VZCZCXRO5235
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #1021/01 2761057
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031057Z OCT 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3194
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2218
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 3403

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 001021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM SOCI PREL PGOV VM
SUBJECT: BAPTISTS, MENNONITES RECEIVE OFFICIAL GVN RECOGNITION 
 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001021  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Approximately three weeks before the U.S. 
Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is 
scheduled to arrive in Vietnam, the government of Vietnam has 
granted national recognition to two more Protestant 
denominations: the Mennonite Vietnam Church and the Vietnam 
Baptist Convention.  The GVN also announced plans to recognize 
three other Protestant churches in the near future.  Leaders of 
these groups areQbeat about the developments, but uncertain 
whether national recognition will help them settle long-standing 
disputes over GVN-confiscated properties and whether local 
officials will effectively implement the new change in policy in 
Vietnam's more problematic provinces.  End summary. 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 2, the Mennonite Vietnam Church and the 
Vietnam Baptist Convention held a joint ceremony in Ho Chi Minh 
City (HCMC) to receive certificates of registration for their 
national operations.  Deputy Chief of the National Committee for 
Religious Affairs (CRA) Nguyen Thanh Xuan, Chief of the 
Protestant Affairs Section Nguyen Van Thong, and representatives 
of the HCMC Fatherland Front and People's Committee attended the 
ceremony.  The ceremony was well-covered by the state-run media, 
including a primetime four-minute report on national television. 
 
 
 
FROM GUERILLA GROUP TO CONVENTIONAL CHURCH 
 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Pastor Nguyen Thong, leader of the Vietnam Baptist 
Convention (which has denominational ties to the U.S. Southern 
Baptist Church) said that he is very happy about the national 
recognition, which will enable his church to print religious 
materials and organize theological courses to train new pastors 
and evangelists.  Thong said he hopes to open a new headquarters 
for his church in HCMC soon, and looks forward to organizing the 
Baptists' first official general conference in August next year 
to mark the 20th anniversary of the church's establishment in 
Vietnam.  Pastor Thong described his church's path to 
recognition as the "transformation from guerilla to conventional 
activities" and was enthusiastic about planning this year's 
first Christmas celebration in a big local restaurant.  In 
describing his collaboration with the GVN, Pastor Thong said 
that the Committee on Religious Activities gave him more that 
he'd asked for. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung, leader of the Mennonite 
Vietnam Church, which registered locally March 2006, said 
national recognition is a positive development but noted that he 
would wait until his church gets its status as a fully 
recognized legal entity before proceeding with the printing and 
publication of religious material.  [Note: According to the GVN 
legal framework on religion, a church has to wait at least one 
year after national recognition to organize a general 
conference, and another year after that to get full legal 
status, or status as a "legal person."  End note.] Pastor Trung 
also mentioned that only after his church receives legal person 
status would he push more aggressively for the return of church 
properties that the GVN confiscated shortly after 1975. 
 
 
 
MORE CHURCHES IN LINE FOR RECOGNITION 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Both pastors said the application process for national 
recognition was in line with the GVN legal framework, and that 
they had effective communication with the CRA throughout the 
process.  They said the next immediate step for their churches 
is to complete local registration for all of their 
congregations. (Note: By July of this year, the Mennonite Church 
had registered 50 of its 112 local congregations, while the 
Vietnam Baptist Convention registered a smaller number of its 
congregations.  End note.)  The pastors said they also plan to 
expand training of clergy. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Nguyen Van Thong, Chief of Protestant Affairs for the 
Southern National CRA office, said the GVN is also in the 
process of national recognition for three additional 
Protestestant churches--the Assembly of God, the Presbyterian 
Church and the Vietnam Christian Inter-Fellowship.  Leaders of 
these groups said they hope to be granted national recognition 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001021  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
by the year's end. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: These positive developments take place three 
weeks prior to the visit of the U.S. Commission for 
International Religious Freedom and suggest that outside 
pressure is helping to speed up the recognition/registration 
process for churches in Vietnam.  While it took the Mennonite 
Vietnam Church 18 months-from September 2004 to March 2006-to 
have their local congregation registered, it took only 60 days 
for the Vietnam Baptist Convention to get national recognition 
this year.  Despite the positive trend, challenges remain in 
terms of local authorities' implementation of recognition and 
registration procedures in the provinces and resolution of 
long-standing disputes over church property seized by the GVN 
after 1975.  Post will continue to closely monitor these 
developments.  End comment. 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX