US embassy cable - 04HOCHIMINHCITY1308

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 001308 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, CASC, SOCI, PREL, PGOV, KIRF, VM, ETMIN, Human Rights, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: AMCIT PASTOR AND 17 HMONG DETAINED IN RELIGIOUS TRAINING 
CLASS IN HCMC 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  HCMC authorities on October 11 detained two 
Protestant pastors, one of whom was an American citizen, and 17 
ethnic Hmong Protestant deacons from Northern Vietnam attending a 
Bible training class at a private house in HCMC.  Police told the 
participants their meeting was illegal.  The pastors were released 
the same day, though the AmCit was ordered to leave Vietnam by 
October 15 and informed that Vietnamese law prohibited him from 
teaching religion in Vietnam.  The Hmong deacons were held 
overnight and then sent home to the northwestern provinces of 
Vietnam.  ConGen DPO raised the case with an unapologetic Acting 
Pol-Econ chief of the HCMC External Relations Office, who observed 
that American citizens need to be aware of the rules governing 
religious practice in Vietnam. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (SBU) Pastor Doan Trung Tin (strictly protect), Director of the 
Vietnam Good News Mission -- a non-recognized Protestant 
evangelical organization -- notified us that, on October 11, 17 
Hmong deacons from northwest Vietnam, a local HCMC pastor and an 
AmCit pastor of Laotian Hmong descent, were detained after the 
police broke up a religious training class in a private house in 
HCMC.  The police also detained the owner of the home.  , Pastor 
Tin said that his organization sponsored the training class, and 
claimed that he had held similar training sessions in HCMC for 
ethnic minorities in the past.    This time, however, the police 
informed the participants that they were detained because the 
meeting was illegal.  The two pastors and the owner of the house 
were released the same day, but the 17 Hmong remained in detention 
overnight before being returned to the Northwest highlands the 
following day. 
 
 
3. (SBU) We met with the AmCit, Pastor Vang on October 13. 
Pastor Vang said That when he arrived at the private home on the 
morning of October 11, the police were already present.  He said 
he was held at a police station until 7:00 p.m. and charged with 
failing to provide proper identification upon request -- his hotel 
retained his passport per standard practice in Vietnam -- and for 
engaging in activities inconsistent with his visa and his stated 
purpose of entry.  Pastor Vang was ordered to report to the 
immigration police the following day.  After nine hours in 
immigration police custody, Vang was ultimately charged with 
failing to provide proper identification, fined 500,000 Dong (USD 
30), and told to leave Vietnam by October 15.  Immigration police 
also confiscated his religious materials, camcorder and computer 
disks.  According to Van, the immigration police informed him that 
it was against the law for a foreign missionary to teach religion 
in Vietnam. 
 
4. (SBU) Pastor Vang said that this was his first trip to Vietnam. 
He told us that he had heard of training classes being organized 
for Hmong Protestants, and thought he could be of assistance 
because he is Hmong.  Pastor Vang said that, prior to his travel, 
he had contacted the Vietnamese Embassy in the U.S. to inquire 
about religious issues in Vietnam, but was referred to the 
Vietnamese Embassy website.  According to the pastor, the material 
there indicated that Vietnam allows religious freedom and freedom 
of assembly, with one document urging pastors to come to Vietnam 
themselves to witness the situation.  Pastor Vang indicated to us 
that he was not handcuffed or mistreated while in custody, but he 
was visibly shaken by his detention.  He asked several times if 
there was a higher Vietnamese authority that he could complain to 
about the incident involving the 17 Hmong.  We recommended that he 
maintain a low profile for the remainder of his stay in Vietnam. 
 
5. (SBU) DPO raised the detention of Pastor Vang and the 17 Hmong 
Vietnamese with Pham An, Acting Chief of the PolEcon unit of the 
HCMC External Relations Office on October 13.  Noting the release 
of Pastor Vang, the DPO indicated that we trusted the Vietnamese 
authorities would continue to treat him in a professional manner. 
The DPO stressed that the situation of the 17 Hmong also was of 
concern and said we would appreciate an update on their status. 
The DPO stressed that it is important for local and national 
authorities to treat the 17 Hmong with care so as not to have 
their case spillover onto the broader debate of freedom of 
religion in Vietnam and its recent designation as a Country of 
Particular Concern (CPC). 
 
6. (SBU) An observed that 17 Hmong meeting in a private residence 
in HCMC would "hardly be invisible" to local authorities.  He 
suggested that the organizers had not sought permission to 
assemble and were intentionally creating a a provocation to 
trigger a GVN reaction that would in turn lead to an international 
outcry.  In general, Hmong issues were very sensitive, but 
particularly after CPC designation, all Vietnamese officials were 
"on alert," An added. .  An urged that Americans better understand 
procedures that need to be followed for religious training and all 
gatherings in Vietnam. 
 
7. (SBU) COMMENT:  The Hmong incident is a reminder that even in 
relatively cosmopolitan HCMC, it is still all too easy for 
unauthorized religious groups -- particularly outsiders --to run 
afoul of local authorities and Vietnam's strict constraints on 
freedom of assembly.  One silver lining is that our local 
colleagues understand that they are being watched closely on how 
they treat religious groups, recognized or not.  In that regard An 
assured us that none of the 17 Hmong will be "detained 
whatsoever."  Pastor Tin told us on October 18 that he had 
confirmation that at least one of the Hmong deacons had returned 
home, and he believed that the rest also had returned and were not 
facing retribution from local authorities. 
END COMMENT. 
 
WINNICK