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Police continue to block routes to Dong Chiem and beat peaceful protestors

Human Rights Watch notes the duplicitous Vietnamese Government still carrying out full scale persecution

New Christians in northwest violently compelled to return to ancestor worship.

Catholic Vietnamese are forbidden from worship

Vietnamese Christian severely beaten. Hundreds of police agents and soldiers forcibly blocking anyone who tries to reach the Dong Chiem parish church. Those who dare approach are threatened and can be arrested.

More young people leaving rural areas for large urban centers in search of work. The Church promotes programs to meet the “ spiritual needs” and promote "sharing of experiences". The meetings also involve non-Catholics.

The ordinations are a source of joy that temper the sadness caused by acts of larceny in nine churches, where tabernacles are destroyed, consecrated hosts thrown to the ground, and statues stolen. The city of Hanoi sends a delegation to visit the archbishop and extend Christmas greetings. Until a few weeks ago, the authorities had labelled him a “troublemaker”.

Thousands of people attended evangelistic gathering in North Vietnam.

Record breaking Christian gathering in Vietnam

Giant Christian rally held in Vietnam

Catholics welcome President Triet’s Vatican visit as a move towards re-establishing diplomatic relations. This article discusses the possibility of an invitation to the Pope by President Triet.

In an unusual act, the Vietnamese government allows a Christian concert to take place

For the Catholic community of Vietnam, 6.5% of the population, the situation has improved in recent years, although there is no full freedom of religion. Father Theodore Mascarenhas, an official of the Pontifical Council for Culture, reviews the situation in a conversation with AsiaNews.

Church is burned down in Vietnam by the government and Christians are coerced to say the will give up unsanctioned religious practice.

Vietnam’s Catholic leader resigns--backstory

Hanoi Archbishop has submitted his resignation citing health concerns, but others see link to government pressure

Vietnamese Catholics celebrate Holy Jubilee and recognize history of martyrs.

Being a member of a Christian house church in Vietnam can be a death sentence

Catholic Priest, Advocate for Religious Freedom and Democracy, in Poor Health after he suffers a Stroke in Prison

Persecuted Catholic Vietnamese Church meets to discuss common issues

Celebration of Christmas in Vietnam a mixed bag

The director of Catholic Relief Services in the western United States, Jim DeHarpporte, talks about the state of the Catholic church in Vietnam

A Christian who spent years in Vietnamese prisons for his faith has mixed reactions to the news that the communist government in Vietnam has legalized a Pentecostal church.

Local authorities had prevented all religious services, Christmas and Easter included, on the grounds that “there are no Catholics” in the province. More than a hundred gathered while took pictures and taped those present

More detailed information on the Assemblies of God denomination being recognized in Vietnam.

"Hundreds of agents attack parishioners, erect a fence around Catholic land. The authorities also block telephone and internet access to prevent the faithful from sounding the alarm. Local politicians and developers target the area. Work to remove the statue of Our Lady in La Vang resumes."

A ceremony held in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday awarded official recognition to the Assemblies of God branch of the Pentecostal church - previously considered an illegal Christian denomination.

Though the large part of this article concerns the repression of certain Buddhists, it demonstrates the overall lack of religious freedom in the country and mentions the repression of Christian groups such as the Montagnards, as well.

Activists face trial in Vietnam for hanging posters advocating democracy and declaring that Vietnam denies its citizens basic human rights.

Religious minorities continue to face restrictions to religious freedom in Vietnam.

Vietnam's state media has launched a campaign of "verbal attacks" against the Catholic church in the country - specifically targetting prelates who have condemned the authorities confiscation of church property and violence against Catholics.

After a periodic review of Vietnam's human rights record by the UN Human Rights Council ended this week, the Human Rights Watch said Vietnam was 'making a mockery' of its rights obligations.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is refusing to budge on property confiscated from the Catholic Church in Vietnam in 1954. He insisted that "all properties in Vietnam belong to the country and the government."

A look at Vietnam's war on religion - especially recent attacks against Christian believers in Vietnam.

Three Montangards have been detained for up to 10 years for allegedly "undermining national solidarity" by planning to organize an organization that stands for the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races. Three other Montagnards were jailed for up to 12 years last April. The Montagnards are a largely Christian minority that has long ben persecuted for their faith.

19 of the Catholics who were arrested in Tam Toa were released on September 4th, but the congregation's belongings are still not been returned. Some of those who were beaten in the July 20th attack still require treatment from their injuries.

"The words of Benedict XVI to the bishops used to criticize the Vietnamese bishops, priests and faithful who have sunk the Church in "spiritual corruption”. Allegations also against priests who "planned" to overthrow the regime. Arrests of bloggers and dissidents."

