US embassy cable - 05HANOI570

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000570 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PREL, PGOV, VM, RELFREE, HUMANR, ETMIN 
SUBJECT: IRF Ambassador at Large Hanford's March 4 Meeting 
with Committee on Religious Affairs Chairman Thi 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  During a nearly three-hour meeting March 
4, Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) Chairman Ngo Yen Thi 
told visiting Ambassador at Large for International 
Religious Affairs John V. Hanford that the situation for 
religious freedom in Vietnam has never been better, with the 
recent Prime Minister's Instruction on Protestantism and the 
upcoming implementing regulations for the Ordinance on 
Religion creating a new and more open atmosphere. 
Ambassador Hanford acknowledged the many positive changes 
that have taken place and stressed his desire to find a way 
to address the concerns that had led to Vietnam's 
designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for 
religious freedom violations. 
 
2. (SBU) Summary, cont'd:  On legal and regulatory changes 
made possible by the new Instruction and implementing 
regulations, Chairman Thi said that Decree 26 would no 
longer be valid.  For the most part, religious groups would 
not have to seek permission from authorities for their 
activities but rather inform.  The CRA would have the 
responsibility to monitor the performance of local 
authorities in dealing with religious matters and make 
"timely interventions" when necessary.  CRA Chairman Thi 
stressed that local authorities will have increased 
responsibilities to be aware of the religious situation in 
their area and play a greater role in facilitating religious 
life.  End Summary. 
 
3. (SBU) Ambassador at Large for International Religious 
Freedom John V. Hanford met March 4 for nearly three hours 
with GVN Committee on Religious Affairs Chairman Thi.  The 
Ambassador, DRL/IRF officer Matthew Schmolesky, Pol/C and 
Poloff also attended.  Chairman Thi opened by noting that, 
in the area of religious freedom, Vietnam has made much 
progress recently.  For example, the 2004 Ordinance on 
Religion and the Prime Minister's recent Instruction on 
Protestantism will ensure that those who want to practice 
religion will be able to do so, will prohibit forced 
renunciations and will punish those who violate this 
proscription and will simplify the processes for registering 
religious groups.  (Note:  The long-awaited implementing 
decree for the Ordinance was made available to us March 7, 
and we will transmit it septel.  End note.)  The GVN will 
also facilitate the opening of schools for "religious 
officials," Chairman Thi said. 
 
4. (SBU) The Prime Minister's Instruction has important 
provisions for Protestants in the Central Highlands, 
including language prohibiting forcing people either to 
renounce or follow a certain faith, Chairman Thi continued. 
The GVN will also recognize Protestant congregations in the 
Central Highlands and work to ensure that they have their 
own places of worship.  In 2005, "the situation should 
improve greatly," Chairman Thi observed.  In places where it 
is not yet possible to build churches, the GVN will identify 
places for people to worship.  "Protestants in the Central 
Highlands are very happy with the Prime Minister's 
Instruction," he noted. 
 
5. (SBU) Continuing, Chairman Thi said that, on the occasion 
of the February Tet amnesty, the GVN had released a number 
of people "detained for breaking the law."  The GVN is also 
trying to help Protestant congregations in the Central 
Highlands and the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam 
(SECV) to organize training courses in theology, the 
Chairman said. 
 
6. (SBU) Thanking Chairman Thi for his remarks, Ambassador 
Hanford agreed that significant progress has been made. 
According to our Vietnamese religious contacts, religious 
leaders in Vietnam have been encouraged by Vietnam's new 
policy direction.  Ambassador Hanford described for Chairman 
Thi the reasons behind his visit to Vietnam, in particular 
his hope that an agreement could be reached that would 
obviate the need for other CPC-related action, as required 
under U.S. law.  He also expressed his desire to work with 
the GVN to find a way to address some of our concerns about 
the state of religious freedom in Vietnam, particularly 
those concerns that led to Vietnam's designation as a 
Country of Particular Concern (CPC). 
 
7. (SBU) Chairman Thi described the CRA's "functions and 
responsibilities" as carrying out the policies and 
guidelines of the GVN in the area of religion, and that 
Vietnam's policy is to respect religious freedom and allow 
people to either follow or not follow a particular religious 
belief.  In short, the CRA has the responsibility of 
ensuring the "normal religious life" of the people. 
Religious groups consider the CRA to be a "member of the 
family" and frequently approach the Committee to discuss 
issues of concern.  Turing to the purpose of Ambassador 
Hanford's visit to Vietnam, Chairman Thi noted that this is 
a "very delicate issue" that, if not treated sensitively, 
could cause international public opinion to think that the 
United States has exerted pressure on Vietnam.  Vietnam 
cannot provide its commitment to ensure the religious life 
of Vietnamese believers because this is a natural and 
essential responsibility of the State.  That said, the CRA 
appreciates the chance to exchange thoughts with Ambassador 
Hanford and others, and there is no obstacle to continuing 
to do this, Chairman Thi said. 
8. (SBU) Remarking on Chairman Thi's comment that religious 
groups consider the CRA to be part of the family, Ambassador 
Hanford said that most of the complaints from religious 
leaders and adherents have seemed to be directed towards 
local and provincial authorities, not the CRA.  Ambassador 
Hanford agreed that the issue at hand must be handled 
delicately.  One of our goals is to strengthen bilateral 
relations while creating a better atmosphere for the 
practice of religion in Vietnam.  Hopefully, improvements to 
the state of religious freedom in Vietnam will lead to a 
good atmosphere for the Prime Minister's hoped for visit to 
the United States this summer.  Religious freedom is a key 
issue for the American people and the President, and we hope 
to eliminate this matter as a source of tension between the 
United States and Vietnam, Ambassador Hanford said. 
Chairman Thi thanked Ambassador Hanford for his efforts and 
urged him to discuss the practical aspects of this matter 
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
 
9. (SBU) Turning to specific issues contained in the recent 
Prime Minister's Instruction and Ordinance on Religion, 
Ambassador Hanford asked if the new Instruction or the 
Ordinance trumped Decree 26 (which deals broadly with 
religious issues).  Chairman Thi responded that Decree 26, 
released in 1999, contains "certain provisions not 
appropriate to current practice."  The Ordinance therefore 
supersedes Decree 26 and "any inappropriate use of it."  In 
short, "Decree 26 has no more role," Chairman Thi said. 
 
10. (SBU) On the subject of religious training in the 
Central and Northwest Highlands, Ambassador Hanford noted 
that Protestant leaders have expressed concern about the 
efforts of certain other groups to try to "hijack" religion 
with teachings not in conformity with SECV or Evangelical 
Church of Vietnam: North (ECVN) teachings or doctrine.  The 
SECV and ECVN leadership thus believes that increased 
teaching and training opportunities would help eliminate 
these problems.  Similarly, training of local officials 
about the requirements of the new Instruction and other 
regulations will be essential.  On the Prime Minister's 
Instruction, it was helpful to read that the "chicken-and- 
the-egg" problem of churches' not being able to register 
without property, but not being able to own property without 
being registered has been addressed, Ambassador Hanford 
said. 
 
11. (SBU) Chairman Thi noted that, in addition to providing 
guidance, the Central Government will also require 
localities to have concrete implementation plans in place 
for the Prime Minister's Instruction.  The CRA intends to 
monitor and assess the performance of localities, Chairman 
Thi said.  Ambassador Hanford noted that the desire of house 
church groups to register means that they desire to be legal 
and above ground, and the Prime Minister's Instruction's 
provisions on registration can eliminate problems for many 
religious groups that have to date been outside the law. 
Another important provision of the Prime Minister's 
Instruction is the language indicating that religious groups 
will not have to seek permission but merely inform about 
certain activities.  Ambassador Hanford expressed his hope 
that the Ordinance on Religion's procedures for registering 
churches are streamlined and achievable.  It would be 
especially significant if these procedures have a particular 
timetable for local officials to respond to registration 
requests, Ambassador Hanford said. 
 
12. (SBU) Based on the Ordinance on Religion's implementing 
decree, depending on the type of activity, religious groups 
will have to contact the authorities in one of three ways, 
Chairman Thi explained:  1) Notify the local authorities but 
not have to seek permission; 2) Register activities; 3) or, 
Register and wait for the local authorities to respond, 
within a specified time limit for both local and Central 
Government authorities.  The GVN wants to apply this three- 
level model as part of a broader administrative reform 
effort, in addition to seeking to facilitate the nation's 
religious life.  The GVN's position is that local officials 
should not abuse their discretion, and, to that end, the CRA 
is currently trying to set up an inspection team to carry 
out checks at the local level and make "timely 
interventions" when necessary, Chairman Thi explained. 
 
13. (SBU) In response to Ambassador Hanford's question about 
religious groups' right to appeal a locality's rejection of 
a particular request, Chairman Thi said that Vietnamese law 
has a separate right of appeal.  That said, the CRA's 
"inspection section" would deal directly with local 
authorities on written requests for appeals.  Responding to 
Ambassador Hanford's request for clarification on the 
question of the re-registration requirement - and the 
possibility that local authorities would abuse this 
requirement to keep religious groups "in line" - Chairman 
Thi said that, in fact, there is no re-registration 
requirement.  There is a requirement, however, for religious 
groups to file annual reports about their activities to 
local authorities. 
 
14. (SBU) Ambassador Hanford expressed his hope that some of 
the positive provisions in the Prime Minister's Instruction 
on Protestantism would be extended to other religious 
groups.  For example, we are aware that Hoa Hao and Cao Dai 
faithful hope to take advantage of the new atmosphere of 
religious freedom.  Catholics also would like to increase 
their seminary capacity.  Furthermore, perhaps this new 
atmosphere could allow for the GVN to resume its dialogue 
with the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV).  GVN 
permission for UBCV leaders to move freely and meet with 
friends and fellow believers would be a welcome step 
forward, Ambassador Hanford said. 
 
15. (SBU) In response to a question from Ambassador Marine, 
Chairman Thi said that the implementation regulations for 
the Ordinance on Religion would be released in March (Note: 
The official release date was March 1; we received a copy 
COB March 7.  End note.)  In response to Ambassador Marine's 
request for further clarification of the issue of contact 
between the Central Government and local authorities on 
religious matters, Chairman Thi said that the GVN will 
require local authorities to carry out a survey to determine 
the "picture" of religious activity in their area.  For 
congregations already recognized by the ECVN, the 
authorities will have to make sure that the pastor has been 
trained by the ECVN and that everything is squared away in 
terms of land and property.  For those congregations not 
meeting the ECVN's requirements for recognition, the local 
authorities are required to help them to establish 
themselves to practice their religion.  The CRA will provide 
instructions to local authorities to that effect, Chairman 
Thi said. 
 
16. (SBU) Chairman Thi also noted that it will be possible 
for groups without an established church property to 
register, with someone's home becoming the registered place 
of worship.  Chairman Thi concluded by stressing that there 
will likely be problems that arise in spite of the new 
regulations and Instruction.  These documents will 
hopefully, however, form the basis for further improvements. 
There will also likely be issues that come up that are not 
dealt with in the regulations, and the GVN will have to 
direct its attention to these matters, the Chairman said. 
 
17. (U) Ambassador Hanford cleared this message. 
 
MARINE