US embassy cable - 03HANOI551

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000551 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PINS, SOCI, VM, ETMIN, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT:  Reported attempts at forced renunciation of faith 
 
Ref:  Hanoi 0349 
 
1.  (SBU)  A reliable contact within the Evangelical Church 
of Vietnam - North (ECVN) provided Embassy with copies of 13 
handwritten letters from Hmong Protestants in the Northwest 
Highlands province of Lao Cai, detailing harassment by local 
authorities and attempts at forced renunciation of faith. 
All letters were apparently written in mid-February; many 
indicate that pressures were especially notable in October 
and November 2002.   The letters uniformly request help from 
the UN, the ECVN, and the world protestant council (sic) to 
"resolve" their problems.  Many letters note that, although 
their churches had been recognized by the ECVN, the 
government refused to accept this affiliation.  Several 
letters reported authorities confiscating Bibles, hymnbooks, 
and even tables and chairs.  (Septel will report on poloff's 
February visit to Lao Cai, which unfortunately preceded our 
receipt of these reports.  When poloff asked about similar 
problems other Lao Cai Protestants had earlier reported, 
provincial authorities denied the existence of Protestants 
in their jurisdiction.) 
 
2.  (U)  The letters come from individuals in several 
villages in four of Lao Cai's nine districts: Bao Thang, Bao 
Yen, Van Ban, and Bac Ha.  One Protestant from Thai Nien 
commune in Bao Thang district claimed a 100-person 
"delegation to forbid faith" composed of commune, district, 
and provincial officials had arrived in the commune on 
October 6, 2002, while another smaller group came on October 
10.  They told people not to pray and claimed that following 
Protestantism was really "following America," since 
"America" was spreading this faith to undermine the 
Vietnamese Government.  They reportedly claimed that Vietnam 
"forbids" Protestantism.  In another village in the same 
commune, a "working delegation" also arrived on October 6 
and broke up a prayer meeting.  Another delegation came on 
October 13 and tried -- unsuccessfully -- to "force" people 
to sign statements renouncing Protestantism.  In yet another 
village in this commune, officials from an "office to 
prohibit faith" arrived on October 13, 2002 to forbid 
communal prayer, and have come regularly on weekends since 
then to make sure no one was praying.  They reportedly 
threatened that those whose houses are used for communal 
prayer might be arrested or kept under house arrest. 
 
3.  (U)  Protestants in Dien Quan commune of Bao Yen 
district wrote that "party and government cadres" had 
claimed that anyone who doesn't renounce their faith "must 
leave Vietnam" and had claimed that Protestantism was from 
the U.S. and so people who refuse to renounce should go to 
live there.  Officials came on at least two occasions in May 
2002 to urge people to renounce their faith, but residents 
refused.  Residents in a different village in the same 
commune wrote that some people were pressured in detention 
to sign renunciations but nonetheless maintain their faith. 
Officials told them that not only were Protestants 
"following America" but were also "reactionaries." 
 
4.  (U)  Another letter from Son Thuy commune in Van Ban 
district reported unsuccessful efforts by local authorities 
in November 2002 to forced people to sign renunciations, to 
stop communal prayers, and to detain certain believers.  In 
a different village in this commune, officials from the 
"delegation to prohibit faith" tried on October 28 and 
November 1 to get people to sign renunciations of faith, but 
without success. 
 
5.  (U)  Protestant Hmongs in Bao Nhai commune of Bac Ha 
district reported that authorities had organized meetings 
"many times" to stress that Protestantism is an "illegal 
religion" that "follows America" and sometimes order 
believers to report to the police chief.  They noted that 
they refuse to go. 
 
6.  (SBU)  Comment:  These reports make clear that at least 
some local authorities in ethnic minority areas are 
attempting -- usually without great success -- to suppress 
the spread of Protestantism, and often incorrectly asserting 
that this faith is illegal in Vietnam.  Especially worrisome 
are the allegations of formal committees or offices set up 
for such a campaign, at least in Lao Cai province.  As noted 
in reftel, however, other Vietnamese Protestant leaders have 
denied that there is any widespread campaign to force 
renunciation of the Protestant faith.  It is also striking 
that these letter writers usually indicate that they refused 
blandishments -- in some cases, cash offers -- and threats 
to induce them to renounce their faith.  Virtually all the 
letter writers also noted that they only became Protestants 
in 1989 or 1990, which underscores the perception on the 
part of many Vietnamese officials that Protestantism is 
somehow "non-Vietnamese."  The frequent references to 
"following America" reflect the unfortunate belief by local 
officials that attempts by US-based evangelical individuals 
or groups to convert ethnic minorities are somehow part of a 
US "plot" against Vietnam.  While Embassy does not have any 
firm evidence of a systematic campaign against Protestants, 
even in ethnic areas, these reports are disturbing.  Embassy 
will continue to raise this issue with local, provincial, 
and national officials and urge greater respect for freedom 
of religion throughout Vietnam and among all faiths. 
BURGHARDT