"Protestants and Catholics in Vietnam are facing growing repression and violence at the hands of the authorities. Police brutality is a serious issue, as is police use of Communist vigilantes to beat up Christians. Police raiding the Protestant house church of Pastor Duong Van Tuan in June viciously assaulted his wife until she collapsed unconscious. Catholics seeking the return of seized properties likewise are being assaulted and imprisoned. The Government has combined a virulent anti-Catholic propaganda campaign with blocking Catholic news agency websites. In December 2006 the US deemed Vietnam's religious liberty reforms sufficient to reward the country with normal trade relations. Since then, persecution has kept escalating. Please pray in solidarity with multiple thousands of Vietnamese courageously confronting all this oppression with public prayer vigils."

"The hopes that Christians had four or five years ago are beginning to wane. According to the Open Doors country report, at that time, newer religious regulations were being put in place that seemed to offer more freedoms."

Please pray for the Catholics in Vietnam as they continue to hold vigils protesting the detainment of three believers and the treatment of the church by government officials. There are also rumors that the government may be gathering "malcontents from the Communist Youth League and army veterans to launch a series of violent raids on Catholics."

Christians have noticed an increase in government harassment of churches in Vietnam. Despite requiring registration, officials refuse to register many house churches that request it. Raids have also become more common. One officer threatened believers who had gathered to worship, "If I find you meeting here next Sunday, I will kill you all like I'd kill a dog!"

The persecution of Catholics in central Vietnam may be an effort to divert attention from internal conflicts within the Communist Party.

Police, employing the use of local thugs, have arrested a Catholic from Dong Hoi, Vietnam. Reports indicate that the police and thugs are "roaming the streets and attacking those who visibly wear Catholic religious symbols."

Police attempting to stop a July 26 protest against the violence used against the parish of Tam Toa attacked numerous Catholics, seriously injuring two priests. One priest suffered broken ribs and head injuries while the second was beaten into a coma and thrown from the 2nd floor of a building.

About 150 Catholics who had begun re-building a church destroyed by American bombs during the Vietnam War were stopped by authorities on Monday. Police beat the Catholics, dismantled the makeshift church, and detained at least 20 people.

A prominent Mennonite pastor and religious rights advocate has escaped from his besieged home in central Vietnam after "several months of police encirclement" to seek "help, food and medication" for his children and frail wife.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide has obtained an internal Vietnam government training manual, entitled "Training Manual for the Task Concerning the Protestant Religion." The manual "reveals explicit details of the authorities' continuing intentions to regular religious activity, particularly among Protestants."

Vietnam's war against Christianity continues, and the war against the Montagnard people appears largely ignored by the United States.

In recent weeks, government officials in Vietnam have raided and destroyed Protestant churches in the country's Central Highlands.

When a Christian Pastor refused to leave the area following police orders, police invaded his Sunday service and beat the worshippers (including women). The pastor and an elder were arrested, put into separate cells, and each beaten by a gang of five policemen.

"Across all Vietnam persecution against both Catholics and Protestants is escalating. Communist authorities have recently demolished two Catholic monasteries in the south and an historic Protestant church in the Central Highlands. In the north Catholics continue to be harassed in Hanoi where the evangelical religious liberty advocate Nguyen van Dai also remains incarcerated. Indigenous Degar house church leader Puih H'Bat, a mother of four whose husband is a refugee in the USA, was arrested in April 2008 and her fate is still unknown. This is of grave concern as Vietnamese ethnic and religious hatred of Degars is intensive and several have been tortured to death. Vietnam seeks to present an international facade of religious freedom but the reality is entirely different. Please pray."

Vietnam has arrested a high-profile Catholic lawyer who has defended numerous pro-democracy and human rights activists.

In yet another sign that "religious freedom is under threat in Vietnam," local authorities suddenly demolished a monastery in An Giang province.

A number of Degar Christians who gathered to mourn and pray over the recent demolition of a historic church were briefly arrested by police and ordered to stop fasting and praying. They were also warned never to tell anyone in the US that they have been forbidden from worshipping and praying to God.

Commentary on the corruption and human rights abuses left to Vietnam on the reflection of the country's observance of Ho Chi Minh's birthday this May.

86,829 Degar Christians spent May 1-3 in their homes, mourning the loss of the first Degar Church that was ever built in the central highlands. The church that the Degar believers hold as the origin of Christianity in the central highlands was demolished by the Vietnamese government on March 13, 2009.

Vietnam has denounced a non-binding amendment to the foreign relations budget bill that recommends the US State Department list Vietnam as a 'country of particular concern' for its religious freedom violations.

The Catholic church in Vietnam continues to face strong opposition from the government of Vietnam in regard to its seized church property. Accusing the Catholic Church of being "grand landlords," the government confirmed recently that it "will return "nothing" of the 2,250 properties taken from the Church."

Despite government efforts to impede the meeting, Catholics in Vietnam were able to share the abuse they have suffered at the hands of the Vietnamese government to a delegation from the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

Though not without a struggle, unregistered Christian groups in Vietnam were allowed to hold a large public service on April 21 in Ho Chi Minh City.

A Hmong man who murdered his mother in February because she had become a Christian has critically wounded another believer - assaulting him on April 25.

While Vietnam meets with 47-member-state forum in Geneva over its human rights record, Vietnamese exiles have accused the country of cracking down on dissidents and minorities. The concerns cited include: "Administrative detention, religious repression, crackdowns on human rights defenders, stifling of press freedom, widespread use of the death penalty."

