VZCZCXRO4558
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0638/01 0790752
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200752Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1163
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0728
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 HANOI 000638 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM VM
SUBJECT: GVN REPORT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 
 
REF:  HANOI 582 
 
HANOI 00000638  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) On March 10, the GVN's Committee on Religious 
Affairs (CRA) sent the Ambassador a report on religious 
conditions in Vietnam in 2005 (unofficial translation in 
paragraph 4).  The first part of the report lists Vietnam's 
achievements in promoting religious freedom in 2005, and the 
second part focuses on developments for Protestants across 
different regions.  The report recognizes that Vietnam's 
record is not perfect, but ultimately concludes that, one 
year after the promulgation of the Ordinance on Religion and 
the Prime Minister's Instruction on Protestantism, Vietnam's 
religious conditions are better than ever. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Comment:  While we agree that conditions for 
religious believers in Vietnam have significantly improved 
over the past twelve months, the CRA report is more 
interesting for what it omits rather than what it reports. 
While making clear that much work remains to be done in the 
Northwest Highlands, the report avoids comment on the CRA's 
notable failure to induce local authorities there to follow 
the GVN's religious policies, particularly as they pertain 
to the registration of EVCN sub-congregations.  It also 
glosses over a number of unresolved problems in the Central 
Highlands and elsewhere in southern and central Vietnam, 
including the continuing closure of some SECV "meeting 
points," local-level harassment of house churches and a slow 
and uneven process of registration and recognition of church 
organizations, particularly those affiliated with ethnic 
minority groups. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Comment, cont'd:  The report also does not indicate 
whether any local officials were reprimanded or punished for 
violating the rights of religious believers.  Furthermore, 
it does not address continuing tensions in the Hoa Hao 
community, the banning of the Unified Buddhist Church of 
Vietnam (UBCV) or the long-pending request of the Catholic 
Church to open another seminary in Dong Nai Province. 
(Note:  These last three issues were not part of the May 
2005 exchange of letters.  End Note.)  According to the CRA, 
this report is meant to be the province-by-province 
breakdown of achievements in religious freedom that the CRA 
promised to provide to Ambassador Hanford during his recent 
visit (reftel), but does not meet that requirement. 
Nevertheless, the fact that the CRA provided us with this 
report shows an effort on their part to be responsive to our 
religious freedom concerns.  End comment. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Begin unofficial translation of text: 
 
TITLE: Religious Situation in Vietnam after One Year of 
Implementation of the Ordinance on Religion and Belief and 
the Prime Minister's Instruction on Protestantism. 
 
Vietnam is a multi-religion and multi-ethnicity nation of 
more than 80 million people from 54 ethnic groups.  There 
are six religions with about 20 million believers, 60,000 
clergy and priests, 22,000 places of worship.  Sixteen 
religious organizations have been recognized, which are 
operating in a normal manner.  They are: the Catholic Church 
of Vietnam, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the Evangelical 
Church of Vietnam North (ECVN), the Southern Evangelical 
Church of Vietnam (SECV), the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, nine 
Cao Dai Churches and two Muslim Representative Boards. 
 
After one year of implementation of the Ordinance on 
Religion and Belief and the Prime Minister's Instruction, 
new developments regarding religious life in Vietnam have 
been achieved. 
 
¶I. Religious activities, including rites of worship and 
celebrations of major religious events, were conducted in a 
normal manner.  Celebrations of Buddha's birthday, 
Christmas, foundation anniversaries of Cao Dai and Hoa Hao 
Buddhism and the observance of Ramadan all were conducted in 
a solemn and respectful manner according to religious 
rituals, attracting a large number of participants and 
ensuring safety. 
 
In 2005, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha held rites of prayers 
for those who sacrificed themselves during national 
resistances, as well as common people who died of hunger in 
¶1945. 
 
