
how to choose their leaders. Luu replied that it is the
Party's ultimate goal that citizens practice their beliefs
in a normal manner while preserving unity. As in a math
class where different students have different native ability
and the teacher leads the class so all can learn, the State
is trying to preserve social order as some citizens develop
as Christians faster than others. "We don't want people to
be hostile to each other," he said. Thus, when it comes to
the registration process for Protestant groups, it is
difficult to come up with a procedure for knowing if a group
is in fact Protestant, what denomination they should belong
to and whether they truly understand the doctrine of their
faith. Poloff urged the Ha Giang Party cell to adopt a more
flexible attitude to religion and the registration process.


31. (SBU) Luu replied that the party respects freedom of
religion, but must ensure good citizenship from religious
organizations. For example, the ECVN charter requires a
group of ten believers in each commune select a leader. It
is important that the State verify that such leaders are
properly chosen. After many years of war and rebuilding,
Vietnam is focused on stability. The Party is concerned by
anything that causes disruptions and pays close attention to
ensure that bad elements do not use religion to do bad
things against the State. "We will learn from the example
of other countries in the areas of law, counternarcotics and
anti-trafficking in persons as we open up our society", he
added. Poloff reiterated points about collapse of communism
in Eastern Europe. Luu replied "it is my belief that the
Communist Party is trying to reform itself." All policies
must meet the needs of the majority so minorities must make
adjustments.


32. (SBU) Luu reiterated that Ha Giang will facilitate
registration of Protestants. "We are trying to decide
whether the process should start at the provincial level and
work down, or whether it should begin at the commune level
and work up," he said. The next time the Embassy visits Ha
Giang there will be marked improvements. Ha Giang will
welcome visits from any religious organization to help
ensure this effort succeeds, he added. Poloff promised to
inform Archbishop Kiet and Pastor Vinh that their visits to
Ha Giang are now welcome. He also promised to return to Ha
Giang within three to six months. Luu asked Poloff to pass
another message to both church leaders: Ha Giang will be
happy to receive official delegations, but will not be
pleased if informal representatives travel through the
province.

Vi Xuyen District
--------------


33. (SBU) Following the meeting with Luu, Huong took the
team to the Vi Xuyen district headquarters, one hour from Ha
Giang along the national highway. Vice Chairwoman Le Thi Ha
provided a brief overview of the social development in the
district. Vi Xuyen comprises 1,500 square kilometers and is
home to 89,000 people, including 16 ethnic minority groups.
The largest ethnic group is the Tay, with 39 percent,
followed by the Dzao at 22 percent. The Kinh represent 16
percent of the population and the H'mong are only the fourth
largest group, with 11 percent. The topography of the
district, like much of the north, is notable for its
mountains and river valleys. Living conditions in Vi Xuyen
are still very difficult, and more than half the population
lives below the 2005 poverty level. People in remote
locations live by agriculture and animal husbandry. The GVN
has been paying close attention to improving living
conditions in the district for the past several years,
providing tuition-free schooling and free medicine for
ethnic minorities, working to electrify all communes and
building 1,000 new houses out of wattle and daub frame
construction for ethnic minorities who used to live in mud
and straw huts, she said.


34. (SBU) Turning to religious freedom, Ha stated that the
Vi Xuyen DPC has always respected freedom of religion
according to GVN law, and Ha Giang is currently trying to
create a framework to protect believers of different faiths.
The GVN has issued a number of instructions on religion and

HANOI 00001113 008.2 OF 009


the district is aware of its responsibility to see these
regulations fulfilled. Vi Xuyen has disseminated these laws
to all cadres, and now the common people have a better
understanding of religion. The DPC hopes the Embassy will
report objectively about the status of religious freedom in
Ha Giang so that Vietnam will be removed from the CPC list,
she added.


35. (SBU) Poloff reiterated points on the importance of
improvement in conditions for religions freedom in Ha Giang
and the north for the bilateral relationship. He asked
whether the report from ECVN (Ref B, Para 6) that local
authorities fined Vi Xuyen house church lay deacons VND
100,000 VND (USD 6) each for "being Protestant" and for
signing documents requesting registration for their group.
Ha stated that since the issuance of the PM's Instruction on
Protestantism, the DPC has been trying to disseminate as
much information as possible about it, but it is still quite
new and Vi Xuyen is very large. It is hard to disseminate
this information in a day, she said. The report on the
punishment of the individuals in question is based on rumors
taken out of context. There is more than one side to every
story and media reports of such events are inaccurate.
Poloff noted that he spoke directly with some of the
individuals involved. Ha, visibly flustered, explained that
the believers were fined but not for being Protestant.
According to Vietnamese law, religious activists must be
registered with local officials, especially when they wish
to circulate and use religious documents. These Protestants
were not registered and were circulating religious documents
to make propaganda without permission. This is why they
were fined, Ha said.


36. (SBU) Poloff noted that these Protestants are caught in
a Catch-22. Their house church pastor was fined VND 500,000
(USD 32),or more than half of his monthly salary, for
traveling to Hanoi to pick up registration forms from the
ECVN, even when local officials do not open application
letters from the Vi Xuyen church. The Protestants were
fined for not being registered, but Vi Xuyen won't register
them. Poloff made points about the importance of local
officials respecting both the spirit and the letter of the
law. Ha reiterated heatedly and at length that Vi Xuyen
always treats believers equally before the law. The DPC is
trying to maintain Vietnam's great national unity. There is
no discrimination against religious believers. The house
church pastor was fined not for seeking to register his
group, but for leaving his village without permission. In
any case, religious documents distributed by members of the
church need to be verified as "the correct documents" by
local authorities. Poloff reiterated concerns that local
authorities are using bureaucratic procedures to delay a
policy that they do not like.


37. (SBU) Huong interjected and reiterated that there will
be serious action at the provincial level to implement
Decree Number 5 on religious freedom. The PPC is now
preparing a plan to guide implementation by local officials
at the district and commune levels. In the near future, the
Embassy will see dramatic changes in Ha Giang. Poloff
should recognize that local officials have done a good job
on religious freedom to date. Still, Ha Giang recognizes
that past incidents have hurt the province's reputation.
"We agree with the U.S. recommendation to approach religious
freedom in an open manner," he added. Ha stated that the
ECVN should have been in direct contact to discuss past
problems and its members should adhere to regulations.

Bach Ngoc Commune
--------------


38. (SBU)Following the meeting with the DPC, the Vice
Chairwoman and Huong led the Embassy team to Bach Ngoc
Commune headquarters, a one-hour drive along 20 kilometers
of dusty country roads that required the fording of several
large streams. The commune chairman (NFI) greeted the
delegation and provided a brief overview of the commune.
Bach Ngoc comprises 11,900 hectares of land, containing nine
villages of a total 660 households, or 3,668 people. There
are seven ethnic groups living in this community. The Tay
are the largest group, representing 40 percent of the
population. The H'mong are the second largest grouping.
Eleven H'mong households in two villages of the commune are
Protestant and two congregations have applied to register
their activities to date, but the congregations still
worship at home. In 2000, 85 of 87 households in Ngoc Lam
Village were Protestant, but most have now quit the church

HANOI 00001113 009.2 OF 009


because they have discovered "it is not beneficial." Poloff
asked whether they left because local officials told them
to, but the chairman quickly denied that any local officials
had pressured the Protestants to renounce their faith.

Ngoc Lam Village
--------------


39. (SBU) The commune chairman led the party to Ngoc Lam
Village, a short drive to a log footbridge and a kilometer
hike from the crossing. Somewhat incongruously, the commune
provided a traffic policeman to marshall the convoy at
several difficult turns along the road. The men of Ngoc Lam
Village were gathered together in a meeting to discuss
agricultural issues in the main village culture house. The
commune chairman and district chairwoman initially refused
to invite the Protestant members of this group to meet with
Poloff, but after a lengthy discussion finally agreed to
pull two Protestant villagers out of the meeting. Poloff
interviewed them in front of the whole village and 30 local
officials, so the interview had something of the air of one
of Vietnam Communist Party's infamous "struggle sessions."
The Protestants were both young men in their twenties. The
commune chairman pointedly introduced Giang Seo Pao and
Giang Seo Man as "the men you've likely met before." (Note:
Embassy has never been in contact with either individual
before. End Note.) Pao has completed the ninth grade. Nam
never attended school. Both men confirmed that they have
been affiliated with the ECVN for about a year, but do not
know much about Protestant doctrine. Pao later stated that
he converted to Protestantism several years ago, but was
told by local officials that it was illegal, so he left the
religion and has only recently re-converted. The men
worship at home and were not allowed to conduct special
celebrations at Easter, although they admitted that they do
not know what Easter actually is. The Ngoc Lam church has
applied to register and hopes to build a church soon.
Poloff took the opportunity to reiterate the importance of
religious freedom and registration for Protestants in front
of the large gathering and promised to return soon to check
up on the progress of the Protestants in the village.

Comment
--------------


40. (SBU) As with the Lao Cai visit reported Ref A, this was
an unprecedented trip. The Embassy team was able to discuss
several serious allegations made against Lao Cai provincial
and district-level authorities. Access to local Protestants
and the frank and open discussion with officials at all
levels about the gap between the new framework on religion
and its implementation were a significant improvement over
previous outreach trips. The visit to the actual house
church in Xin Man was particularly significant. It seems
clear from the reception of the visit at such a sensitive
political time, and from the repetition of talking points in
Lao Cai and Ha Giang, that the GVN gave strict instructions
to northern provinces to change their approach to our
concerns on religious freedom. While the situation for
Protestants in Ha Giang has not yet markedly improved, it
may now be possible for house church congregations to
register their activities per the law and per Ha Giang's
purported plans. We plan to send another team to the region
as early as June to follow up on these developments. End
Comment.

MARINE