Hanoi has ordered the halt of government construction work on land claimed by the Catholic church. After relentless prayer vigils to protest the government's project, the move by the Communist authorities to stop construction comes as a welcome surprise to many.

“Vietnam Christian leaders have long prayed for such opportunities. They see these events as direct answers from God, whom they believe holds the hearts of rulers in his hands.”

"It is a good step forward ... (and) a sign of sincerity on the part of the Vietnamese that we have started to talk about the problems, and are trying to reach a consensus on the problems where there are differences between us."

A historic protestant church belonging to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam was destroyed last month just hours after authorities promised church leaders that they had no plans to destroy the building.

"The appeals court has reconfirmed the sentence against the 8 who were calling for the return of land belonging to the [Thai Ha] parish. This morning, 5,000 Catholics marched for 12 kilometers to the site of the trial, and were stopped by 1,000 police officers in riot gear with guard dogs."

A rally on Women's Day in Vietnam prompted local officials to send in 40 officers to repress the rally and are now interrogating the women and children of the Catholic parish of Lap Thach. Children are in a state of fear from the interrogations and many have stopped going to school.

Dr. Paul Ai Tran, a persecuted Vietnamese Christian who was deported from Vietnam in 1999 after having spent a total of 12 years in prison for preaching the Gospel, is under "city" arrest in Ho Chi Minh City. He is staying in a hotel, but police guards watch outside his room and follow him whereever he goes.

Detained Vietnamese Christian Puih H'Bat is having his case closely monitored by the European Union over concern for his whereabouts.

Catholics have gathered in Hanoi to hold a prayer vigil for the lawyer who is being harassed for his assistance to the Thai Ha parishioners (the church that unfairly lost property and suffered abuses from authorities). Recently, the lawyer was arrested on his way to Hanoi for the trial against media outlets that had been slandering the parishioners.

At least one Degar Christian farmer was brutally hacked to death by Vietnamese security forces (joing by an angry mob) this week. The Christian was 65 years old and was killed just outside his farm for refusing to sell his land.

"The lawsuit brought by Thai Ha parishioners who demanded correct information from their criminal trial on Dec 8, 2008 to be made by the state new media has been further complicated and delayed by bureaucracy from the court and the editor of the newspaper. Various bureaucratic maneuvers have also been applied to delay their Court of Appeal hearing."

Communist authorities in Vietnam have taken up an interesting battle against minority Montagnards: trying to force them to return to their pagan rituals and beliefs as a way of fighting Christianity in the villages. Officials have gone so far as to play the role of wizards and sorcerors to dominate the spiritual lives of the citizens.

Catholics and journalists alike were appalled when the the 2008 "Award for Excellence in Journalism" was awarded to two media outlets specifically for their reports on the protest at Thai Ha that intentionally distorted statements and published outright fabrications (like a mysterious "interview" with a parishioner that had already passed away). Both of the awarded outlets are currently facing lawsuits.

Nguyen Thi Hong, a 48-year-old pastor, was sentenced to three years in prison for failing repay debts owed by her late husband. Or, that's at least what they tried her for 14 months after arresting her. Hong's lawyer asserts that her indictment said she was arrested because she was "involved with the religious organization of Nguyan Hong Quang" (head of the Mennonite church) in Vietnam.

Human Rights Watch is calling on Vietnam to stop its censorship of media in the country. Catholics involved in the Thai Ha protests came up against media corruption on multiple occassions, and other Christian and human rights activists have been censored or charged with dissent in their defense of human rights.

Eight Vietnamese Catholics sentenced by a lower court in the case of the Thai Ha parish will have their appeal heard. The group was charged with "disorderly conduct" and "damaging state property," but not allowed to present any evidence in their own defense.

Vietnamese government officials intimidated Christian villagers before UN officials visited on December 3rd, ordering them to tell the officials that they were treated properly or face arrest, torture, and imprisonment. Many villagers were kept in their homes by plain-clothes officials and more were arrested after the UNHCR visit.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung announced on Tuesday, January 6, that none of properties confiscated from the church will be restored to their owners, and that any faithful who demonstrate and "create social disorder" will be severely punished.

In a country where spirituality is a critical part of the word 'human,' government officials are repressing religion and, many believe, stunting the growth of the nation at all levels. One professor remarked that Vietnam is not only in poverty by economic terms, but also in morality.

A small city south of Hanoi, in Vietnam's northern highlands, did not celebrate Christmas this year. Authorities in the community banned all religious events on the claim that "there are no religious followers" in Son La, even though the town is known to have at least three thousand Catholic believers.

A new wooden church built in September by Hmong Christians in Vietnam has been destroyed by local government officials. Hundreds of Christians who rushed to protect the building were forced back by police wielding electric cattle prods. Five people were injured, including one child and a pregnant woman.

More details on a story posted yesterday regarding the Thai Ha Catholics trial.