The Episcopal Council of Vietnam conducted the 27th La Vang 
pilgrimage festival that attracted tens of thousands of 
participants; Catholic diocese and churches nationwide 
conducted prayer sessions for Pope John Paul II; a 
delegation of the Catholic Church of Vietnam traveled to 
 
HANOI 00000638  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
Rome to attend his funeral and the installation of Benedict 
XVI. 
 
The ECVN held its 50th founding anniversary celebration, 
conducting the General Spiritual Assembly for pastors, 
preachers, lay preachers and believers.  Christmas was 
observed at numerous Catholic and Protestant communities in 
remote places, especially in Central Highland localities 
where many ethnic believers live. 
 
Generally speaking, major religious events were celebrated 
in a more solemn manner, attracting a large number of 
participants who showed trust in the Party's and State's 
religious policies. 
 
II. Religious organizations were more pro-active with 
respect to their own organizational consolidation, 
promotions, appointments and transfers of religious clergy 
and priests, according to their organizations' charters and 
legal provisions.  The Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam named 
additional personnel to a number of functional departments 
affiliated with their Executive Council, as well as 
provincial departments for Buddhist Affairs; a number of new 
provincial departments of Buddhist affairs were established. 
 
The Catholic Church of Vietnam split the Xuan Loc Diocese 
into Xuan Loc Diocese in Dong Nai Province, and Ba Ria 
Diocese in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, the 26th Catholic 
diocese in Vietnam. 
 
With the approval of the Prime Minister, the Vatican 
appointed Bishop Ngo Quang Kiet to be Archbishop of Hanoi; 
Xuan Loc Auxiliary Bishop Nguyen Van Tram to be Bishop of Ba 
Ria; Coadjutor Bishop Nguyen Thanh Hoan to be Bishop of Phan 
Thiet; Priest Le Van Hong to be Auxiliary Archbishop of Hue; 
Priest Vo Duc Minh to be Coadjutor Bishop of Nha Trang; and 
Priest Nguyen Van De to be Auxiliary Bishop of Bui Chu. 
 
In 2005, the SECV conducted its General Assembly for the 
period of 2005-2009. 
 
Other religious organizations such as Tien Thien and Chon Ly 
Cao Dai Churches conducted congresses for their new 
administrative terms, appointing dignitaries and additional 
personnel to their executive boards at provinces. 
 
The Hoa Hao Buddhist Church consolidated executive boards at 
the grassroots level following its second-term congress. 
 
The An Giang provincial Muslim Representative Board was 
established and began operation. 
 
According to formal statistics, some 800 priests received 
nominations and promotions; 605 priests received 
appointments; and 337 priests were transferred. 
 
III. Activities to train religious dignitaries and priests 
were maintained and expanded.  Buddhist schools at the 
intermediate and higher level received high numbers of 
enrollment in the new school year.  Buddhist academies are 
accelerating preparations for the expansion of facilities 
and improvement of training quality.  Specially, the Vietnam 
Buddhist Sangha is working on a plan to build up an Academy 
on Khmer Hinayana Buddhism, which is supported by local 
authorities.  Catholic seminaries enrolled larger numbers of 
students:  the Hanoi Seminary now enrolls students every 
year (instead of every two years), and the Sao Bien Seminary 
in Nha Trang (of Khanh Hoa Province) opened short-term 
classes for elderly priests to complete their training.  The 
SECV-affiliated Institute of Bible and Theology opened a 
second training course, and enrollments doubled the number 
of students attending the first course.  The SECV Executive 
Board also opened classes for ethnic pastors, preachers and 
lay preachers who had not received training in Gia Lai, Dak 
Nong and Dak Lak provinces.  Classes on Hoa Hao Buddhist 
philosophy were conducted, attracting a high number of 
attendees.  The An Giang provincial and Ho Chi Minh City 
Muslim Representative Boards facilitated traveling to Mecca 
of a number of Muslim believers and conducted a Koran 
reading contest. 
 
In 2005, 6,963 students graduated from schools run by 
religious organizations; the number of new enrollments was 
5,584, and the current number of attendees is 4,563. 
 
