US embassy cable - 05HOCHIMINHCITY238

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000238 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, SOCI, PREL, PGOV, PREL, KIRF, VM, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: INITIAL ANALYSIS OF GVN'S IMPLEMENTING DECREE ON RELIGION 
 
REF:  A) HANOI 580; B) HANOI 392; C) HCMC 191 and previous 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  The Implementing Decree for the Ordinance on 
Religion and Belief offers a number of significant advances, 
primarily in creating clear procedures for non-recognized 
religious groups to apply to legalize their operations.  It lays 
out specific deadlines for officials to provide a response to 
religious groups' applications.  It also creates a legal process 
for registered organizations to apply for full recognition to gain 
added rights.  The Decree also appears to open the door for the 
GVN-recognized Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam to 
regularize the status of its house churches in the Central 
Highlands.  The Decree relaxes slightly government control over 
religious organizations' personnel decisions.  A number of 
provisions were altered from a draft of the Decree, which was 
circulated in October 2004.  Thisappears to reflect GVN efforts to 
address the concerns of leaders of the house church movement. 
 
2. (SBU) While potentially creating more space for religious 
freedom in Vietnam, the Decree retains tight GVN control and 
oversight over religious practice.  The Decree does not provide 
for the return of expropriated property and leaves most critical 
decisions governing religion in the hands of local authorities, 
who sometimes have taken a much tougher approach towards religious 
freedom than the Central Government appears to advocate.  This 
cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi and reflects the 
Mission's views of the Implementing Decree.  End Summary. 
 
The Positives 
------------- 
 
3. (SBU) The Implementing Decree for the Ordinance on Religion 
explicitly forbids forced renunciation of faith in the strongest 
language yet.  It lays out clear procedures for non-recognized 
religious organizations, particularly house churches, to register 
and regularize their operations under Vietnamese law.  There is no 
apparent restriction on the minimum size of a congregation, 
structures that can be designated as place of worship and the 
number of churches that an organization can register.  In the 
opinion of an HCMC legal expert with whom ConGenOffs spoke on 
March 9, the language in the Decree does not appear to bar 
individuals with prior criminal records or administrative 
detention orders against them from being designated as the leaders 
of an organization that wishes to register.  (Comment:  This would 
appear to address a significant house church movement concern, as 
many of its leaders have either been imprisoned or placed under 
house arrest.  End Comment.)  The Ordinance itself states that 
individuals currently under administrative probation orders are 
not allowed to lead religious services, however. 
 
4. (SBU) Once registered, a church is allowed to organize and hold 
services and teach and proselytize in its registered locations.  A 
registered church also can elect leaders, conduct religious 
training for believers, repair and upgrade its religious 
facilities and conduct charitable activities.  (Once registered, 
churches can petition for GVN recognition, see paragraph 6.)  All 
churches, both registered and recognized, must register their 
regular activities once a year with local authorities.  (Local 
authorities have the right to reject a church's activity plan, but 
must explain the reason in writing.)  Other provisions allow 
congregations to hold religious services and celebrate religious 
festivals in locations other than registered churches, with prior 
notification and local government approval.  This would appear to 
address another concern of the house church leaders that they have 
been unable to rent halls or restaurants to celebrate major 
holidays or to accommodate a larger-than-normal number of 
worshipers.  The Decree also appears to allow Protestant house 
church associations, such as the Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship 
(VEF), to register and continue their church-support activities. 
 
5. (SBU) The Implementing Decree also appears to allow the 
Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) to register its 
churches in the Central Highlands province by province, instead of 
the current practice of applying for provincial recognition of 
individual churches.  This appears to put the practice of 
recognition of SECV churches in the Central Highlands on the same 
footing as in the rest of southern Vietnam. 
 
6. (SBU) The Decree lays out the process for a registered 
organization to petition for full GVN recognition, which, inter 
alia, is needed to open seminaries, build new churches and appoint 
and transfer clergy.  An organization must have 20 years of 
"stable operation" after registration before it can apply for 
recognition.  However, the decree allows the Committee for 
Religious Affairs (CRA) to count an organization's years of 
"underground" operation toward the 20-year requirement.  This 
appears to benefit many house church organizations, which have 
been active in Vietnam for over a decade. 
 
GVN Control over Religion Better Defined but Firm 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
7. (SBU) The Implementing Decree reaffirms government control over 
religious life in Vietnam; local or central authorities must 
either approve proposed church actions or have veto power over 
church decisions.  More positively, the Decree clarifies and 
codifies strict time limitations for local, provincial and central 
authorities to respond to petitions from religious organizations. 
If a petition is rejected, the responsible authority must outline 
the reasons for its decision in writing.  However, the Decree does 
not provide for an appeal mechanism.  (Note:  CRA Chairman Ngo Yen 
Thi told visiting Ambassador at Large for International Religious 
Freedom John Hanford March 4 that, although the Decree has no 
appeal mechanism, Vietnamese law has general appeal procedures 
that religious organizations could use, if necessary.  End Note.) 
 
8. (SBU) Central and provincial authorities retain veto power over 
the appointment of religious officials.  The Decree does appear to 
allow a religious organization to make independent decisions on 
the intake of new seminarians.  While not specifically prohibiting 
religious workers with "criminal" records such as Father Nguyen 
Van Ly to be reassigned, the Decree specifies that provincial 
authorities must approve any such transfer. 
 
International Cooperation, Expropriation 
---------------------------------------- 
 
9. (SBU) The Decree codifies government control over local 
religious groups' cooperation with international counterparts as 
well as the overseas travel of members of religious organizations. 
According to the Decree, international travel and cooperation are 
regulated through and must be approved by the central-level CRA. 
The Decree also makes no provision for the return of expropriated 
property, a demand of both the Catholic Church and the SECV.  In 
contrast, the October 2004 draft of the Implementing Decree 
included provisions for a religious organization to petition for 
the return of expropriated property under some conditions. 
 
Legal Linkages 
-------------- 
 
10. (SBU) The Implementing Decree appears consistent with the 
positive spirit of the Prime Minister's Instruction on 
Protestantism.  However, the Decree does not specifically refer to 
the Prime Minister's Instruction.  Under Vietnamese law, should a 
conflict arise between the PM's Instruction and the Implementation 
Guidelines or the Ordinance on Religion, the Decree and the 
Ordinance would trump.  The new legal framework also does not 
specifically annul the more restrictive Decree 26 on religion from 
1999.  That said, Chairman Thi told Ambassador Hanford that 
"Decree 26 will no longer have a role." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
11. (SBU) Taken together with the Prime Minister's Instruction on 
Protestantism, which encourages local authorities to facilitate 
the operation and registration of house churches, the Implementing 
Decree creates a more positive, objective and transparent legal 
framework for religious groups in Vietnam to operate.  It grants 
unprecedented opportunities -- at least on paper -- for house 
churches to legalize their operations; the Decree also reflects 
the GVN's ongoing consultations with Vietnam's house church 
leaders.  Ultimately, however, it does not weaken significantly 
government control over religious life in Vietnam.    Vietnam's 
new legal framework on religion gives local officials significant 
discretion; that discretion, combined with the lack of a clearly 
defined appeals process, means that local abuses in traditionally 
difficult areas could persist.  Finally, as always, ensuring 
consistent application across Vietnam will be a significant 
challenge for the GVN.  End Comment. 
 
WINNICK