Eight Catholics on trial for "destroying property and disturbing public order" were found guilty on Monday in a trial attended by nearly 700 Catholic supporters who managed a sit-in protest before journalist and various representatives of Western embassies. They were, however, given suspended prison sentences - something which the gathered crowd cheered.

Vision Beyond Borders claims that the Hmong church is growing in Vietnam despite the government's relentless pressure to force believers to recant their faith and re-establish ancestral religious practices. One man who spent over seven years in prison now oversees 500 churches.

Two of eight Catholics from the Thai Ha parish that have been scheduled to go on trial over the parish's land dispute have been refused access to their lawyers in a case that some believe is turning "more and more into a political show trial."

The Montagnard Foundation is asking that an appeal they made in September for the life of a Degar woman who was imprisoned in April and has been denied any kind of visitation be brought to the forefront again. No action has been taken for more than six months and the woman's family fears she may already have been killed.

Since authorities from a village in Vietnam learned that Hmong villagers had converted to Christianity and discarded their altars, they have been pressuring the new Christians to recant their new faith and re-establish their ancestral altars. There have also been threats that they will "ban" the offending villages on Sunday, November 23, though they did not say what they would do.

More details on the attack against a Catholic chapel and the Thai Ha parishioners protesting land seizures in Vietnam.

In an update on the attack against the Thai Ha parish protesting seized land in Hanoi, Vietnamese government officials have denied any involvement, though eye-witness accounts and even photographs taken by parishioners clearly indicate otherwise.

The Thai Ha Catholics who have been protesting for the return of their seized land for months, were attacked by local Hanoi government on Saturday night. The news of the attack spread through the Church in Vietnam on Sunday, a day when Catholics were celebrating the Feast of Vietnamese Martyrs.

The Montagnard Foundation reports on multiple incidents of persecution against the Christian Degar of Vietnam's Central Highlands. The government's newest tactic seems to be forcefully confiscating money sent to families from relatives in the US.

Despite growing opposition against the Church in Vietnam, believers believe the church is still flourishing amidst the persecution.

The European Parliament is asking that Vietnam end its systematic violation of democracy and human rights before it concludes the EU-Vietnam partnership agreement. The Parliament also asked for the government to release "all people imprisoned or detained for the peaceful expression of political or religious beliefs," including more than 300 Christian highlanders.

The Mayor of Hanoi has announced that the Catholic priests and believers involved in the peaceful protests to have land restored to them will face legal prosecution. He has also called for the removal of the archbishop, Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet.

In a disturbing turn of events, a children's newspaper is the latest to add their voice to the smear campaign against the Catholic church protesting the confiscation of land.

The family of a jailed Degar Montagnard Christian in Vietnam's Central Highlands feared Wednesday, October 15, that she may have been killed or suffers from serious injuries as a result of torture.

An article in Front Page magazine highlights the horrific persecution of the Vietnamese Christian Montagnards that have been neglected and suspiciously removed from the list of "Countries of Particular Concern," despite increasing persecution against Christians.

The Australian Vietnamese Christian Association held a Prayer Vigil Friday on behalf of Vietnam's Catholics that have been peacefully holding prayer vigils for the return of confiscated properties since December 2007.

Today, Human Rights Watch called for the Vietnamese government to immediatly release Roman Catholics arrested for holding peaceful prayer vigils in Hanoi. They also urged the government to hold police and others responsible for attacking the Catholic protesters.

Degar Montagnard Christians in Vietnam's Central Highlands faced another tense day Monday, October 6, after investigators confirmed that a preacher was killed, apparently by Vietnamese security forces, as part of a crackdown on Christianity and 'house churches' in the area.

"We can only plea for help to those who will listen. While others may see us as poor simple minded people we still have a loving beating heart. Please continue to pray for the Degar people because they pray each and every day for someone to act on their behalf."

Vietnam's Catholic Archbishop in Hanoi remained under "virtual house arrest" Wednesday, October 1, with "thugs" shouting anti-Catholic slogans in front of his residence and secret service agents listening to phone conversations and following him via cameras deployed in nearby buildings, Catholic sources with close knowledge about the situation said.

Religious persecution in Vietnam has brought Christians and Hindus together in one county's "little Saigon" to pray for freedom religious for the country and the Thai Ha parish in Hanoi that is struggling over a land dispute with the government.

A list of Degar Christians arrested in the month of July, including some who were released and others who still remain in prison.

A more detailed description of the Vietnamese government's bulldozing of church property in Hanoi, including a detailed explanation of the history of much of the dispute between the church and the government of Vietnam.

Rather than negotiate a settlement concerning disputed property, as promised to the persistent, prayer-vigil-holding Catholics in Vietnam, officials bulldozed a building that once served as the Vatican embassy and residence near St. Joseph's Cathedral on September 19.

"Thugs" carried out a new attack Thursday on the Catholics praying in front of a compound seized from them by the government. They destroyed an iron cross and a statue of the Pieta. The police merely watched the attack - some even helping them destroy the cross and statue - until villagers began responding to pleas for help from the Catholics.