IV. Publication of the Bible, prayer books and other 
religious materials was maintained and met religious demand. 
In 2005, the Publishing House for Religious Materials issued 
permission for the publishing of 450 major items, with more 
 
HANOI 00000638  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
than one million copies, and more than 60 other 
publications.  The ECVN received permission to publish its 
monthly Fellowship Journal. 
 
¶V. Expanded international relations with religious 
organizations was encouraged and supported.  At the 
beginning of the year, a Buddhist delegation from France led 
by the Most Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh returned to visit 
Vietnam at the invitation of the International Buddhist 
Affairs Department affiliated with the VBS.  The delegation 
spent three months in Vietnam, conducting religious 
activities at places in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue and 
Binh Dinh Province.  A delegation of various Vietnamese 
religious dignitaries attended the ASEM Belief Exchange in 
Bali of Indonesia.  VBS sent a delegation of dignitaries to 
attend the 4th Buddhist Summit Conference in Thailand.  VBS 
delegations paid visits to Cambodia and Laos to hold talks 
on Buddhist affairs.  VBS received and held talks with many 
Buddhist and international delegations to discuss Buddhist 
affairs in Vietnam. 
 
The Episcopal Council of Vietnam joined the Asian Episcopal 
Council and sent a delegation to attend the Young Catholics 
Assembly.  A Vatican delegation led by Cardinal Sepe visited 
Vietnam at the invitation of the Episcopal Council of 
Vietnam and attended a number of religious activties in the 
dioceses they visited. 
 
Relations etween the An Giang provincial and Ho Chi Minh 
Ciy Muslim Representative Boards with regional Musli 
organizations have been encouraged; there have een some 
exchanges involving visits and financial assistance for the 
reconstruction of places of worship and scholarships. 
 
In 2005, 334 dignitaries and priests went abroad to attend 
conferences, classes and religious activities. 
 
VI. Charitable activities by religious organizations were 
encouraged, with good results.  Religious organizations 
actively participated in social, charitable and educational 
projects.  Tens of thousands of people, including the 
elderly, orphans, disadvantaged people and HIV-AIDS patients 
enjoyed free medical care and treatment at various 
establishments run by individual dignitaries/priests or 
religious organizations. 
 
VII. Local authorities facilitated requests concerning the 
renovation, upgrading and construction of facilities 
belonging to places of religious worship.  Just within one 
year, quite a number of Buddhist temples, churches and 
religious places were upgraded or built.  Notably, land has 
been located for a number of Protestant congregations in 
Central Highlands for the construction of churches. 
 
According to formal statistics, in 2005, 242 establishments 
of belief and religious worship were built; 320 
establishments were upgraded and renovated. 
 
VIII. Apart from formally recognized religious 
organizations, a number of new religious organizations and 
denominations, operating in a normal manner, conducted 
religious activities at nearly 500 places of religious 
worship and meeting points, and have 1.5 million believers 
and over 5,000 dignitaries, priests and lay men.  These not- 
yet-recognized organizations include various Protestant 
denominations, "Serene and Pure Land" Buddhist Association, 
"Tu An Hieu Nghia" and the Bahai.  The Government Committee 
on Religius Affairs has been coordinating efforts with local 
authorities to conduct examinations, working on instructions 
regarding registration of religious activities, which may 
facilitate recognition according to provisions of the 
Ordinance on Religion and Belief. 
 
TITLE: Situation of Protestantism in Vietnam after One Year 
of Implementation of the Prime Minister's Instruction. 
 
SUB-HEADING: Regarding the Central Highlands (including Five 
Central Highlands Provinces and Binh Phuoc Province): 
 
During one year of implementation of the Ordinance on 
Religion and Belief, and especially the Prime Minister's 
Instruction, religious activities by Protestant believers in 
the five central highlands provinces and Binh Phuoc Province 
took place in accordance with legal provisions. 
 
Twelve SECV-affiliated Protestant congregations were 
recognized; the total number of State-sanctioned Protestant 
congregations in the region is now fifty. 
 
 
HANOI 00000638  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
Seventeen sub-congregations have been established in Dak 
Nong Province, which are expected to be recognized after six 
months. 
 
Some 684 Protestant groups have registered for activities 
and permanent meeting points with authorities at the 
grassroots level. 
 
Three theological classes opened for thirty-five 
participants from Dak Lak Province, forty-six from Gia Lai 
Province and thirty-two from Dak Nong Province.  Two classes 
will be opened in Binh Phuoc and Lam Dong provinces. 
 
Land has been allocated for the construction of churches for 
five congregations, including three in Dak Lak Province and 
two in Gia Lai Province; churches affiliated with Betel 
congregation in Ia Hru commune, Chu Se district and Gia Lai 
Province were inaugurated. 
 
Authorities are considering an SECV request to publish the 
Bible in ethnic languages, such as Jarai, Ede and Bana 
languages. 
 
SUB-HEADING: Up to December 2005, in the Central Highlands 
and Binh Phuoc Province region: 
 
Fifty congregations have been recognized. Seventeen sub- 
congregations have been recognized. 684 groups have 
registered for activities and permanent meeting points with 
authorities at grassroots level. 
 
The majority of SECV-affiliated Protestants in the Central 
Highlands were able to practice their faith according to the 
Ordinance on Belief and Religion and the Prime Minister's 
Instruction. 
 
In addition, authorities of Central Highlands provinces have 
guided the registration of activities and meeting points for 
a number of unrecognized Adventist and Christian and 
Missionary Alliance (CMA) groups. 
 
In 2005, local authorities guided and facilitated solemn and 
peaceful Christmas celebrations at meeting points, and for 
congregations and sub-congregations. 
 
The Government Committee on Religious Affairs conducted 
training classes on Protestantism for officials at the 
grassroots level, and promoted the consideration process 
regarding recognition of congregations and sub-congregations 
and registration of meeting points of Protestant groups. 
 
SUB-HEADING: Regarding the Northern Mountainous Region 
(Northwest Highlands): 
 
Results in implementing the Ordinance and the Instructions: 
 
--Built a working plan to implement the Prime Minister's 
Instructions regarding Protestantism in the Northwestern 
region. 
 
--Provided provinces with guidance on how to facilitate 
religious activities at home. 
 
--Prepared training documents for local cadres, while 
working on instructions for authorities at the grassroots 
level regarding registration of activities by religious 
organizations in the second and third quarters of 2006. 
 
SUB-HEADING: Regarding the ECVN: 
 
--Provided guidance on legal procedures concerning their 
request for a land use rights certificate with respect to 
the property at 2 Ngo Tram (Note:  This is the ECVN's 
headquarters in Hanoi.  End Note). 
 
--Provided guidance on procedure regarding the re- 
establishment of Thanh Hoa Protestant Church. 
 
--Facilitated appointments of pastors-in-charge for 
Haiphong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, Phuc Yen and Ha Tay 
congregations. 
 
--Approved the publication of the Church's monthly 
Fellowship Journal. 
 
--Provided guidance on procedures for the establishment of 
Thuy Nguyen sub-congregation affiliated with Haiphong Church 
and Ha Long sub-congregation affiliated with Quang Ninh 
Church. 
 
HANOI 00000638  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
--Located land for Bac Son congregation (in Lang Son 
Province) to construct a church. 
 
CONCLUSION:  In short, after one year of implementation of 
the Ordinance and the Instruction, Vietnam's religious 
conditions have significantly improved.  Despite the fact 
that there were difficulties in some locations at some 
points, both in terms of religious activities and State- 
management, the significant progress in terms of religious 
activity confirmed the fact that Vietnam's policies of 
respecting freedom of religion and belief have come into 
life.  Quite a number of believers and those among the 
clergy are enjoying the insurance of State policies and 
laws; [and are] working toward a "good life, good religion" 
motto, contributing to the construction and defense of the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, for the sake of a "rich 
people, strong country, and just, democratic and civilized 
society."  End unofficial translation. 
 
MARINE