US embassy cable - 05HOCHIMINHCITY786

UNCLAS  HO CHI MINH CITY 000786 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV and DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PGOV, SOCI, VM, RELFREE, HUMANR 
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM:  "WAIT AND SEE" IN TAY NINH PROVINCE 
 
REF:  HCMC 739 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: Religious leaders in Tay Ninh Province stated 
the Ordinance on Religion has made a positive difference in their 
relationship with provincial and local authorities.  While 
generally optimistic, their sentiments were dampened by doubts 
about the effectiveness of the new legal framework and the local 
authorities' ability to manage sensitive issues like the return of 
expropriated land.  Little interaction exists between the 
provincial Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA), local 
authorities, and the religious groups.  All parties were taking a 
"wait and see" approach on the new laws.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Positive but Cautious Religious Leaders 
-------------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) PolOffs traveled to Tay Ninh Province, northwest of Ho Chi 
Minh City, to assess the impact of the Ordinance on Religion and 
the implementing guidelines.  Our interlocutors included a local 
house church leader, the priest of the GVN-recognized Southern 
Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV), the Cao Dai Executive 
Council (Reftel), a Catholic Bishop and provincial leaders. 
 
3. (SBU) Bui Thi Thu Dien (strictly protect) established the 
Assembly of God house church in Go Dau district, Tay Ninh in 1995 
and has approximately 20 followers.  Dien stated that there are 
200 other members who belong to the Assembly of God in the 
province.  Dien and her believers are aware of the Ordinance on 
Religion and its implementing guidelines.  However, she has not 
yet registered her church with the local authorities.  She stated 
that she is waiting for guidance from the national church before 
doing so.  In the past, she had attempted to register the church 
with authorities, but was refused without explanation.  Dien 
believes that the Ordinance has made a difference.  In the past, 
local authorities came to her home during the Christmas season 
every year and asked her not to hold a service.  In December 2004, 
the authorities for the first time did not disturb the service or 
request that it not take place.  She complained, however, that 
there is often police presence outside the church as worshippers 
gather, and that police continue to discourage expansion of the 
church.  Dien said that late last year she had proselytized in two 
communes and had added 30 new members to her church.  Authorities 
visited the new members after the meetings and told them that they 
should not join the Protestant church because the religion is 
"American." 
 
4. (SBU) Dien said that she does not have a relationship with 
local authorities and is not aware of any outreach on behalf of 
the CRA at the local, provincial, or national level.  The local 
authorities have not discussed the Ordinance and its 
implementation with her or the Protestant community. 
 
5. (SBU) The Tay Ninh Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam 
(SECV) was established in 1930 and has 357 members.  Pastor Nguyen 
Van Xoang, the 13th pastor of the church, began his leadership in 
2002 but waited over three years for official recognition.  The 
SECV sent a letter to support his leadership, but the authorities 
delayed their decision for several months before approving him as 
pastor in May 2005. 
 
6. (SBU) Xoang has read the Ordinance and its guidelines, which 
were given to him by the national SECV.  He expressed skepticism 
about the Ordinance, stating it is "good in principle, but the 
problems will be with implementation and enforcement on the local 
level."  He affirmed that the CRA is supportive of the SECV, 
though he did qualify his statement, saying, "it was bad before, 
it is better now."  The SECV membership is no longer harassed and 
the church now registers its annual activities with no difficulty. 
The SECV has sought permission to construct a branch church in Gia 
Binh Commune, Trang Bang District.  Xoang believes the church will 
not encounter any impediment there.  He does have concerns, 
however, about the status of his main church in Tay Ninh.  The 
current church has been on the existing property for over 60 
years, but the GVN has plans to expand a road that will require 
the church to be torn down.  Adjacent land was donated by an 
adherent for a new church, but registration lags because of 
"bureaucratic problems."  Xoang said the provincial authorities 
require the donor to sell land to the GVN, and the GVN will then 
give it to the Church.  When PolOff asked the Tay Ninh CRA about 
the land issues of the SECV, the CRA director said the land law 
prohibits direct transfer of land use rights by an individual to 
an organization. 
 
