US embassy cable - 04HANOI2434

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002434 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PGOV, VM, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: GVN EXPLAINS NEW ORDINANCE ON RELIGION 
 
Reftels: A) Hanoi 2009;  B)Hanoi 1987 
 
1. (U) Summary: According to Nguyen Thanh Xuan, Deputy 
Chairman of the GVN's Committee for Religious Affairs, 
Vietnam's Ordinance on Religion (reftels) - which will take 
effect on November 15 - was modeled on precedents from 
within Vietnam as well as on similar laws from other 
countries, including France, Russia, and China.  Xuan 
claimed that the ordinance would lead to a number of 
significant improvements, including in accountability of 
government officials for abuses of religious freedom and in 
increased freedom of action for recognized religious groups. 
"Many more" religious organizations would be recognized in 
the near future, he stated.  End Summary 
 
2. (U) In a September 1 meeting with Pol Counselor and 
Poloff, Xuan described the underlying bases from which the 
new ordinance had been constructed.  The first of these, 
Xuan said, was respect for religious freedom.  This had been 
Vietnam's policy since independence, but the GVN came to 
"better implement this policy in the 1990s."  He added that 
the 1955 Decree 234 on religion - promulgated by Ho Chi Minh 
himself - as well as the "actual situation of religion in 
Vietnam," were two other building blocks of the ordinance. 
The GVN also considered its obligations under international 
law, and had consulted the religious laws of eighteen other 
countries, including France, Russia, the Philippines, China, 
and Laos, Xuan said.  He claimed that, because the ordinance 
was issued by the National Assembly, it carried more weight 
than the previous decrees governing religion, which had been 
issued by ministries directly.  This would help set a 
standard for treatment of religious adherents that would be 
equal in all regions in Vietnam, he claimed. 
 
3. (U) Xuan described a number of ways in which religious 
organizations would be more free to operate.  The ordinance 
had "streamlined administrative procedures," he said.  State 
management of religious groups would now come in three 
forms: "inform, register, and seek permission."  In the 
past, he claimed, "seek permission" had been the most common 
of these, whereas now "inform or register" would be most 
common.  Permission would now only be required for holding 
conferences, establishing schools, and building churches, he 
claimed.  He noted that the ordinance upheld freedom of both 
religion and "belief."  This, he said, would give protection 
to the "60 percent of the population" who followed 
traditional beliefs, but did not adhere to any formal 
religion.  Xuan added that, while previous decrees only 
governed the activities of religious practitioners, this 
ordinance set guidelines that applied to all Vietnamese, 
including government officials. 
 
4. (U) Xuan pointed to a number of areas where he said the 
ordinance went beyond existing precedents and would lead to 
improvements in the situation for religious believers in 
Vietnam.  He said that the ordinance set five specific 
conditions for the recognition of new religious 
organizations, ending the subjectivity of the past.  He 
claimed that religious bodies now could be more easily 
established, dissolved, or divided.  This had been "hard to 
resolve" in the past, Xuan said, and, as a result, some 
congregations had become too crowded.  He said that 
organizations would be able to promote and transfer clergy 
"without the permission of authorities," but added that 
promotions would still have to be registered, and that 
organizations would have to select "good people and good 
citizens."  Specifically addressing the Catholic Church, 
Xuan noted that, for the naming or transfer of bishops and 
cardinals only, the Vatican and GVN would have to "agree" on 
candidates.  He explained that, under the ordinance, 
religious organizations in Vietnam could have "normal 
relations" with organizations overseas.  The "agreement" of 
the GVN would still be required to study or attend 
conferences abroad, although Xuan added that this was the 
case for all organizations in Vietnam. 
 
5. (U) Addressing implementation of the ordinance, Xuan 
depicted it as a "framework," and said the GVN now needed to 
"concretize" it with implementing documents between now and 
November.  He said the CRA was preparing to "communicate the 
ordinance to religious figures and ordinary people" and also 
to "educate officials at all levels" about it.  Xuan claimed 
that that religious organizations were "very happy" about 
the new ordinance, but rued that the "outside world does not 
fully understand it." [Note: Mission has received a number 
of assessments from religious leaders that range from 
lukewarm to very negative, septel. End note.] 
 
6. (U) Finally, Xuan claimed that "many more" new religious 
organizations would be recognized in the near future.  He 
cautioned that these organizations needed to register, and 
show that they were "purely religious," and had "no negative 
intentions."  He added that this could include Protestants 
and other religious groups that had existed in Vietnam 
before 1975. 
 
7. (U) Comment: The promise of recognition of new religious 
groups is welcome news, although we wait for results before 
assigning any real credit.  It is also clear that much of 
the impact of the ordinance rests on the implementing 
documents.  While they are unlikely to break new ground, the 
documents - and the extent to which they are disseminated - 
may potentially set the tone for new respect for religious 
believers, or for a continuation of the status quo.  End 
comment. 
BURGHARDT