Update on the situation of the Thai Ha Catholics demonstrations and prayer vigils for the return of their land.

The Montagnard Foundation released a special report on the murder of Degar Christian Y Ben Hdok, who was murdered earlier this year by security police who beat and tortured him before putting a rope around his neck, attaching it to a vehicle, and dragging him until he died.

Disturbed by the continuing protests and prayer vigils of the Thai Ha Catholics, the Vietnamese media has resorted to attributing false statements to judges and believers, paying a beggar to pretend to be a Catholic, and even "taking statements" from a dead man.

The Montagnard Foundation reports that Vietnamese police have imprisoned at least 22 Degar Christians in July and August alone.

The fervent prayers of Christians in Vietnam appear to be shaking the Vietnamese government who is working hard to discredit and slander the Church.

More information regarding Puih H'Bat, a detained Montagnard Christian who family members fear may already have been killed.

Puih H'bat, a Degar Christian, has been held for five months in a Vietnamese prison for preaching Christianity. Her family has been completely denied visitation rights and fear that she may already be dead.

Thousands of Catholics gathered this week to extend their support to the parish who've been involved in protests and prayer vigils calling for return of church land. The media has largely criminalized and defamed the church.

A Christian Montagnard in Vietnam is still being held under house arrest after being deported from Cambodia and sent back to Vietnam.

Vietnamese authorities raided a house church the last Sunday of August, frightening many believers and a guest preacher. The Christians threatened to take the incident public, irritating the authorities who forced one man, Nguyen, to their station for interrogation.

The Wall Street Journal notes the religious repression and persecution faced by many Christians in Vietnam.

A Degar Christian forced to return to Vietnam by Cambodia authorities and the UNHCR was immediatly arrested upon his arrival to Vietnam. His family was forced to pay 100,000 VND for his release only to have him placed on house arrest once he returned home. The family was also ordered to slaughter their pig, their only remaining food source, as a feast for the police.

Catholics are continuing to struggle with the Vietnamese government over land policy. Police efforts to disrupt one of the protests last week resulted in claims that the police attacked the protesters with electric batons and tear gas.

President Bush and the prime ministers of Great Britain and Austrailia recently received a letter from the Catholics of Hanoi, Vietnam. The letter detailed their government's repression of human rights and religious freedom in hopes of shedding light on their worsening situation.

USCIRF has issued a report on Vietnam that includes the findings of the Commission's trip to Vietnam in 2007 and highlights government-sponsored abuse and repression of religious communities. In light of their findings, the report calls on the U.S. State Department to re-designate the country as a "country of particular concern."

The Montagnard Foundation has reported on the recent murder of two Degar Christians by Vietnamese Security Police. The first murder occured in mid-April when Y-Cung Nie was dragged from his village and into a nearby wooded area after he protested the wrongful imprisonment of three other Christians. The police tortured and killed him. More recently, on August 9, a father was killed in front of his two sons while the family was fishing along the river. They were ordered to put their hands in the air and when they complied, they were shot.

The reality of religious freedom in Vietnam.

Two young Christian Montagnards were killed by Vietnamese Security officials on their way to back to their village after participating in a peaceful protest for the release of three imprisoned Christians. The police broke both of their legs, both their hands and cracked their skulls, and then even returned to the family's village and admitted to the murders.

The recent repatriation of 28 Vietnamese refugees has sparked a protest in the capital of Cambodia, where most of the Christians fled in 2001 after staging protests in Vietnam over land rights and religious freedom.

Vietnamese police ambushed a group of Degar Christians crossing the lake in canoes on their way to a prayer vigil by throwing rocks at the believers while they were still in their canoes. Two men were killed when heavy rocks struck their heads and knocked them into the lake.

US leaders meeting this week with the prime minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung, are being urged to remember the Vietnamese people who are suffering daily violations of their human rights at the hands of their own government.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dun will meet with White House administration today, the first time a Vietnamese head of state has visited America since the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, despite pressure for the talks to address Vietnam's serious violations of human rights - the administration has decided to focus its efforts on economic cooperation.

In a struggle over land confiscated from the Catholic church in the 1950s, police have resorted to sending in motorcyle gangs to threaten and attack the protestors who are refusing to pay the "huge amount" of money being demanded by officials for the return of the land.

Christians who have been imprisoned, beaten and starved for their faith have shared some of their personal accounts of persecution with Release International.

The Montagnard Foundation has released a report on Vietnam documenting what they call the government's "blueprint for Ethnic cleansing." The press release is a summary of the government's consistent efforts to eradicate the Degar population, including many accounts of religious persecution when the government comes into conflict with Christian Degars, specifically the underground churches who refuse to join the government-sanctioned church of Vietnam.

Vietnamese security police in the Central Highlands have reportedly spent the past few weeks of May visiting the villages of Degar Christians to demand that they join the government-sanctioned Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN), threatening anyone who refuses to sign with imprisonment and torture. After 200 riot police surrounded her village on the 17th of this month, R'com H'Glah was imprisoned for refusing to join the ECVN and for leading many in her village to Christ.

Authorities in southern Vietnam have seized land from the Saint Vincent de Paul Congregation and have already allowed a tourist company to begin construction of a 4-star hotel in place of an orphanage.

Vietnam officials in Lao Cai have confiscated the land and home of Sua Ying Siong in an attempt to stop the huge number of conversions to Christianity in his district and surrounding region. Siong, a former opium addict who was freed from his addiction shortly after his decision to abandon his animist beliefs and follow Christ, has inspired more than 200 families to do the same. His success as an evangelist has been attributed to his joy at his liberation.

Vesak, a Buddhist celebration marking the "birth, enlightment, and the passing away" of the Buddha, is to be held in Vietnam for the first time, but human rights activists criticize the decision on the grounds of the government's worsening record on religious freedom. Particular attention is drawn to Buddhist persecution as well as the Hmong and Montagnard Christians who are routinely persecuted for their faith.

After visiting Vietnam for the first time this year, the International Director of the World Evangelical Alliance International, Dr. George Tunnicliffe, believes that Christians feel that religious freedom is expanding in Vietnam. ICC questions the report when compared with the number of violent reports of persecution against the Montagnard Christians we have heard already this year.

Protests organized by Degar Christians in the past weeks demanding both the release of wrongfully imprisoned Degar and just treatment for the indigenous people, has been met by Vietnamese police with extreme violence, including beatings and attacks with machetes. Divisions of soldiers and militarily armed civilians also surrounded three Degar villages in order to intimidate and keep the people from accessing food or water.

The Executive Committee of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) issued a letter on March 28 called "An Appeal for Prayer" to address the government's lack of action on church seizures and interferences, as well as discrimination against Christians. House church leaders have reportedly commended the ECVN for their courage in addressing these issues.

The Degar people united last week in a wave of protests across Vietnam to call for the release of recently imprisoned friends and family as well as for Hanoi to honor its international human rights obligations.

On April 9, police raided the home of a Christian woman leading believers in prayer and demanded that the 20 people there sign a document agreeing to join the government sanctioned church. When all refused, the officials continue to threaten the villagers until, on April 11, the police re-entered the Christian woman's house and arrested her along with two other men. One man, his wife, and 16 year-old daughter were beaten with electric batons.

Another account of the Degar Christian who was reportedly tortured and killed in prison on March 17.

Release International affirms the increasing persecution of Christians in Vietnam after returning from a recent fact-finding mission in the country.

Hanoi continues to deny religious freedom and refuses to release detained Degars in Vietnam. The Montagnard foundation today issued an appeal for the Degars release.

The Montagnard Foundation issued the following press release reporting that a Degar Christian, Rahlan Hen, was abducted from his home in Ploi Beng village, tortured and murdered by the Vietnamese Government this month. He had apparently refused to join the church of Siu Kim, a government sanctioned church suspected of teaching congregations to worship the government rather than God.

"By supporting human rights as well as enhanced trade, you will positively impact the lives of 84 million people in Vietnam,"

Despite constitutional a governmental claims of religious freedom in Vietnam, the indigenous Montagnards are consistently being imprisoned, starved, tortured and killed throughout their homeland.

Kpa Kloh, a Degar Christian imprisoned in 2004 for preaching the gospel and participating in democracy rallies, was tortured and killed February 10th by Vietnamese Security Police.

A revised version of Vietnam's 2006 government training manual, "Training Document: Concerning the Task of the Protestant Religion in the Northern Mountainous Region," has been released, but two human rights groups criticize the revision as merely a reduction in inflammatory language with little change in a policy which endangers minority religions. The manual calls for officials to "resolutely subue" what it calls "the the abnormally rapid and spontaneous development" of Protestantism in the northern highlands.

Vietnam Pastor Reverend Quang and three other pastors were allowed to visit two imprisoned Christian lawyers, Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, for the Lunar New Year. Pastor Quang reported ordaining Dai and baptizing Nhan during his visit with the lawyers.

After being taken in for interrogation by the Vietnam Security Police for questioning in regard to her husband in the United States, a woman was released only to have her home burned to the ground while she and her children were sleeping inside.

On January 18, police in Vietnam raided a church where Christians had gathered to pray and worship and demanded that they stop, detaining the owner of the home and forcing him to sign an agreement that he would no longer hold prayer services. The next day, numerous Christians, including children, were beaten when police interrupted a prayer service.

After 40 days of protest, the Archbishop of Hanoi has announced that the building confiscated by the government will be returned to the church. The church in Vietnam is grateful for the unity of the people and the support around the world.

The Catholics in Vietnam who have been holding prayer vigils for nearly a month now are beginning to fear that the government may be preparing for a show of force.

Police in Vietnam are finally responding to the month-long dispute over land claimed by the Catholic church. While an investigation is underway, the media has turned to attacking the church leaders for abusing their influence over members as a means of coming against the Communist government.

"To the Vietnamese, freedom of religion often means people can believe what they want. But if a group or congregation forms, the government wants them to register so it will know who they are, what they represent and what they're doing. A group that organizes but does not want to register is assumed to be up to no good."

