Vietnam--Christian Persecution in Vietnam

 

Asia: Vietnam

Country Report Last Updated: 2004-3 

Code: A-1, 2, 3

(Click here for a code description.)

 

 Vietnam
(Click here for a list of ICC articles on Vietnam.)
List of Articles Last Updated: April 1, 2003

Recent Actions Cont'd:

 

  • July 10, 2003 - Pastor Nga was summoned to appear before the Bureau of Religious Affairs after he and his church members began using their newly constructed building for worship in early July (see June 2003 below). Pastor Nga and the authorities came to a compromise regarding the church, which will allow it to remain open provided the church obtain all of the necessary permits and gather in a "peaceful" way. (Compass Direct)
       
  • June 2003 - Christians in Saigon have experienced problems with the police over the construction of a church building in Binh An Village, Second district of Saigon. Land on Tran Nao street was legally purchased by Truong Van Nga, a Christian Missionary Alliance pastor. After local Christians began to build a church, however, armed police officers came and tore down the foundations, saying the construction was not approved. Authorities have also stolen building materials and threatened Christians participating in the building project. The home of a Christian pastor involved in the project was searched. (Vietnam Catholic Conscience)
       
  • May 2, 2003 - Ksor To, a Montagnard Christian from the village of Buon Gha, was arrested and beaten because he was sharing the Gospel with other Montagnards in the Central Highlands. (Montagnard Foundation)
       
  • March 21, 2003 - Y-Bling Nie and Y-He Eban were arrested for running a church in the village of Buon Kdun in Dak Lak Province. They have been imprisoned at Buonmathuot. (Montagnard Foundation)
       
  • February 27, 2003 - Three unknown Montagnards were executed at the Buon Cu Mblim military camp. One hundred villagers were then summoned to look at the dead bodies as a warning. They were told not to follow Christ, as it was against the policies of Ho Chi Minh. (Montagnard Foundation)
        
  • February 24, 2003 - Five villagers from Buon Don district, Dak Lak province, were arrested for practicing Christianity and campaigning against human rights abuses. Two of the villagers were repeatedly struck in the knee with rocks. Those arrested were Y-Pen Buon Ya, Y-Phan Buon Krong, Y-Glen Buon Krong, Y-Be Nie and Y-Gun Hwing. (Montagnard Foundation)
        
  • February 3, 2003 - Pastor Pham-Huyen of Quang Nam was arrested in Da Nang were he had gone to visit friends. Police confiscated Bibles and other Christian materials. After a week in Da Nang he was transferred to the Quang Nam police department.
       
  • January 31, 2003 - Y-Su Nie, a Montagnard Christian, died after being injected with lethal chemicals at the Buonmathuot prison on January 30. He had been arrested on November 15, 2002 and taken to the prison where he was beaten and tortured by electric shock. Y-Su Nie was accused of being a Christian and a land rights advocate. (Montagnard Foundation)
       
  • January 25, 2003 - A Vietnamese Catholic Monseigneur was stabbed to death while visiting his native country from London. Rev. Peter Dao Duc Diem was planning to visit relatives he had not seen for 24 years, having fled the country in 1979. Vietnamese Catholics believe secret police may have been responsible.
       
  • January 24, 2003 - Security officials in Dak Lak province arrested Y-Grok Adrong for practicing Christianity. He was imprisoned at Buonmathuot. (Montagnard Foundation)
       
  • January 21, 2003 - After the Seventh Plenum of the Vietnamese Community Party, a new resolution to control religion was announced. Under the new resolution, cells of Communist Party members must be created within the six approved religions. This measure will allow greater control of the Vietnamese government over religious affairs in the officially recognized Christian churches and undoubtedly will present greater problems to unrecognized religious groups, like Montagnard and Hmong Christians. (Compass Direct)
         
  • December 29, 2002 - Police used a noxious gas to break up a meeting of 40 Hmong Christians in Dien Bien province. At least 20 of the Christians needed to be hospitalized, with five of them in very serious condition. (ANS)
        
  • October 29, 2002 - Y-Suon Mlo, Y-Het Nie Kdam, and Y-Wan Ayun, Montagnard Christians from Dak Lak province, were killed by lethal injection in their jail cells at Buonmathuot. The three Christians had participated in February 2001 protests against religions repression and the loss of land in the Central Highlands. (Montagnard Foundation)
        
  • October 2002 - At least 56 pastors from the Central Highlands have "disappeared." There whereabouts are unknown. In addition, 354 of the 412 churches in Dak Lak province have been forcibly closed. More closures are expected to follow. (Compass Direct)
       
  • August 28, 2002 - Hoang Trong Dung, a youth who worked with Father Nguyen Van Ly (see May 17, 2001) at the Nguyet Bieu Catholic parish was arrested in Hue. Dung's mother was told he would be re-educated in a concentration camp. His crimes included "disturbing public safety, protesting extremely, did not participate in the great national festival of the people," among other charges. Dung refused to participate in national elections because he believed they were a sham. He had also openly protested the government's oppression of religious believers.
        
  • August 2002 - Vietnamese human rights advocates reported on the conditions of prisoner Nguyen Van Ly (see May 17, 2001). Father Ly is being held in a 3x4.5 meter room inside an isolated unit and is not allowed contact with other prisoners. Even guards are not supposed to speak with Fr. Ly. He is allowed out of his room twice a day into a small yard. He is not allowed to have a pen and paper and is limited to one letter per month. Items brought to Fr. Ly in prison are often refused, including Christian books and some food items. Cuong and Viet, two nephews of Fr. Ly, have also been detained for over a year. They have not yet been tried.
       
  • July 6, 2002 - Pastor Nguyen Dang Chi was arrested and held by police in Phu Ly commune, Tri An province for 24 hours. During that time he was not allowed water, a blanket, or use of the toilet. He was released after 20 members of his church staged a sit-in at the police station. Pastor Chi has been harassed by police many times for "illegal" preaching. (CSW)
        
  • June 29, 2002 - A pastor's house was unlawfully searched in Vietnam. The police did not have a search warrant. They confiscated 18 boxes of Bibles and Christian books. (The Bibles were legally printed).
  • April 1, 2002 - Pastor Dinh Van Truc was beaten by a gang of youths as he traveled to Dak La Commune, Dak Ha District in Kontum Province. Pastor Truc was attempting to visit some Christians in the Dak La village when armed youths threw stones at him, beat him mercilessly, and smashed his motorbike. The Christian family was also beaten and warned to quit following the Protestant faith. Pastor Truc was later informed that the youths were acting under the instruction of the village cadre. In meetings on March 20 and March 31, 2002 the commune leaders decided to destroy the faith of the Christian family in Dak La village and attack Pastor Truc whenever he came to visit the family. (ICR)
       
  • March 2, 2002 - Cambodian authorities forcibly repatriated 63 Montagnards (Vietnamese minorities) who were seeking asylum in Cambodia after fleeing Vietnam during 2001. The mainly Christian Montagnards were persecuted by the Vietnamese government because they protested human rights and religious freedom violations. Approximately 1,000 more Montagnards are in danger of forcible repatriation as the Vietnamese authorities have given them a deadline of April 30 to "voluntarily" return to Vietnam. (Compass)
       
  • January 11, 2002 - Authorities raided the home of Mr. Vang Seo Su, who had submitted a petition on behalf of Hmong Christians in Tran Xoan hamlet (see December 12 and December 25, 2001 below). Several Christian books and videos were confiscated and Mr. Su was ordered to appear before the Commune officials.
       
  • January 2002 - Seven Christian families in Sinh Chai, Bac Ha district, Lao Cai province, were forced to relocate after local authorities took all their belongings. Those who were unable to run were beaten in the face.
        
  • December 25, 2001 - Hmong Christians in Tran Xoan hamlet in Lao Cai province were prevented from celebrating Christmas when authorities representing the four levels of government broke into their meetings and confiscated items being used for the worship service. The authorities intervened at both a morning and an evening service. At the evening service authorities prevented Christians from entering the home where the service was being held. Others were dragged out of the house and roughed up. Four women were injured as a result.
       
  • December 12, 2001 - Local officials interrupted a worship service of Hmong Christians in Tran Xoan hamlet, Lao Cai province. Three men were arrested and interrogated. Vang Seo Vang, Vand Seo Su, and Vang Seo Pao were ordered to sign an agreement to abandon the Christian faith but refused to do so. Two of the men were also beaten on the side of the head.   
        
  • October 19, 2001 – Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 5 years of house arrest by the Vietnamese authorities.  (See May 17, 2001) (FVA)
        
  • August 24, 2001 – Binh Thanh 26th Ward security police took Pastor Quang’s (see below) Family Register, making it impossible for his child to receive public education.   (CSW)
         
  • August 17, 2001 – Rev. and Mrs. Ngyuen Honh and Truong Tri Hien were arrested in Ward 26 in the Bihn Thanh district of Ho Chi Minh City.  Rev. Ngyuen, a Mennonite pastor trained as a lawyer, has been constantly harassed by the Public Security Police (PSP) for “exposing religious liberty abuses in Vietnam,” as reported by Compass Direct.  An unidentified source claimed “the Rev. Quang was struck in the face until it was all swollen.”  On August 13 and June 5 (See June 5, 2001), Quang reported two services when the PSP “burst into our house while we were worshipping God.”
           
  • July 18, 2001 – Four official documents, titled Official Plan 184, have been released by Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom.  The documents are official Communist Party objectives on crushing and destroying Protestant Christianity among the tribal minorties of Vietnam’s northern Bao Thang District of Lao Cai Province.   The documents are dated January 2001, and bear official seals and signatures, with a timetable beginning on October 15, 2000, ending through 2001.  The documents are at Freedom House’s web site: www.freedomhouse.org/religion/
                 
  • June 2001 – A Catholic priest in Quang Nam, Da Nang province was ordered to surrender his church and the adjacent land for a government project by June 25, 2001.
             
  • June 5, 2001 – Public Security Police in Ho Chi Minh City broke up a meeting of 70 young children, which was arranged by a local church, and threatened the children’s teachers. Charges were written up but the police would not provide copies of the charges to those involved.
                
  • May 17, 2001 – Father Nguyen Van Ly was arrested in his private chamber at the An Truyen Parish. Public security agents ransacked Father Ly’s home, confiscating some of his personal property. Parishoners who had gathered to block the arrest were shocked with electric prods. Father Ly had submitted testimonies for the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which was occurring at the time of his arrest. He was eventually charged with "spreading propaganda against the government" and could face 10-12 years in prison.
               
  • April 13, 2001 – Public Security Police in Ho Chi Minh City interrupted a Good Friday service being held in a private home. Charges were written up and the one hundred believers meeting there were threatened not to participate in any further services.
           
  • April 3, 2001 – In a special ceremony held at a church in Ho Chi Minh City, the southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) was officially recognized by the government. Government officials had approved the denomination’s constitution and recognized its election of church leaders. However, it remain to be seen what kind of freedom the church will have "within the framework of the laws of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."
             
  • March 10, 2001 – Authorities in Vietnam’s central highlands tore down a Protestant church in Plei Lao, Gia Lai province, leading to a clash with villagers who were protesting against government repression of Christians. Three men were arrested. Ethnic unrest has been prevalent in the central highlands and authorities have begun to crack down on Christians, accusing them of being part of a separatist group. Some believers have reportedly been abducted and tortured.
                    
  • February 7- 9, 2001 – The ECVN general assembly was held as scheduled (see below). 482 pastors and 278 guests attended the event, including members of the government Bureau of Religious Affairs (BRA). A President, Vice Presidents, and an executive board were elected. All represent an evangelical worldview and were not chosen based on political reliability. In fact, many had faced persecution at some point since the Communists came to power in 1975. There are still concerns about the extent of government control over the church and whether this will compromise the church’s goals. However, church leaders considered the assembly an overall success and an answer to prayer.
            
  • January 2001 – The Vietnamese government is attempting to "regularize" the southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN). However, legal recognition of the church would not come without a price. Many church members see the government’s actions as an attempt to control the church and impose regulations that conflict with the ECVN’s beliefs. The government has already made drastic revisions to the church’s proposed constitution. The ECVN is composed of 300+ congregations meeting in church buildings erected before 1975 and in homes. They have not been allowed to hold a business meeting or elect leaders since 1976. The Prime Minister signed a document, allowing the ECVN to hold a general assembly in Ho Chih Minh City in February.
                   
  • Christmas 2000 – Christians in Vietnam’s northwest provinces were harassed, beaten and arrested in an attempt to stop them from holding Christmas services. Church elders in Phong Niem Commune in Lao Cai province were slapped and threatened by police who told them that after the Tet holiday a campaign would be launched to "entirely ban Christianity from the province." Other Hmong believers in Lao Chai faced similar treatment.
             
  • November 19, 2000 – Police raided Grace Church, a house church led by Pastor Nguyen Ngoc Hien, and confiscated Bibles as well as the pastor’s identification card. Ironically, this incident occurred on the same day that President Clinton discussed religious freedom with the leaders of Vietnam’s Catholic Church.
             
  • November 2000 – Cao Xuan Tao, a house church leader in Quang Binh province was imprisoned without being properly charged.
              
  • September 20, 2000 – Six Christians meeting in a home in Phu Yen province were fined 50,000 Vietnamese dong each.
           
  • September 19, 2000 – Sung Seo Choa, a Hmong believer from Ha Giang province, was arrested and sentenced to 24 months of labor and re-education after refusing to stop preaching.
             
  • September 18, 2000 – Twenty police officers raided the home of Mr. Nguyen Chuc, confiscating personal property and assaulting Mr. Nguyen and his family. Mr. Nguyen had apparently refused to pay a fine levied against him for holding an Easter celebration in his home during April of 1999.
             
  • September 2, 2000 – Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thuy was released from prison after serving 11 months of a 12-month sentence (see December 27, 1999 below).
                     
  • August 14, 2000 – A church building in Dong Tam, Binh Phuoc province, was razed by armed authorities.
             
  • July 7, 2000 – Three Christians complained about treatment they had received from police. Mr. Ly van Quan, Mr. Chan Van Meng and Mr. Chang van Cai reported being beaten and kicked by authorities during 10 days of imprisonment.   
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      July 1, 2000 – Authorities destroyed a newly erected church in Thu Thiem district of Ho Chi Minh City. The congregation had been working with authorities for 9 years in order to do everything according to the law.