US embassy cable - 04HANOI3218

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 003218 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PREL, PGOV, VM, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: DAS DUGAN MEETS WITH PARTY, PRACTITIONERS ON 
RELIGION 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: During November 23 meetings in Hanoi, a 
Communist Party official told DRL DAS Elizabeth Dugan that 
the Party upholds freedom of religion in Vietnam and 
stressed that the country's thriving religious life is proof 
of this.  However, the official said that Protestantism has 
been very disruptive in some parts of Vietnam, causing local 
officials to be prejudiced against it.  A leader of the 
officially recognized Buddhist denomination claimed that 
Vietnam has complete religious freedom, something foreigners 
"do not understand."  A Catholic bishop was less positive, 
documenting the imbalances in permitted activities between 
northern and southern Vietnam and expressing disappointment 
at the new Ordinance on Religion.  End Summary. 
 
Party Remains Suspicious of Protestants 
--------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) Trinh Xuan Gioi, Vice Chairman of the Mass 
Mobilization Commission of the Communist Party, began his 
November 23 meeting with DAS Dugan by explaining the role 
and activities of the Commission.  As a component of the 
Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Mass 
Mobilization Commission studies ways in which the government 
can enact the guidance of the Party in a manner that reaches 
every citizen.  The Commission focuses on social groups, 
including workers, women, intellectuals, minorities and 
religious organizations.  (Note: The Commission is the body 
through which the Party oversees most social groups.  End 
note.)  Gioi proceeded to a familiar recitation of the ways 
in which freedom of religion is upheld in Vietnam.  Freedom 
of belief was established by a 1955 law on religious affairs 
and recently upheld in a Party resolution.  Responding to 
this resolution, the National Assembly issued the new 
Ordinance on Religion, which further guarantees religious 
freedom.  Today there are six major religions in Vietnam and 
over 21,000 places of worship, including one in almost every 
village.  Despite the nation's poverty, many churches and 
temples have been renovated and religious festivals are 
widely celebrated.  Religious organizations are free to 
organize and meet; for example, the Hoa Hao Buddhist 
organization recently held its second congress in Southern 
Vietnam, Gioi noted. 
 
3. (SBU) Responding to DAS Dugan's question, Gioi said that 
the Party supports the social programs that religious groups 
carry out.  Religious organizations have opened nursery 
schools, churches provide scholarships for students and 
religious workers operate leprosy centers.  The Party and 
Government consider these to be positive actions.  Gioi 
noted that there are some areas in which local authorities 
have not allowed practitioners to build or renovate 
churches, but added that these are unusual instances and 
that the Commission is working to implement more broadly the 
Party's goals. 
 
4. (SBU) Addressing the banned Unified Buddhist Church of 
Vietnam (UBCV), Gioi said that this organization and most of 
its leaders peacefully united with the Vietnam Buddhist 
Sangha (VBS) after unification of the country, and thus 
ceased to exist as an independent body.  Current UBCV 
activists Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do have not 
followed the rest of the UBCV's leadership in joining the 
VBS. 
 
5. (SBU) Turning to Protestantism, Gioi said that the 
preaching of this faith is a "shock" to many people.  Some 
Protestant preachers have said that the aim of their 
religion is to establish independent Dega and Hmong nations. 
As such, local authorities have come to view the religion as 
a "political scheme."  Preachers also pressure and 
intimidate people to join Protestantism, attempt to divide 
families and force adherents to remove their traditional 
home altars.  Especially in mountainous areas, Protestantism 
has led to family divisions and social conflict, and, as a 
result, some local officials have become prejudiced against 
the religion.  Making a historical comparison, Gioi said 
that when Catholicism was introduced to Vietnam during the 
Nguyen dynasty, it was also a "shock," and feudal leaders 
banned the religion and executed many of its followers. 
"This was unacceptable," Gioi admitted.  In southern 
Vietnam, "80 percent of Protestants follow religious life 
normally," Gioi specified, and only a portion the 
Protestants active in the Central Highlands have taken 
advantage of the religion to advance "political goals." 
"Where worship is normal, authorities must recognize 
congregations; however, where there are problems, 
authorities will delay recognition," Gioi said. 
 
6. (SBU) DAS Dugan said that, in the United States, 
religions are considered to be grounded in doctrine and not 
to have political motives.  If religious leaders commit 
improper actions, however, they are dealt with through the 
justice system in a transparent manner.  She added that 
while it is clear that there are a great many practitioners 
and opportunities for worship in Vietnam, the detention of 
individuals for peacefully practicing their faith undermines 
all of Vietnam's efforts to highlight these freedoms to 
foreign observers. 
 
