Khmer Krom Religious Freedom in Mekong Delta

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000784 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF and DRL/AWH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF VM SUBJECT: Khmer Krom Religious Freedom in Mekong Delta Ref: 08 HCMC 1056 HANOI 00000784 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Vietnam's leadership continues to pay close attention to the country's Khmer Krom community, and has spent considerable resources to build new Theravada Buddhist pagodas, a Pali-language high school, and a university-level Theravada Buddhist Institute. Contrary to reports from some foreign NGOs, Vietnam's approximately two million Khmer Krom, most of whom are concentrated in the Mekong Delta, are able to maintain their vibrant Theravada Buddhist traditions and are largely free to worship as they please. Theravada monks and others told a visiting IRF official that they were treated fairly within the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS). The GVN actively cultivates Theravada Buddhist leaders who support "national unity," even granting monks positions within local government. As elsewhere, the line is political: Monks who engage in political dissent or activities that the government terms as "separatism," such as the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam or the "Dega" Movement in the Central Highlands, do face restrictions. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) In meetings with the central Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha in Hanoi and later in meetings in Can Tho, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh PolOff and IRFOff took a closer look at religious freedom for the Khmer Krom ethnic minority residing in the Mekong Delta who practice Theravada Buddhism. In each of the three provinces the officers met with Vice Chairmen of the People's Committee, heads of the Committee for Religious Affairs (CRA),and the Executive Council of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha. In Can Tho, they visited the new Theravada Buddhist Institute. In Soc Trang, the officers visited the 400 year old Bat Pagoda and the Pali Language High School. In Tra Vinh Province, they visited the Ang Pagoda built in 950 AD -- one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam. The total Khmer population in these three provinces is approximately one million (around 27 percent of the total population). According to Theravada Buddhist monks and Protestant ministers, 98 percent of Khmer in the Mekong Delta are Theravada Buddhists. In these three provinces there are approximately 400 Theravada Buddhist temples and pagodas. Theravada Buddhism and the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In 1981, the nine separate Buddhist sects in Vietnam were united into the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS). This union merged both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism into one overarching Buddhist church. The church is lead by a Supreme Patriarch and five deputies. One of the five deputies is a Khmer Krom Theravada Buddhist monk. Beneath the deputies of the Supreme Patriarch, the church is guided by Dharma and Executive Councils. The Dharma Council's role is to address theological questions, while the Executive Council's responsibility is to oversee the day-to-day management of the VBS. The Dharma Council has 160-170 total members with 30 standing members that meet monthly. The entire Dharma Council meets annually at the end of each calendar year. ¶4. (SBU) According to Most Venerable Danh Nhuong, Deputy to the Supreme Patriarch and a leader within the Dharma Council, within the Dharma Council Theravada Buddhist monks are allowed to address individual doctrinal questions without interference from Mahayana members of the council. Theravada Buddhists also confirmed that the day-to-day running of pagodas and community outreach are also not compromised by their Mahayana brethren. Membership in both the Dharma and Executive councils is divided proportionally between Mahayana and Theravada monks based on their total membership in Vietnam. The central VBS also explained that pagoda maintenance and restoration is managed on a rotational schedule. Pol and IRF officers witnessed many newly painted and well-kept Theravada pagodas throughout their travels in the Mekong Delta that seemed to confirm this. ¶5. (SBU) Khmer Krom leaders said that in reality Theravada monks are actually over-represented in leadership positions in the Dharma and Executive Councils and at the provincial and local levels where Khmer are prevalent. At the provincial level, the VBS is also run by an Executive Council with a chief monk and two or three deputies. A similar structure also exists in large cities, and the VBS is currently planning to emulate the GVN structure of provincial, district and commune leadership. In the three provinces we visited -- Can Tho, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh -- all of the chief monks are Khmer Krom Theravada Buddhists. ¶6. (SBU) Theravada Buddhist monks also participate in local government. For example, the Theravada deputy to the Supreme Patriarch is also a member of the National Assembly and additionally serves as rector of the new Theravada Buddhist Institute in Can Tho. The Chief Monk at the Ang Pagoda in Tra Vinh Province is also a member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in Hanoi and is Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in Tra Vinh Province. Moreover, each province has Theravada Buddhist monks HANOI 00000784 002.2 OF 003 who are also members of their provincial People's Council. Disrobing -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Theravada Buddhist leaders in each province were very open in explaining the sensitive, but not uncommon, process of removing monks who had violated their vows. Theravada monks must strictly obey 227 prohibitions or commandments; if they violate more than four -- typically involving drunkenness or sexual relations -- they are stripped of their monk's robes. The process is traditionally handled at the pagoda or temple level where the monk resides unless the sin is serious or a judgment cannot be reached by the pagoda leadership, in which case the provincial VBS executive committee decides with input from other members of the executive committee. Once disrobed, individual monks are allowed to rejoin the monkhood if they confess their wrongdoings and make restitution. Theravada Buddhist leaders in Soc Trang and Can Tho insisted that the 2007 disrobing of several Khmer Krom monks was legitimate, though they conceded that standard procedures may not have been followed. Religious Holidays and Education -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The Khmer Krom monks with whom we spoke reported they are allowed to celebrate all of their religious holidays for their entire length and are not required to seek permission from local officials. Nor are there restrictions on Khmer youth joining the monkhood. The monks noted that it is very common for young males to join for three years or longer and then later leave the monkhood. Of the approximately 50,000 Buddhist monks nationwide, 8,000 are Theravada, though an additional 4,000 "short-term" monks also reside at the more than 500 Theravada Khmer temples in the Mekong Delta. The central CRA provides copies of Theravada scriptures to most of the pagodas in the region. Traditionally, most of these temples oversee intensive programs in Pali language during the summer when children are out of school. ¶9. (SBU) According to GVN regulations, any village with more than 100 households is permitted to build a temple, and PolOff and IRFOff observed many being constructed. Economic growth has resulted in increased donations to build individual temples. In Soc Trang, Khmer Krom monks commented that it used to take 15-20 years to raise enough money to build one new pagoda, but that these funds are now easily raised in a year or a year and a half. Monks in all three provinces noted that Theravada pagodas are expanding their charitable assistance based on increased donations from followers as well. The pagodas traditionally assist in giving food support and in building homes for the poor in their communities. In Tra Vinh Province, all major religions -- including Catholic, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao and Buddhist -- join together for a community "welfare day" to assist the poor. ¶10. (SBU) At all levels of education, Khmer students are present in numbers proportional to their population. Vietnamese is taught in elementary school, but in grades 6-12 Khmer students receive education in both Khmer and Vietnamese. Many pagodas offer additional Khmer-language courses. As part of the government's program to support ethnic minorities, Khmer students at all levels are exempt from school fees. According to statistics provided by the People's Committees of the three provinces, there are more than 315 schools that teach both Khmer and Vietnamese, and these serve nearly 150,000 students. The 6,000 Khmer teachers at these schools represent more than 20 percent of all the teachers in the three provinces. Additionally, 70 percent of Khmer students graduate from the 9th grade (compared to 80 percent of the majority ethnic Kinh), and of the Khmer students who enroll in high school, 71 percent graduate. In addition, the three provinces manage a total of 15 ethnic Khmer Krom boarding high schools that serve more than 4,000 students, and an additional two schools are under construction. Currently, the three provinces boast more than 2,000 ethnic Khmer university or technical school students. Khmer families also benefit from other government programs focused on ethnic minorities such as free health insurance. Theravada Buddhist Institute -------------- ¶11. (SBU) At the recommendation of the Dharma Council, the central Executive Council of the VBS in April 2006 voted to open a new university-level Buddhist institute in Can Tho dedicated to teaching Theravada Buddhism. In July 2007, the first class of 68 students from 9 southern provinces matriculated. At the institute, classes are taught in Khmer, Pali and Vietnamese, while Sanskrit is also offered to enable students to read ancient Theravada scriptures. The school is currently finishing plans to construct a permanent facility for the institute, which the rector hoped would be completed by the end of 2010. The GVN donated land for the new HANOI 00000784 003.2 OF 003 facility, as well as half of the construction costs. Once the new facility is completed, the institute plans to have a total of 800 students, with room and board provided. The rector said that the school receives most of its teaching materials from Cambodia and Thailand, an while the institute initially encountered some difficulties in finding qualified teachers -- most of the monk professors at the institute previously studied at the Mahayana Buddhist Institute in HCMC -- an exchange program now allows teachers from Cambodia and Thailand to teach at the institute. Pali Language High School -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The Pali Language High School, founded in 1994 by the Soc Trang People's Committee, covers two city blocks in downtown Soc Trang and includes dormitories for students, several temples and the Soc Trang history museum. The school's rector also serves as Vice Chair of the National Dharma Council and as Chief Monk of the VBS in Soc Trang Province. The school serves Khmer Krom students from 13 provinces throughout the Mekong Delta, admits 50-70 students each year, and is extremely competitive. The GVN gives each student a monthly stipend of 520,000 VND ($29) in addition to providing free room and board and health care. ¶13. (SBU) Before entering the school, most of the students would have already been monks for at least three years and completed the mandatory three-year elementary monk education. The school offers a 5 year educational program covering grades 6-12. According to the rector, some graduates of the high school return to their home pagodas and oversee Pali language courses there, but a majority of the graduates leave the monkhood to find good jobs once they have acquired a quality education. The most exceptional students proceed to attend either the Mahayana Buddhist Institute in HCMC or the Theravada Buddhist Institute in Can Tho. Over 700 students have graduated from the High School in its 15-year existence. In 2005, the Ministry of Education and Training invested 28 billion VND ($1.6 million) to assist in the expansion and in building a new campus. The school is currently renovating its older facilities and hopes to expand further. ¶14. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Ho Chi Minh City and cleared by the IRF Office. MICHALAK