VIETNAMESE CATHOLICS SEE SOME PROGRESS, SOME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001412 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF, EUR/WE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KIRF PHUM PGOV HUMANR VM SUBJECT: VIETNAMESE CATHOLICS SEE SOME PROGRESS, SOME REVERSES IN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REF: A)HANOI 1113; B)HANOI 715; C)HANOI 35 HANOI 00001412 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On June 6, the Hanoi Archbishop updated Poloff on conditions for Catholics in the North. Despite some overall progress, conditions for believers in provinces in the mountainous border regions remain difficult. There is also an apparent slackening of local level officials' efforts to comply with religious freedom requirements since April. Property issues are proving difficult to resolve under a new land law and charitable works remain very limited in scope. We need to remind the GVN that CPC status and PNTR remain important unresolved bilateral issues. We will continue to press for access to the most difficult provinces to reiterate our concerns with local leaders and investigate reports of violations of religious freedom. Post reiterates request that Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom John Hanford visit Vietnam this summer. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On June 6, Poloff met with Hanoi Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet at the Hanoi Archdiocese offices to discuss recent developments for Catholics in Vietnam. Poloff and Pol Assistant also met with Sister Mary Nirmala, Superior- General of Mother Theresa's Sisters of Mercy Missionaries of Charity who was visiting Hanoi to seek permission to re- establish a chapter house for the order. HANOI ARCHBISHOP KIET -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Poloff asked Kiet to provide an update on conditions for Catholics in the provinces, particularly in the focus border province of Ha Giang. Kiet noted that, despite poloff's recent request (ref A) the Archbishop has not been allowed to visit Ha Giang to discuss the re- establishment of Ha Giang Parish with the Provincial People's Committee (PPC). In January, the Archdiocese submitted the visit request per a petition of parishioners from the province, but according to Kiet, rather than discuss the visit with the Church, provincial authorities have harassed the parishioners to force them to withdraw their signatures from the petition. In March, the Archdiocese sent a second request to the GVN's Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) and to the PPC in a letter that also highlighted various violations of the religious freedom of Catholics in the province (NFI). By April harassment of Catholics had ceased and the PPC finally sent a response that the Archbishop's visit would be welcome in May. The Archbishop immediately replied with a proposed date in late May, however the PPC never officially responded to this letter. Just before the proposed visit, provincial officials informally notified the Archbishop's office that "the local leadership is busy." ¶4. (SBU) Kiet equated his experience with the Ha Giang PPC with the general status of conditions for Catholics across the North. Overall conditions are better. There has even been some progress in reducing the harassment of Catholics in problematic provinces; however local officials in the border areas still erect obstacles against the church. For example, a visiting bishop in Son La Province tried to get permission to hold a mass recently, but the PPC there said that the sub-parish chapel was not in good enough repair to hold a mass. The Church then asked to build a new church so that future masses could be held, but the PPC said that since there is no permanently assigned priest in Son La, there is no need to build a new church. Despite official catch-22s like this, Kiet believes that, in the long run, provinces like Ha Giang and Son La will have to accommodate the church the way other Northern provinces have. These mountainous provinces have already compromised "a bit" by improving conditions for local parishioners in response to outside pressure from the GVN, the Church and the international community, despite that fact that local officials really do not want to allow Catholics to worship because they do not think religion is a spiritual need for the common people, Kiet said. ¶5. (SBU) Kiet noted that the GVN routinely refers to three border provinces in particular as "non-religious provinces." Officials from Son La, Lai Chau and Dien Bien make this claim despite the sizable communities of Catholics (and other believers including Protestants and Buddhists) in each province. For example, there are at least 3,000 Catholics in Son La alone. Kiet said there has been no response to Hung Hoa diocese's recent request that Son La PPC allow the Hoa Binh town parish priest to minister to Catholics in Son HANOI 00001412 002.2 OF 003 La (ref B). The Bishop of Hung Hoa recently asked permission to visit all three provinces along the Laos border, but received the standard answer that Son La, Lai Chau and Dien Bien are non-religious provinces and it would therefore "not be appropriate" for the bishop to visit. The PPCs in each province gave this response despite the fact that in 2005, the CRA convinced all three provinces to accept a visit from the Hung Hoa bishop before Christmas. (Note: During that visit the bishop was not allowed to leave the PPC guest house compound in any of the provinces. Despite this constraint, he did try to hold a mass in Son La as reported above. End Note.) ¶6. (SBU) In sum, Kiet asserted that "many people have recognized that the situation for