Prime Minister's Edict on Religion-Related Land and

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SUBJECT: Prime Minister's Edict on Religion-Related Land and
Facilities


1. (SBU) In the wake of sustained land-use protests involving
Catholic parishioners throughout 2008, PM Nguyen Tan Dung recently
issued a four-page edict concerning "religion-related land and
facilities." (See paragraph four for an unofficial translation.)
The edict specifies that government agencies or State Owned
Enterprises that occupy properties previously owned by religious
groups must use the properties in a manner consistent with the
agency or SOE's original purposes, and that the properties must not
be used for purposes that may offend the religious groups'
sensitivities. Improperly used properties shall be re-appropriated
by the GVN and used as a public facility such as a park or library.
(Comment: this codifies what appeared to be ad hoc responses to
property disputes in Hanoi and Vinh Long province. End comment.)
While religious groups can be compensated with other parcels of land
on a case-by-case basis by local officials, the edict cites a prior
National Assembly resolution that prohibits the return of land
legally confiscated by the government prior to 1991.


2. (SBU) In a move welcomed by Church groups, the edict stipulates
that religious groups that use property not in dispute shall be
granted ownership certificates. This potentially significant step
allows, at least in theory, for the legal transfer of land-use
rights, rents, and donations to religious organizations. On the
other hand, the edict says that any effort to "cause public
disorder" or "sow division" regarding disputed properties "shall be
strictly dealt with in accordance with the law."


3. (SBU) COMMENT: Virtually every church organization in Vietnam
has outstanding land claims dating back to the nationalization of
property in the north in 1954 and 1975 in the south. Properly
implemented, the edict represents a positive step towards solving
many of these emotionally charged disputes. The key, as always, is
in the implementation, and here it is perhaps best to be cautious.
If history is any indicator, enforcement will likely be lax until a
land dispute becomes a hot-button topic. END COMMENT.


4. (U) Below is Post's Unofficial Translation of Prime Minister
Edict Number 1040/CT-TTg:

Prime Minister's Directive on Religion-related Land and Facilities

No. 1040/CT-TTg
Date: December 31, 2008

In implementation of the Party and State's guidelines and policies
on religious affairs, over the past period, Ministries, government
offices and localities have made many efforts with respect to the
religious task and have achieved definite results. Religious
activities have been conducted in line with laws; the majority of
religious believers are at ease, pleased and reassured by the Party
and State's guidelines and policies, and actively participating in
national construction. Together with national developments, demands
of religious believers with respect to religious activities have
continually increased, including that for land and facilities.
However, due to historical reasons, there has become a need to make
some adjustments when addressing the management of land and
facilities in general as well as religion-related land and
facilities in particular.

In order to ensure that the management of religion-related land and
facilities be consistent, in conformity with law and fitting the
preexisting situation, contributing to national construction and
development, and strengthening national unity, the Prime Minister
requests Ministries, offices, and provincial and municipal People's
Committees to focus on improving the management of religion-related
land and facilities, review general land use plans and provide
prompt instructions on issues concerning religion-related land and
facilities; and ensure the good balance between religious and
national benefits.

The management and use of religious-affiliated land and facilities
must be in line with policies and laws and in conformity with the
following principals and points:


1. Religion and belief is the spiritual need of a group of people,
which has long been in existence and will continue along the course
of socialist development in our country. Believers of different
religions are parts of the great national unity. The Party and
State respects and ensures the right to religious practice in
accordance with the law as well as legitimate demands of religious
groups and believers for land and facilities for religious
purposes.


2. Regarding religious establishments having legitimate demands for
land and facilities for religious practice, provincial and municipal
People's Committees have the responsibility to consider such demands
on the basis of the State's religious policies, local land use plans
and land availability to make decisions to allocate land and

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facilities to religious establishments strictly pursuant to legal
procedures and processes provided by the law.


3. Religion-related land and facilities managed by or their use
arranged by the State during the implementation of its policies on
management of land and facilities as well as policies on socialist
reformation of land and facilities promulgated before July 1, 1991,
shall be handled according to the National Assembly's Resolution No.
23/2003/QH11 dated November 26, 2003 and related legal documents.
Attention is to be given to the following cases:

a) Regarding religious-affiliated land and facilities managed
by or their use arranged by the State: government bodies and
organizations to which the land and facilities were allocated must
use them strictly and efficiently for the original designated
purposes without any impact on the religious sentiment of believers.
In cases where such land and facilities are not correctly and
efficiently used for the designated purposes, provincial and
municipal People's Committees shall retrieve and allocate them to
other users to serve national interests and/or public interests; in
cases where religious establishments have legitimate demands to use
such land/facilities for religious purposes, provincial and
municipal People's Committees may consider on a case-by-case basis
allocating reasonable areas of land/facilities to the religious
establishments or facilitating them in constructing new religious
facilities in accordance with the law.

b) Land currently used by religious establishments for
agricultural and forestry cultivation, non-agricultural business,
and/or as charitable facilities, as well as land currently used by
religious establishments as provided by Item 1 of Article 99 of the
Land Law (including land transferred or donated to them received
before July 1, 2004),and certified dispute free by Commune-level
People's Committees shall be entitled to be given Land Use Rights
Certificates, to be used in a way that is similar to respective
legal regulations governing the use of such types of land by
households and/or individuals, and/or to have their land use
purposes changed as decided by provincial People's Committees. Land
that was not allocated and its land-use tax not collected by the
State and currently used by religious establishments for
agricultural and forestry cultivation, non-agricultural business,
and/or as charitable facilities shall be entitled to be transferred,
donated, leased, mortgaged with their land-use rights in accordance
with legal regulations on land use.

In cases where land has already been transferred or donated to
religious establishments which remains under dispute, such disputes
must be definitively and lawfully settled before Land Use Rights
Certificates can be issued.

c) After making its decision on a specific religion-related
land use case, the competent State Authority must notify [its
decision] to the relevant religious establishment and believers for
their information and enforcement.

Acts which take advantage of the settlement of religious-affiliated
land and facilities cases to cause public disorder, sow division
among the people and undermine national unity, or breach the law
shall be strictly dealt with in accordance with the law.

4) The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry
of Construction, relating Ministries and offices and provincial and
municipal People's Committees, within their scope of functions,
responsibilities and powers, shall correct the management and use of
religion-related land and facilities; consider and deal with each
specific case [of land use demands of religious establishments] on
the basis of [the State's] religious policies and land policies,
local land availability and the actual needs of the religious
establishments; provide guidance to their functioning offices to
continue and speed up the process of issuing Land Use Rights
Certificates to eligible religious establishments in accordance with
legal regulations on land use.

5) Ministries, branches and provincial and municipal People's
Committees, in coordination with the Vietnam Fatherland Front and
its member organizations, shall inculcate, extensively disseminate
and strictly implement the Party's guidelines and polices and State
laws on belief and religions, and on land and facilities, and other
relating regulations.

6) Ministers and Heads of Ministry-level Agencies, Heads of
Government-affiliated Agencies, and Chairpersons of provincial and
municipal People's Committees, shall come up with plans to strictly
implement this Directive and make annual reports to the Prime
Minister.

Problems arising during the course of implementation of this
Directive shall be brought to the attention of the Prime Minister

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for his/her consideration and solution.

7) The Government Committee for Religious Affairs has the
responsibility to coordinate with relating offices to follow and
supervise implementation of this Directive.

Recipients:
- Secretariat, CPV Central Committee;
- Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers;
- Ministries, Ministry-level agencies, Government-affiliated
agencies;
- Office of the Central Steering Committee on Corruption;
- Provincial and Municipal People's Councils and People's
Committees;
- Office of the CPV Central Committee and Party Commissions;
- Office of the State President;
- National Assembly's Ethnic Councils and Committees;
- Office of the National Assembly;
- Supreme People's Court;
- Supreme People's Procuracy;
- State Audit Office;
- National Financial Control Committee;
- Bank of Social Policies;
- Vietnam Development Bank;
- Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front;
- Central Offices of [Mass] Organizations;
- Office of the Government
- Archives.


5. End Unofficial Translation

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