VZCZCXRO7326
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0951/01 2570610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 140610Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3108
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2175
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 3316

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HO CHI MINH CITY 000951 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF AND PRM/A 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL PGOV KIRF PREF VM
SUBJECT: CONTRASTING PERSPECTIVES ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN CENTRAL 
HIGHLANDS GIA LAI PROVINCE 
 
REF: REF A: HCMC 880 REF B: HANOI 1128 C: HCMC 811 D: HCMC 844 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000951  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Despite considerable progress in religious 
freedom in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai and 
genuinely supportive provincial-level authorities, 
implementation of Vietnam's legal framework on religion remains 
quite uneven at the community and village level.  While the 
provincial chief of the Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) 
appears quite engaged and dedicated to his task, even he 
acknowledges that progress on religious issues is hampered by 
uneven local implementation and a lack of understanding at the 
local level.  A stop in a rural district provided insights into 
the lack of respect pastors sometimes face when one pastor was, 
in effect, held waiting for over five hours in what appears to 
have been an act of intimidation by local authorities prior to 
the pastor's meeting with ConGenoffs.  Another pastor, one of 
the province's most outspoken and respected religious figures, 
spoke of the productive relations he has forged with both the 
provincial Committee for Religious Affairs and the Province's 
top political leaders while complaining that the real problem is 
with the uneven and even arbitrary enforcement of Vietnamese 
laws on religion at the local level.  Religion is only one 
factor contributing to tensions Gia Lai, an ethnically diverse 
region with economic and cultural divisions.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CRA CHIEF DESCRIBES FREE MARKET FOR RELIGION 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) During their August 13-15 trip to the Central Highlands 
province of Gia Lai, Poloff and HRS Chief met with the Chief of 
the Committee for Religious Affairs (CRA), Mr. Tran Thanh Hung, 
in Pleiku.  Mr. Hung was open, helpful and informative.  Hung 
said relations between the four major religious organizations in 
Gia Lai--Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants and Cao Dai--were 
close and collaborative.  Hung said leaders and followers often 
attended each others' holiday and social gatherings.  In Gia 
Lai, Hung said the CRA facilitates the construction of parishes, 
helps with the publication of bilingual bibles, and provides 
training on recognition and registration procedures.  Mr. Hung 
said relations between religious groups and the local 
authorities were improving, but agreed isolated problems remain 
-- problems which he attributed to a lack of training and 
knowledge of the law on religion on both sides. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Hung said of the 17 registered and official Protestant 
denominations in Vietnam, nine are present in Gia Lai.  Hung 
believes the overall number of Protestants in the area is 
growing steadily, but affiliations tend to change depending on 
what a congregation has to offer.  Hung said competition among 
Protestant house churches for followers is strong and many offer 
charitable assistance as a way to attract new members.  When the 
assistance runs out, followers move on to the next church. 
(Note: Hung's description exactly matches that of Pastor Tho, as 
reported in ref C.)  Hung said this practice makes registration 
difficult since the law requires that each congregation reach a 
certain membership threshold before they can apply.  Despite 
complications, Hung said a new church registration typically 
takes less than 50 days--just slightly more than the 30-day 
response time mandated by law.  Hung said he often met with 
congregations to listen to their concerns and confessed his own 
limits in comprehending how to practically implement the legal 
framework at times.  Hung was optimistic, however, and intent on 
working with all religious groups to improve mutual 
understanding of the law.  Upon leaving, Hung provided Poloff 
with copies of the legal framework on religion translated into 
ethnic minority languages for use in training sessions. 
 
Chu Se Chairman's Not-So-Helpful Hand 
------------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) In sharp contrast to the CRA chief's well-informed and 
open attitude, a visit to the Chairman of the Chu Se District 
People's Committee, Nguyen Dzung, proved quite frustrating.  The 
hour-long meeting began well enough, with Dzung reciting a long 
litany of GVN goals for economic development through the 
promotion of agriculture and education as well as  GVN efforts 
to help the ethnic minorities that comprise 52 percent of the 
district's population.  Dzung said the Chu Se District People's 
Committee provides small loans for ethnic minority families to 
start businesses and also provides transportation for those 
attending refugee visa interviews at the U.S. Consulate General 
in HCMC.  Turning to the issue of refugees, Dzung said he 
believed some who flee to Cambodia are encouraged by 
opportunists who want to buy ethnic minority-owned land at a low 
price.  Dzung said the victims are told if they go to Cambodia, 
they will be resettled to a third country where they can live 
without working. 
 
