14 July 2005

VIETNAM: Three fundamental causes of persecution remain

Despite three new legal documents on religion since last November, government harassment of religious communities has not eased. Prison sentences on Mennonite pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and a colleague were confirmed in April, two Hoa Hao Buddhists were given prison sentences and massive fines the same month for distributing the teachings of their movement's founder, while Hmong Protestants in the north-west were beaten by local officials and had their properties confiscated in May. The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and numerous Protestant churches remain outlawed. A comparison of the situation five years ago and today shows no change in the fundamental causes of persecution: the restrictions on unregistered religious activity, the interference in the activity of registered religious communities and the lack of a transparent line of command from the central government to local officials which allows local violations to continue. If religious freedom is to improve, these three causes of persecution will be crucial benchmarks of change.

6 July 2005

COMMENTARY: Vietnam's new religion regulations don't help religious freedom

Recent government religious regulations provide no basis for religious freedom, Vietnamese Christian lawyer Truong Tri Hien argues in this personal commentary for Forum 18 News Service http://www.forum18.org. Even these contradictory and restrictive documents have been dismissed by oppressive local officials, he reports. Hien was Acting General Secretary of the Mennonite Church in Vietnam and fled his homeland in June 2004, after a warrant was issued to arrest him for "resisting a person performing his duty." The Vietnamese Justice Code states that this includes "threatening to make public information that will be unfavourable to the person doing their duty, or unfavourable to those close to the person doing their duty". Hien had been documenting religious freedom violations. Hien pleads for foreigners to judge the Vietnamese government by its continuing attacks on its own citizens' religious freedom, and to take action to force it to abide by international human rights standards.

21 September 2004

VIETNAM: Implementation will test new religious ordinance

Believers have responded warily to the new religious ordinance which codifies the state's policies on religious affairs, though implementation will test if it makes religious practice easier or more difficult. The ordinance, adopted by the National Assembly's standing committee in June, comes into force on 15 November. Officials have already met religious representatives to discuss the content. The ordinance lays greater stress on believers "abiding by law" rather than needing specific permission for many activities, but still reflects official suspicion of religious groups. Registered groups will need annual permission to hold regular meetings in their own buildings, while conferences in other premises will require specific permission. Unclear is whether home meetings are allowed. Religious activities and even beliefs can be banned. Prisoners are banned from religious activity, while former prisoners need permission. Local officials must approve assignment of clergy, while religious groups' contacts with abroad remain under official control. The ordinance does not mention the return of confiscated places of worship. Three Catholic priests described the ordinance as "a tool of the state to oppress people of faith".

28 July 2004

VIETNAM: State interference in indigenous religions

Along with state crackdowns on religious communities well-known outside of Vietnam, such as the Unified Buddhist Church, Catholics, Mennonites, Montagnard Christians, the Hmongs, and Pentecostals, the Vietnamese government also heavily interferes in the far less well-known Hoa Hao Buddhist and Caodaism communities - especially in the way leaders are selected. Both these religions were founded within Vietnam by Vietnamese people and have received state recognition. Followers of both religions continue, along with the more well-known religious communities, to struggle for genuine freedom from state interference. However, the future for both Hoa Hao Buddhism and Caodaism appears bleak, given Vietnam's lack of religious freedom.

15 June 2004

LAOS: The Disturbing Prospect for Religious Freedom

The religious freedom picture in Laos is complex, not least due to non-religious factors such as ethnicity, and the state's opposition to freedom of information. However, it does appear that religious freedom conditions have improved in the last few years. But the central government's political agenda remains fundamentally hostile to religious freedom, despite government claims that religious freedom violations are caused by an alleged inability to control local officials. This hostility as manifested in "isolated" incidents of religious freedom violations – against Protestants, Buddhists, Animists, Baha'is, Muslims and Catholics - seems set to continue.

2 February 2004

VIETNAM: Trade alone will not improve religious freedom conditions

In this personal commentary for Forum 18 News Service http://www.forum18.org, Magda Hornemann, a specialist on religion in South East Asia, reports that despite several "goodwill gestures" by the Vietnamese government, repression of religious believers has not diminished. Five leading Buddhists have recently been confined to their pagodas, while a Protestant pastor in Ho Chi Minh city faces imminent trial. The author dismisses fears that pressure from abroad for improved human rights will lead to a return to "isolationism", arguing that the regime needs to reform the economy to survive. But foreign trade alone will not encourage greater religious freedom in Vietnam: the government will respond only to consistent pressure. Without such pressure from foreign governments and individuals, Hornemann maintains, the outside world will be abandoning Vietnamese people courageously trying to secure their right to religious freedom.