Official Buddhists - Situation Rosy 
----------------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) In a separate meeting November 23, the Venerable 
Thich Thanh Tu, Rector of the Buddhist Academy in Hanoi and 
Vice President of the Executive Council of the Vietnam 
Buddhist Sangha (VBS), told DAS Dugan that, "through peace 
and war, Vietnam's Buddhists have always been united." 
Buddhism has been practiced in Vietnam for 2,000 years and, 
without freedom of religion in the country, this would not 
have been possible.  Ho Chi Minh himself issued an order 
guaranteeing religious freedom.  The new Ordinance on 
Religion reiterates this, and the "people are very happy 
about it."  The Ordinance also serves to clarify provisions 
that uphold this freedom.  It was issued for foreign 
observers who do not understand that freedom of religion 
exists in Vietnam, Thich Thanh Tu claimed. 
 
8. (SBU) DAS Dugan inquired about the relationship between 
the VBS and the UBCV, as well as about the reason why UBCV 
leader Thich Quang Do was stopped from traveling to visit 
Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang.  Thich Thanh Tu said he sees 
the two UBCV leaders as the VBS's "religious partners," and 
added that "there is no division between us."  He said the 
GVN has been "compassionate" towards the two UBCV leaders, 
with Party and Government leaders visiting Thich Huyen Quang 
when he was in the hospital in Hanoi, as well as calling 
upon him in his temple in Binh Dinh Province.  Thich Thanh 
Tu said he had personally visited Thich Huyen Quang in Binh 
Dinh, and, upon hearing that he had recently fallen ill, 
planned to invite him to Hanoi for treatment.  He did not 
know why Thich Quang Do would be blocked from visiting Thich 
Huyen Quang, but suggested that Do's doctors might have 
prevented him from traveling due to his heart condition. 
 
Catholics - More Restrictions in the North 
------------------------------------------ 
 
9. (SBU) Joined by the Ambassador, DAS Dugan began her 
November 23 meeting with Ngo Quang Kiet (protect), Bishop of 
Lang Son Diocese and Apostolic Administrator of the Hanoi 
Diocese, by noting that she had met with Archbishop Man in 
Ho Chi Minh City two days before.  Bishop Kiet said that the 
situation of the Church in northern and southern Vietnam is 
different "in almost every field."  The Diocese of Ho Chi 
Minh City has roughly 500,000 faithful and 500 priests to 
minister to them, while Hanoi has 350,000 believers but only 
60 priests.  The ability to train priests is much greater in 
the south, with each diocese allowed ten to 20 students per 
seminary class, while in the north, only five to ten 
students are allowed.  After complaining to the GVN, the 
Church has been allowed 11 students per diocese in this 
year's Hanoi seminary class.  In every diocese in the south, 
churches run nursery schools, while in the north, this is 
only allowed in Hanoi.  Similarly, in the south the Church 
runs a number of health clinics and organizes doctors to 
provide health care in the countryside, while only one 
Catholic clinic exists in the north.  When DAS Dugan 
inquired about the reason for such inconsistencies, Kiet 
said that "we are confused about this and have complained to 
the Government, but they did not answer us." 
 
10. (SBU) Turning to the new Ordinance on Religion, Bishop 
Kiet said that the document "demonstrates the good will of 
the Government."  He noted that the Government solicited a 
broad range of opinions in the drafting process, but said 
the Church was disappointed that these opinions do not seem 
to be reflected in the final version.  The Ordinance has 
some "new points," but the Church also has many 
reservations, and it is not the "complete renovation" of the 
issue they had hoped for.  Bishop Kiet said that he had not 
had a chance to comment on the draft of the implementing 
regulations of the Ordinance as he had been away when the 
Committee for Religious Affairs held a discussion session in 
Hanoi.  However, the Bishop's Council has requested that the 
regulations provide better definitions of "ambiguous terms" 
such as "registration" and "notification."  The Ambassador 
inquired as to whether the Church could now transfer priests 
from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, which is seemingly allowed 
under the new Ordinance.  Bishop Kiet said they had not 
tried this recently and expressed his belief that the 
Ordinance is intended to allow transfers of priests within 
the same diocese only.  Finally, responding to the 
Ambassador's question, Bishop Kiet said that proselytization 
is not a problem in large cities, but is more difficult in 
mountainous areas. 
 
11. (U) DAS Dugan has cleared this cable. 
MARINE