7. (SBU) Father Tran Dinh Tu (strictly protect) in 1999 became the 
Bishop of the 40-year-old Binh Duong Catholic Diocese, which 
includes the provinces of Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc and the 
Cu Chi district of HCMC.  The diocese has approximately 118,000 
parishioners in 67 parishes served by 118 priests.  Bishop Tu 
describes the relationship between the Church and the CRA as "a 
good one."  According to the Bishop, the Ordinance on Religion has 
affected positively his relationship with authorities.  He said 
the Church no longer needs permission from the GVN to ordain 
 
priests, although they must notify the authorities of the 
ceremony.  He also stated that the authorities are more lenient 
with regard to overseas travel.  In the past, if members of the 
diocese wanted to travel abroad for religious reasons, they needed 
permission from the authorities and after their return, they would 
be questioned.  Now, the authorities facilitate the travel and no 
longer invite returning members in for questioning.  Additionally, 
in Binh Duong, the diocese was given permission in June to rebuild 
a church destroyed during the war. 
 
8. (SBU) The Bishop did complain about expropriated property and 
the difficulty of expanding activities in the diocese.  Prior to 
1975, the Church operated two schools, one of them for the mute 
and deaf, and a leprosy center.  After unification, the properties 
were taken by the GVN and are currently managed by the local 
People's Committee.  The Bishop would like the properties 
returned.  In addition, he wants other property that is adjacent 
to the church returned in order to build another school, although 
he acknowledged, "I would like to, but I do not think they will 
allow it."  At present, the Catholic Church in Tay Ninh has only 
kindergarten classes and has been prohibited from educating higher 
grades. 
 
9. (SBU) The diocese would like to build new churches in rural 
areas and has submitted proposals; however, the CRA has been slow 
to respond.  For example, six years ago the diocese submitted an 
application to build a church in a rural area for approximately 
500 parishioners.  Tu recently renewed the request, but it was 
provisionally denied unless the church is located next to the 
People's Committee Building.  The Church does not want to make 
this concession because the GVN building is far away from the 
community.  Until more churches can be built in rural areas, the 
diocese wishes to send priests to conduct open air mass.  The 
priests have not been granted the right to travel because, 
according to the Bishop, the local authorities say there is no 
church building in the various districts in which they could hold 
mass.  Moreover, the number of parishioners was deemed small by 
the communal People's Committee, and thus not entitled to their 
own church. 
 
Government Officials Disorganized but Willing 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
10. (SBU) When PolOffs arrived at the Assembly of God house 
church, Dien reported members of the Fatherland Front were already 
inside and wished to sit in on the meeting.  The chief of the 
district Fatherland Front, Pham Van Tuat, explained that they were 
interested in learning more about the house church and were going 
to be passive participants.  However, the Fatherland Front allowed 
us a private meeting with Dien.  In a separate discussion after 
the house church meeting, Tuat asked PolOffs about basic practices 
of this religion worldwide, as well as reasons for the local 
members use of a home as opposed to a dedicated church building. 
Tuat said he believed the Ordinance requires a separate place of 
worship.  He admitted, however, he was not well versed on the 
Ordinance or the implementing guidelines and was "waiting on the 
provincial authorities" for guidance. 
 
11. (SBU) After declining our original request for a meeting, 
provincial authorities requested an impromptu discussion given our 
presence in the province conducting private meetings.  Vice 
Chairman of the External Relations Office (ERO) Le Van Dong and 
Vice Chairman of the Provincial CRA Trang Van Hai briefed PolOffs 
on religious outreach programs.  Hai claimed to have educated 
local authorities on the Ordinance, but admitted he had not yet 
discussed it with local clergy.  According to Hai, provincial 
custom is to discuss any new regulations with local authorities 
and then educate the beneficiaries of the law.  When asked about 
the district Fatherland Front's assertion that they had received 
no direction from the province, Dong said that it amounted to 
nothing more than a "scheduling conflict" for that particular 
group.  Demonstrating the success of the implementing guidelines 
locally, Hai pointed to newly registered churches and the fact 
that the Cao Dai have registered their annual activities. 
However, there are no house church registrations because, 
according to Hai, the churches are "small."  He also admitted that 
the CRA was waiting for central GVN guidance and for local 
churches to approach them, rather than reaching out to house 
churches proactively. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
12. (SBU) Four months after the promulgation of the implementing 
guidelines, changes from the new law have not yet occurred at the 
village level, where most problems occur.  While authorities wait 
for guidance, so do the house churches and other religious 
communities.  Officials still do not effectively use the new 
framework to cultivate relationships with official and unofficial 
religious leaders, and vice versa.  It seems that each side is 
waiting for the other to make the first move.  We did not 
encounter serious animosity between authorities and religious 
 
groups, however.  If passivity can be overcome, progress in 
expanding religious freedom in Tay Ninh is possible. 
 
CHERN 
 
 
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