¶5. (SBU) When asked about Montagnard Foundation reports of Degar 
followers being arrested and put on trial for their Christian 
beliefs, Dzung launched into a fiery tirade denouncing those 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000951  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
arrested as Forces United for the Liberation of Races Oppressed 
(FULRO) separatists and instruments of hostile foreign forces 
actively trying to foment rebellion in the region.  Dzung 
affirmed there had been several recent trials of Degar people 
for "political activities," but declined to provide specifics. 
(Note: Another ConGen contact has since corroborated that 
several arrests and trials took place in Gia Lai in recent 
months, noting that the charges brought against the Degar 
detainees were for political versus religious activities. 
Poloff will continue to try to confirm trial and sentencing 
details.  End note.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) As Poloff began to bring the meeting to a close in 
order to depart for the home of ethnic minority member and 
Baptist Pastor Dinh Van Triet, Dzung informed us that Pastor 
Triet was already at the People's Committee Headquarters. 
According to Dzung, Triet had been "invited" to the PC many 
hours earlier to discuss his church's registration application. 
Dzung added that local authorities had received Triet's 
application only in August of this year, not in December 2006 as 
Triet had reported to ConGen.  Dzung also made a point of noting 
that Triet's branch of the Baptist denomination was not yet 
recognized by the GVN.  (Note:  CRA has told Hanoi that it is 
giving priority in registrations to those Protestant churches 
falling under the umbrella of the Southern Evangelical Church of 
Vietnam (SECV) or Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN). 
Protestant denominations not affiliated with the 
government-recognized SECV and ECVN face greater difficulties 
with legalization and are more likely to be subject to 
local-level harassment.  End note.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) When ConGenoffs met Pastor Triet, he had been waiting 
in a small meeting room for five hours and was surrounded by 
several officials who claimed to work for the district External 
Relations Office.  Several more officials, including a 
cameraman, filed in after we entered the room.  The head of the 
District Committee for Religious Affairs then began haranguing 
Pastor Triet for having told ConGen that his church registration 
had been filed in December 2006 versus August 2007. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Poloff asked all but the three ERO officials who had 
traveled with ConGen team to Chu Se to leave, including the 
cameraman, citing our original request for a private meeting 
without press.  By the time the officials left, Triet was 
clearly uncomfortable and the ensuing conversation was 
superficial and stilted.  Triet told Poloff he converted from 
the Protestant United Mission Church to follow his brother, who 
is also a Baptist preacher.  Triet said his congregation is made 
up of 27 followers who hold meetings freely at his home, but are 
not yet registered.  He said he hoped the GVN would help them 
with "the people who don't understand their religion" and said 
the 2004 passage of the legal framework on religion showed the 
GVN is trying to "improve their religious lives."  After twenty 
minutes, ConGenoffs thanked Pastor Triet for his patience and 
encouraged him to keep ConGen posted on efforts to register his 
church. 
 
SECV PASTOR SIU Y KIM PROVIDES MORE BALANCED VIEW 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶9. (SBU) On August 15, ConGenoffs met with Pastor Siu Y Kim of 
the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV), officially 
recognized by the GVN in 2001.  A native of Pleiku city and 
member of the Jarai minority group, Pastor Kim was able to 
discuss not only the general state of religious freedom in Gia 
Lai but also the many socio-economic factors that impact 
GVN-ethnic minority relations in the province.  While Pastor Kim 
said cooperation between local authorities and SECV 
congregations has improved since 2001, church activities are 
still closely monitored by authorities, albeit in a more cordial 
way.  Kim believes formulation of GVN religious policy at the 
national level to be appropriate, but implementation at the 
local level remains lacking.  While Pastor Kim provided us with 
many examples of his run-ins with local officials, nearly all of 
them ended with Kim prevailing.  Kim noted that particularly in 
the past few years, both the Chairman of the provincial CRA and 
the Chairman of the People's Committee for the Gia Lai province 
have played very helpful roles in pressuring local officials to 
respect Pastor Kim's rights and those of his followers.  One 
particularly notable incident involved a rural plainclothes 
police officer who disrupted a church service by walking in and 
snapping photos of the participants.  After considerable effort 
and complaining to regional officials, Pastor Kim obtained an 
apology and the offending police officer was transferred to 
another locality. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Pastor Kim's experience with official registration of 
his congregations ran the gamut.  The fastest permit he received 
was issued in 2 months while one application filed two years ago 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000951  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
was yet to be processed. The SECV in Gai Lai has 87 new meeting 
houses at various stages of ground breaking, construction and 
completion.  Of those 87 meeting houses, only six have received 
permits.  Pastor Kim acknowledged that building new churches was 
in many ways no different than building any other building in 
rural areas where most construction is done without permits. 
The problem at first, however, was that while local authorities 
turn a blind eye to most unauthorized construction some 
officials were attempting to block church construction.  After 
considerable effort and the direct involvement to top provincial 
officials, Pastor Kim is almost always able to convince 
authorities to allow construction to proceed without formal 
building approvals in place. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Pastor Kim believes local officials' prejudice towards 
ethnic minorities is also a contributing factor in continuing 
delicate Protestant-GVN relations in Gia Lai.  Kim said ethnic 
minorities need to be more active and vocal about economic 
development needs in their communities, while the GVN needs to 
provide more culturally appropriate and effective assistance. 
Pastor Kim cited rubber plantations as a hot issue in Gia Lai at 
the moment.  Kim said ethnic minority farmers are often hired by 
rubber companies to clear the land and plant the rubber trees 
but are then dismissed because they lack the skills needed to 
cultivate the trees and harvest the rubber.  Instead, the 
companies recruit "northerners" to work on the plantations, 
increasing ethnic tensions in the region.  (Note: This was also 
reported by a hamlet chief in Ref A.  End note.) 
 
¶12. (SBU) One particularly sad and divisive incident involved a 
youth engaged in the common practice of gleaning waste rubber 
left on the ground after regular harvesting.  A few weeks prior 
to our visit, a plantation caretaker killed a 13 year-old ethnic 
minority child with a machete after he suspected the child of 
"stealing rubber."  The caretaker was arrested and the company 
offered the family compensation.  The family was incensed, 
refused to take the money, and demanded restitution in land 
instead.  The company has thus far refused. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶12. (SBU) Meetings with district and provincial GVN officials, 
ethnic minorities and religious leaders in Gia Lai reflected the 
comments made by house church pastors in Ho Chi Minh City (ref 
D) -- while overall conditions for religious freedom are 
improving in Vietnam, difficulties remain, especially in remote 
areas where local officials have little knowledge of the 
bureaucratic framework on religion. Tensions between ethnic 
Vietnamese and ethnic minority communities, especially in terms 
of economic development priorities, are a significant 
contributing factor.  End comment. 
 
¶13. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX