THE BEST CHRISTMAS YET IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001490

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL PGOV KIRF PREF VM
SUBJECT: THE BEST CHRISTMAS YET IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM



1. (SBU) Key contacts in the Catholic and Protestant
communities told ConGen on December 26 that they were very
pleased with how the 2006 Christmas season unfolded. The
Secretary General of the GVN-recognized Southern

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Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) -- Vietnam's largest
Protestant organization -- told us that he had not received
any reports of incidents. In separate phone conversations,
SECV representatives in the Central Highlands provinces of
Gia Lai and Dak Lak added that Christmas celebrations were
more relaxed this year than in the past. They
characterized local Central Highlands officials as "more
open" and "more sincere" and less prone to lecture them
about the importance of "maintaining social order."


2. (SBU) Leaders of key registered and unregistered house
church groups indicated that this was their easiest
Christmas in Vietnam since 1975. Pastor Pham Dinh Nhan of
the United Gospel Outreach Church told us that he was able
to rent the auditorium of the HCMC chapter of the
Fatherland Front's Union of Friendship Organizations to
hold services for his group. The UGOC had another
gathering for 1,500 worshipers in Can Tho, in the Mekong
Delta. Pastor Samuel Lam, head of the Assembly of God
(AOG),told us that he was able to hold services for 1,800
persons in a rented theater in HCMC. Another AOG
congregation of 300 in suburban HCMC was able to gather as
one large group for the first time ever. Pastor Nguyen
Toi, head of the Danang-based United World Mission Church
(UWMC) told us that, with the exception of one congregation
in rural Quang Ngai province, all 20,000 members of his
church -- many in the Central Highlands province of Kontum
-- were able to celebrate without interference. Two large
Baptist groups also were able to hold large gatherings in
HCMC, Hanoi and the Central Highlands.


3. (SBU) Our contacts reported a few incidents in which
local officials attempted to ban Christmas gatherings.
However, this year, church leaders generally were able to
get quick redress from central- and provincial-level
officials. For example, in the case of the UWMC
congregation in Quang Ngai, Pastor Toi worked with the
central-level Committee for Religious Affairs to overturn
the local edict. In another case, HCMC CRA and Department
of Culture and Information officials worked late into the
evening on December 23 to help organize the Christmas
celebrations of the Assembly of God in a public theater in
HCMC. Pastor Nguyen Ngoc Hien of the Vietnam Baptist
Fellowship reported that one congregation was unable to
gain permission from local Hanoi authorities to hold
services in a hotel; the group was forced to use an
alternative location in a neighboring province, where they
celebrated without incident. Local police in Thieu Vien
commune in the northern province of Thanh Hoa sought to
halt a service of a UGOC-affiliated house church. Pastor
Nhan explained that this village in notorious for its
efforts to suppress Protestant house churches.


4. (SBU) Comment: In the run-up to Christmas, provincial
CRA officials emphasized to us that they were under strict
instruction to ensure a successful holiday season. For
example, HCMC authorities instructed all localities to
facilitate house church celebrations. Although incidents
at the local level -- especially in remote rural areas
continue to occur -- they are significantly fewer in number
less severe than in the past. Perhaps the most encouraging
aspect of this Christmas season is that house church
leaders and central and provincial government CRA officials
are beginning to work together to resolve problems at local
levels. End Comment.

WINNICK