VZCZCXRO6516
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #2321/01 2540926
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110926Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3346
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH PRIORITY 1783
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002321 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KIRF PHUM PGOV HUMANR VM
SUBJECT: POLOFF VISITS THANH HOA FULL GOSPEL PROTESTANTS, PROVINCE 
CONFIRMS TWO ECVN CONGREGATIONS TO REGISTER 
 
REF: A) HANOI 2170; B) HANOI 1520; C) HANOI 1666; D) HANOI 2245 
 
HANOI 00002321  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) On September 8, Poloff visited the Thanh Hoa community in 
which members of the Full Gospel Protestant Church have recently 
suffered police harassment and beatings.  Poloff met at the church 
with one church member and his neighbors.  During a separate meeting 
with Poloff, provincial officials confirmed that two local officers 
received administrative punishments for their participation in the 
June 18 beating of Protestants; acknowledged other recent reported 
beatings of church members; and, asserted that the province is 
investigating these incidents.  These local officials also noted 
that two of five ethnic minority congregations identified by the 
Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN) have been approved for 
registration as soon as the requisite paperwork is complete.  End 
Summary. 
 
Thieu Vien Officials 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On September 8, Poloff met with Thieu Vien Commune People's 
Committee Chairman Nguyen Xuan Lai, along with provincial level 
Religious Affairs officials, to discuss the recent harassment of 
several members of the United Gospel Church of Vietnam, a.k.a. "The 
Full Gospel Church," (refs A-C).  Lai explained house church owner 
Le Thi Minh had broken the law by holding meetings of outsiders in 
her home and that local citizens were upset at the "disruptions" 
caused by these meetings.  Poloff encouraged the chairman and 
commune staff to increase the space for religion within their 
community in line with the GVN's framework on religion and to allow 
the gatherings at the Minh home. 
 
House Church Conditions 
----------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In his meeting with Poloff, house church member Le Ngoc Hop 
stated that the house church members only want to worship in peace 
in their community.  This statement aroused several onlookers, and 
one explained that the local community harasses members of the house 
church because they "do not dignify the dead" and because they 
convene meetings of outsiders, singing loudly, without a permit. 
 
Provincial Officials 
-------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Bui Hai Vinh, Director of Thanh Hoa's Provincial Department 
of Religion and Ethnicities, confirmed to Poloff that the commune 
had punished two security officials for the beating incident on June 
18 (Ref B). Both were given administrative punishment under Party 
Directive 150 (CP/150).  One official was fined 400,000 VND (USD 25, 
or around one quarter of a year's salary in Thanh Hoa Province) for 
beating house church leader Nguyen Trung Ton.  A second official 
received a letter of reprimand for failing to intervene to prevent 
the beating.  The victim Ton also received a letter of reprimand. 
Vinh could not explain what significance such a letter may have for 
a regular citizen.  He also confirmed that the recent report of 
other beatings of Full Gospel members in another Thanh Hoa community 
(Ref A) is true, and that the People's Committee has instructed 
district officials to investigate these incidents. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Vinh noted that the province recently received, from the 
GVN's Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA), a list of five ethnic 
H'mong congregations identified by the ECVN in Muong Lat District as 
"mature congregations" that should be easy for provincial officials 
to register quickly.  (Note:  We passed this list to the CRA on 
August 30.  Ref D.  End Note.)  Vinh stated that the province has 
already approved two of these five house churches in Tam Trung 
Village for registration by the end of September as pilot 
registrations for the other three.  The registrations will be 
official as soon as the requisite paperwork has been completed. 
Vinh promised to inform Post when the congregations have received 
their final certificates of registration. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The relative ease, after several false starts, with which 
we visited the actual Full Gospel house church may suggest that 
local officials have finally grasped the importance of addressing 
this matter and responding to international concerns.  We hope that 
this will translate into fewer problems for the Protestants in the 
coming months.  The news about the registration of the two ECVN 
congregations in Thanh Hoa is especially encouraging as it seems 
that the GVN has instructed localities to begin registering at least 
some congregations quickly.  End Comment. 
 
 
HANOI 00002321  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
MARINE