Catholics improved since last Christmas," but since Easter 2006, the situation seems to have gotten worse. He attributed the initial improvement to GVN concerns that poor conditions for Catholics would jeopardize a deal with the United States over Vietnam's WTO accession. Since it was clear before April that a deal would eventually be struck this summer, however, local officials may feel "no need to behave themselves anymore." Kiet pointed to the fact that Northern Catholics were allowed to assemble for worship at Christmas and New Year's Eve but were not allowed to assemble at Easter this April. He also stated his belief that Ha Giang's promise before Easter to let him visit in May and the subsequent refusal after Easter of the promised visit can be attributed to the same cause. Property, Training and Charitable Issues -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Poloff asked if there has been any action on the Archdiocese's recent request to reclaim the former Papal Nuncio property adjoining the Hanoi Cathedral compound, an important pre-condition for the eventual re-establishment of Vatican-GVN diplomatic relations. Kiet said there has been no response to the most recent request submitted in April, although PM Khai promised the Church that the issue would be resolved quickly at the beginning of the year. (Note: The Ambassador sent a letter in support of this request to the CRA and MFA in May, so far with no response. End Note.) Kiet noted that it has become difficult to discuss ecclesiastical property issues with local authorities (who have responsibility for land issues) since the 2005 promulgation of the new Land Law which makes clear that all land is owned by the state. Until the new law, the GVN generally acknowledged church title to former ecclesiastical properties, but now local authorities are only willing to discuss land-use rights of these former possessions. This is most problematic for discussion of the acquisition of new training facilities for clergy, he said. ¶8. (SBU) Poloff asked if the Church has ordained any new priests since the mass ordination of fifty-seven priests during last November's visit of Vatican Missionary Minister Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe. Kiet said only one additional priest had been ordained since Sepe's visit, but the low number is not due to any GVN interference. Only one deacon has been ready for ordination since November. At the moment four Catholic deacons are in training and will probably by ordained by the end of 2006. ¶9. (SBU) Poloff asked if the Church has been able to increase charitable works since December. Kiet noted that some local authorities have recently allowed Catholic orders to undertake healthcare work at State-run facilities, particularly in HIV/AIDS relief. However, officials treat charitable workers as employees and the scope of involvement at these facilities remains very limited. In the realm of education, Catholics are still only allowed to operate kindergartens. Sisters of Mercy -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Following the meeting with Archbishop Kiet, Poloff met with Sister Nirmala (of India) and with several other nuns of the Sisters of Mercy. She noted that her delegation came to Hanoi to seek permission to re-open a chapter house in Hanoi so that the order might train nuns to minister to the poorest of the poor in Vietnam. At least three postulants in Vietnam would immediately join such a house if established. Nirmala noted that the GVN has not been open to the order's desire to re-establish a mission since Hanoi expelled the sisters in 1993. Nirmala's initial requests HANOI 00001412 003 OF 003 for meetings with the CRA, MFA and Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) were rebuffed and she had made up her mind to travel to Ho Chi Minh City when the CRA reversed itself and offered a courtesy meeting on June ¶8. Father Thuy of the Archbishop's office reports that CRA told the sisters that they are welcome to apply to work in Vietnam, but will need to submit an application to do so. (Note: It is unlikely that the GVN would approve such an application. End Note.) The sisters replied that they will only work in Vietnam if invited to do so by Vietnam's Catholics, but will not work for the GVN and so will not apply. Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The Archbishop's comments confirm that the mountainous provinces along the borders with Lao and China remain problematic for religious freedom even for Catholics, who normally worship relatively freely. We will continue to focus our outreach efforts in these areas over the summer. It will not be simple: a planned trip to Dien Bien province on June 12 has been postponed until at least the end of June due to stalling by the People's Committee. We have heard via the MFA that PPCs in Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Lao Cai are complaining loudly that "there have been too many visits" recently. (Note: An EU-troika mission to Lao Cai, Lai Chau, and Dien Bien modeled on poloff's Ref B trip is currently underway. We will report septel as soon as details are available. End Note) ¶12. (SBU) Comment Cont.: It is also worrying that the Catholics have noted a slackening of concern about religious freedom issues from local officials since April. They believe that this is partly due to the GVN's perception that it's coveted WTO entry has become a sure thing. It will be important to remind the GVN that CPC status and PNTR are still unresolved questions. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom John Hanford should visit Vietnam this summer to highlight the importance of continued positive movement on the religious issue with the GVN. MARINE