US embassy cable - 04HANOI86

UNCLAS HANOI 000086 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF, PHUM, VM, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES SEEK OFFICIAL REGISTRATION 
 
Ref:  03 Hanoi 2153 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  The Jehovah's Witnesses maintain a small 
network of unregistered churches across Vietnam.  In urban 
areas, they have developed working relationships with 
authorities that allow them to operate unofficially, 
although smaller congregations in rural areas report some 
harassment.  The Witnesses are seeking official recognition 
and have sent several requests to the GVN, but are unlikely 
to receive any positive reply in the foreseeable future. 
End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Two representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses 
congregations from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City described a 
small but active community in Vietnam in a meeting with 
poloff January 12, with congregations of 70-100 members in 
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (five congregations), and Ca Mau, 
and smaller congregations in Nam Dinh, Bien Hoa, and Dalat. 
Many Witnesses in the south were pre-1975 converts, when the 
denomination operated legally, while others converted more 
recently through contacts abroad or with relatives in the 
Vietnamese diaspora. 
 
3. (U) According to these two Witnesses, most congregations 
meet three times per week, and three times per year there 
are nationwide "conventions" for discussion and bible study. 
The last convention in Ho Chi Minh City had over 700 
attendees, while the most recent one in Hanoi had 115, they 
said.  In both cases, the Witnesses had informed local 
police about the conventions and sought permission to rent 
space for the gatherings, but proceeded even in the absence 
of a formal response. 
 
4. (SBU) The various congregations try to keep local police 
informed of their meetings, and were generally allowed to 
continue as they pleased, the two noted.  Police once told 
the Hanoi congregation that it could not meet without being 
officially registered, but it has continued to do so without 
any repercussions.  The HCMC groups have even better 
relations; at least one congregation even sends copies of 
The Watchtower (in Vietnamese) to the police.  (note:  It is 
unclear if these are imported from overseas or printed 
locally, which in either would probably be considered 
illegal.  end note)  The two reported some harassment of 
meetings in Nam Dinh and Binh Hoa, where the Witnesses had 
sometimes found it difficult to purchase land.  One Witness 
had been refused a teaching job and called in to a police 
station for questioning five times as a result of her faith, 
they claimed. 
 
5. (U) The two representatives said that for the past few 
years the Witnesses had attempted officially to register 
with the GVN (as noted in reftel).  Neither knew exactly 
what steps church elders had taken to do this, but said it 
involved forwarding correspondence from their parent 
organization in Australia to the GVN.  Both said they would 
actively continue seeking formal recognition and that it was 
very important to the Witnesses that they be allowed to 
register legally.  Teaching the bible is important to their 
faith, they explained, and they were unable to do this 
effectively without official status, they admitted. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment: Even other Protestant denominations 
further along in the registration process like the Baptists 
have found the climate less welcoming in recent months, 
apparently in part awaiting progress on the long-awaited 
Ordinance on Religion.  As other Protestants have commented, 
views of the Witnesses against military service and giving 
blood may also heighten official suspicion, and the 
provision of materials from Australia alone could be the 
kiss of death to hopes of gaining a formal legal status. 
While apparently still expanding, the Witnesses' lack of 
legal protections and occasional petty harassment by GVN 
officials will continue to limit their growth for the 
foreseeable future. 
BURGHARDT