Vietnam authorities have reportedly had enough of the prayer vigils for the return of confiscated church property. The meetings have gone on for almost a month, and just last week the church leaders received a letter telling them to stop the "illegal activities" or face action.

Catholics in Vietnam gathered over the weekend in corporate prayer for land they say was seized by the Hanoi authorities in the 1950s.

Thousands of Catholics decided to take to the streets of Hanoi on Christmas Eve to ask for the restoration of the church's building which was expropriated and turned into a nightclub by the local government.

?They might not be burning churches anymore but then they take their land where the churches are built,?

?We are disappointed that the pair were not freed following the appeal hearing, as had been hoped. However, the reduction in their sentences is positive. We believe that lawyers Dai and Nhan have been imprisoned in order to be silenced, and call for their immediate and unconditional release. We will continue to urge the international community to put pressure on the Vietnamese authorities to secure their freedom.?

Vietnamese authorities are denied imprisoned catholic priest access to the bible and sacramental wine.

"Even papers and pen are not allowed to keep, not to mention to Bible," the 60-year-old priest, Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, told his sister and cousin.

We are encouraged that the US has sent a delegation to Vietnam to specifically investigate their claimed improvement in religious freedom.

Hatred because of faith.

Spreading Christianity in Vietnam can land you in prison.

Praises for Vietnam government?s new religious policy.

"He was a real saint as he suffered so much in Vietnamese prisons...So it is important to propose to the Church such an example of faith, of love and of pardon,"

The Christian Vietnamese group, Degar Montagnards are tortured and UN does nothing as Vietnamese communist authorities continue to target and imprison Degars men and women.

The UNHCR in Cambodia is accussed of being controlled by the government rather than remaining an independent observer.

Dispite Vietnam?s public claims to allow freedom of religion, new regulations prevent high school students who practice a religion from enrolling.

The Vietnamese governemnt poisons a citizen during his his interrogation (for being related to someone who left the country) and then releases him to die.

Vietnamese police coerce three pastors' wives to deny Christ with threats of torture.

The Vietnamese government has arrested four house church leaders because they refuse to join the government sponsored church.

Tension marks Ho Chi Minh City the day after the police crackdown on a peasant protest.

A Degar Christian?s refugee application for asylum was rejected, and she was sentenced to six years in prison.

Family punished for fleeing to Cambodia: mother chained in stocks in prison cell no. 5, father serving 11 years imprisonment and two children abandoned by police.

While the Vietnamese government courts the International community, it continue to jail Christians for being Christians.

A young Hroi ethnic minority man who refused to recant his Christian faith reportedly died from injuries received while under official interrogation.

Vietnam?s President continues to insist his government does not violate human rights and calls dissidents a ?security threat?.

As Vietnam's president continues his visit to the U.S. news is released of his government's continued persecution of Christians.

As the two leaders talked, no significant progress on the persecution of Christians is made.

A newly available video shows the reality of Persecution in Vietnam.

Vietnam?s President continues his trip to the U.S. in an effort to build strong fiscal and diplomatic ties while he continues to persecute Christians in Vietnam.

As President Bush prepares to host Vietnam?s President, a group familiar with Vietnam?s abuse of Christians publicly asks President Bush to remember the persecution in Vietnam.

The U.S. and Vietnam are working hard to improve diplomatic and financial relations even though Vietnam still persecutes Christians for their faith.

Vietnam has a reputation for persecution of Christians as well as many other Human Rights violations. President Triet hopes his visit will not require him to address these violations as he seeks to expand economic ties with the U.S.

Government approves printing Bibles in Vietnam

In central Vietnam, three more Degar Montagnard Christians have died due to persecution and torture.

Letter outlining Vietnam abuses as President Bush prepares for Vietnam's President's visit

Vietnamese Police continue to arrest and torture Degar Christians

Underground Christians in Vietnam use creative means to serve the community.

Video commentary on the Montagnards.

After Vietnam secured its admittance into the World Trade Organization, the Vietnamese government once again increased its restriction on political and religious freedom.

Rev Nguyen Thanh testifies before Congress about the human rights situation in Vietnam

Authorities send attorneys to prison for human/religious rights efforts.

HUNG, BEATEN AND ELECTRIC SHOCKED

Vietnamese police have stepped up efforts to detain dissidents, rights watchers say

We are seeking your immediate humanitarian intervention and assistance to release these two attorneys as soon as possible

International human rights group Amnesty International (AI) condemned the sentencing of three leading members of the anti-government People?s Democratic Party

The US State Department has cancelled its policy of offering "second chance" interviews in Phnom Penh to Montagnard asylum seekers who have been denied refugee status

VIDEO CLIPS ON YOUTUBE

GRAVE CONCERNS RE: STATE DEPARTMENT (PRM) AND VIETNAM

The law is unclear and not really applied. Concepts like multiparty democracy cannot be mentioned. Media censorship is tight.

He has refused to join the government sanctioned Church. In March and April 2007 he was re-arrested and tortured again.

CHRISTIAN WOMAN ARRESTED FOR COLLECTING NAMES OF THE POOREST OF THE POOR

The U.S. State Department is planning to abandon a small but important program that protects Montagnard refugees from Vietnam

Petition to release Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly from Prison

Response to ongoing Vietnamese Government allegations that the Degar Christian Church wants to overthrow the Vietnamese government or seek independence

A prominent Internet writer and journalist remained detained as part of an apparent fresh government crackdown on dissidents, including Christians

On Friday the 20th of April 2007 hundreds of Degar Montagnards, Cambodians and Hmong peoples gathered outside the US Capital in Washington DC

An influential Christian politician was in hiding in Vietnam after being harassed by Vietnamese security forces

Christian lawyers accused of ?defaming? communist state are rushed to judgment.

If convicted, their incarceration could be anywhere from three to 12 years, and 20 years if they are found guilty

A resolution authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) calling for substantial human rights reforms in Vietnam was overwhelming approved.

Sentencing of Fr. Ly bodes poorly for dissident human rights activist Nguyen Van Dai.

The security police then took her 6 year old daughter and also put her in the prison cell

The police began beating him with their fists and also slapping his ears

The police grabbed him and pushed him into a car

A picture paints a thousand words, but an image taken from the state-controlled television in Vietnam and circulated widely on the Internet can convey the struggle of an entire people. Flanked by two angry-looking policemen, a man sits bleary-eyed, his mouth covered by the hand of an out-of-uniform policeman behind him.

He was beaten on his face, and his abdominal parts

The reason for the arrest was that he was a layman for his house church

BEATEN UNCONSCIOUS AND IMPRISONED: UNABLE TO EAT

PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION: FRIDAY 20 APRIL 2007

State propaganda continues to describe the Church as a hostile force.

To date over 350 Degar prisoners remain in Vietnamese prisons for standing up for their human rights, for spreading Christianity or for fleeing to Cambodia

Vietnam's democracy movement will soon mark the anniversary of a ground-breaking manifesto and the birth of a major new pro-rights group.

The Hanoi government arrests and suppresses dissidents and human rights campaigners.

Human rights groups slam Vietnam?s government for its crackdown. Greater restrictions are coming as Father Ly, a Catholic priest, goes before a court

A senior House Republican demanded the firing of the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam on Tuesday, complaining the diplomat had not adequately opposed the prosecution of a dissident Catholic priest.

Family members of prominent Christian pro-democracy activists and other dissidents faced another tense day after they were apparently threatened and harassed by Vietnamese security forces.

The Bush administration was pressing Vietnam on allegations of human rights violations.

Long standing on one leg is a common method of maltreatment.

The Vietnam government's crackdown against human rights and democracy advocates is not hidden nor is it subtle

It was Ai?s first visit to Vietnam since his deportation in 1999. In spite of his numerous arrests after the communists gained power,

Ahead of meetings between Vietnam's foreign minister and top U.S. officials, Republican lawmakers on Wednesday accused Vietnam of ignoring human-rights pledges

Introduces resolution in House to demand an immediate end to the human rights abuses in Vietnam

A Christian pro-democracy activist was released by Vietnamese authorities after spending over 12 hours in police custody

The week-long visit included talks on normalizing diplomatic relations, religious freedom, Episcopal appointments as well as diocesan visits

A prominent Mennonite pastor and his wife were recovering Sunday, March 11, from "brutal" beatings by Vietnamese security forces as part of a government crackdown

Msgr. Parolin: we are proceeding in our discussions on religious freedom and diplomatic relations with the authorities

Activists reportedly had documented religious repression; Fr. Ly detained again.

Vatican delegation meets government?s religious affairs boss, visits Qui Nhon diocese for the first time. Episcopal appointments were discussed.

UPDATE: NGUYEN VAN DAI CHARGED AND ARRESTED

Vietnamese pro-democracy activists Friday announced a series of overseas rallies against what they call an "escalation of political oppression" in the communist country

In the prison, the security police tied him up and hung him upside down and tortured him by beating him with batons and their fists, kicking him with their military boots, and shocking him with electricity

Vietnamese security forces detained key pro-democracy activists

POLICE AND MILITARY ARREST TWO HOUSE CHURCH CHRISTIANS ON 17 FEBRUARY 2007

State-run press reports arrival of Holy See delegation. Its agenda includes meetings with government officials and a tour of some dioceses in the northern and central parts of the country.

It is hoped that a normalization process will be concretely launched and further steps taken to improve the situation of Catholics who still face forms of persecution at local level.

Hardliners in Vietnam's politburo in Hanoi are obsessed with punishing, oppressing and even eliminating peoples -- such as the Khmer Krom, Montagnards and Hmong Lao,

The decision is announced after e building that is part of the Bishop?s residence is searched. Charges include sabotage against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.?

Catholic circles in Vietnam are convinced that the government does not truly accept religious freedom,

Vietnam's secret police has apparently "lied" about the release of key dissidents who were still detained