HO CHI MINH CITY, Viet Nam, November 15, 2002 — Reports have been pouring out of Vietnam about a recent wave of government repression against Montagnard evangelicals in Vietnam's Central Highlands.
Documents acquired in October by religious and human rights workers in this Southeast Asian country and correspondence received in recent days confirm that by the end of September, 354 of 412 churches had been forcibly disbanded in Dak Lak province alone. By mid October, about 50 Christian pastors and elders in this province had been arrested or had "disappeared."
It is expected that the remaining 58 churches in the province will soon be closed.
On November 7, Freedom House released news of the ongoing persecution of Hmong Christians in Vietnam's northwest provinces, including the story and photo of a 36-year-old Hmong Christian man who had died from beatings by police and officials because he was a believer. Also, Vietnam's normally cautious Roman Catholic Conference of Bishops has recently released a letter decrying the persecution of Catholic Montagnards.
| Fact Box: Viet Nam |
Population:
81,098,416 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.6% (male 13,259,152; female 12,392,089)
15-64 years: 62.9% (male 24,938,098; female 26,083,681)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 1,749,531; female 2,675,865) (2002 est.)
Ethnic groups:
Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups
Religions:
Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim
Languages:
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Literacy:
Definition: Age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7%
male: 96.5%
female: 91.2% (1995 est.) |
|
- Source: CIA World Fact Book
|
Reports from the affected churches reveal a pattern. Beginning in late summer, leaders of the predominantly Ede minority churches were summoned by local authorities, told their churches were illegal and ordered to disband their church organizations. Many were threatened with dire consequences if they did not comply.
In addition, church leaders were specifically prohibited from any further religious activity outside their own homes with their own families. All communal activities of the churches -- worship, teaching, prayer for the sick, observing holy days, administering sacraments, performing baptisms, weddings, and funerals -- were forbidden. Leaders were forced to sign statements of compliance.
Montagnard churches -- "Montagnard" means "mountain people" and is a collective name for Vietnam's many minority tribal groups inhabiting the Central Highlands -- were historically part of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South). Last year, 26 years after the country was reunified under communism, the ECVN(S) was granted legal recognition. However, only a handful of the many hundreds of Montagnard churches were allowed to identify with the ECVN(S).
Although there were frequent problems and many restrictions, government authorities had reluctantly tolerated the existence of Montagnard churches for nearly 20 years, until February 2001. At that time, several thousand Montagnards surprised local authorities by demonstrating against the illegal loss of their lands to ethnic Vietnamese settlers and against the lack of religious freedom.
Waves of heavy-handed crackdowns followed, along with brutal campaigns to force Christians to sign documents agreeing to give up their faith. Many fled into the forest or to Cambodia.
This latest move against churches in Dak Lak is the most severe persecution since 1975, when churches were closed and church leaders put in re-education camps for years.
Source: Compass Direct
|
