VZCZCXRO6769
OO RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0097/01 0410050
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100050Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9104
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5554

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000097 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF and DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF VM
 
SUBJECT: Vietnam Religious Freedom Update 
 
REF: A) Hanoi 92, B) Hanoi 88 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: The number of religious adherents in Vietnam 
continues to grow, as does the number of religious groups receiving 
official registration and recognition.  At the beginning of 2009, 
the GVN reported 23 million religious faithful.  An additional nine 
new religious organizations were granted national recognition by the 
GVN in 2008 and early 2009, including the Baha'i and five Protestant 
faiths.  Registration of Protestant congregations at the local and 
national level continued to grow in 2008.  While local church 
registration of Protestant denominations has mushroomed in the 
Central Highlands and the South, there continue to be more than 
1,000 Protestant congregations awaiting registration in the 
Northwest Highlands.  However, even in areas with a backlog, most 
unregistered Protestant congregations report no major restrictions 
in their ability to hold services.  Hmong Christians in the 
Northwest also continue to complain about the lack of an official 
Hmong translation of the Bible.  Relations between the Catholic 
Church and GVN continue to warm, even as tensions over land-use 
issues remain a serious issue, as demonstrated most recently in 
Vinh.  END SUMMARY. 
 
National Recognition Moves Quickly in 2008 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Nine religions received national recognition in 2008 and 
early 2009, triple the number that received recognition throughout 
¶2007.  The nine are: Bani Muslim Sect (Muslim - Ninh Thuan 
province), The Threefold Southern Tradition (Buddhist - Giao hoi 
Phat Dong Nam Tong Minh S Dao), The Threefold Enlightened Truth Path 
(Buddhist - Minh Ly Dao Tam Tong Mieu), Vietnam Seventh Day 
Adventist Church (Protestant), Vietnam Baptist Church (Protestant - 
Grace Southern), Vietnam Baptist Society (Protestant - Southern 
Baptist), Presbyterian Church of Vietnam (Protestant), Vietnam 
Mennonite Church (Protestant) and Vietnam Baha'i Community 
(Baha'i). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Baha'i, recognized in January 2009, are considered a 
separate "category" of religion.  Similarly, the Pure Land Buddhist 
Home Practice, recognized at the end of 2007, is viewed as a 
distinct Buddhist religion, separate from the Vietnamese Buddhist 
Sangha.  In total, there are now eight separate categories of 
religious organizations: Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Cao 
Dai, Hoa Hao, The Pure Land Buddhist Home Practice and Baha'i.  In 
2008, three new religious organizations also received national 
registration: Vietnam Christian Fellowship (Protestant), Mysterious 
Fragrance from Precious Mountains (Buddhist - Buu Son Ky Huong), The 
Four Gratitudes (Buddhist - Dao Tu An Hieu Nghia). 
 
Central Highlands Leading the Way... 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Throughout the country, the number of locally registered 
Protestant congregations also increased.  In Ho Chi Minh City alone, 
there are now 130 registered Protestant congregations.  Leading the 
way in the growth of Protestantism is the Central Highlands, which 
at the end of 2008 could boast a total of 1,175 registered 
Protestant congregations, of which 795 are affiliated with Southern 
Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) and the remainder belong to 
other Protestant denominations.  Currently in the Central Highlands, 
there are 134 registered Protestant church buildings, all but one 
affiliated with the SECV. 
 
... but Northwest Highlands Remains Problematic 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Growth in registered congregations in the Northwest 
Highlands lagged behind the rest of the country due to continued 
foot dragging by local officials.  At the end of 2008, a total of 
130 congregations had been registered, of which, 126 are affiliated 
with the Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN), and the 
remaining four belong to the Vietnam Christian Fellowship Church. 
While this is an increase from the 84 that were registered in 2007, 
the number represents a small fraction of the total.  The ECVN 
reports 1,234 congregations with 135,500 adherents in the Northwest 
Highlands.  In Dien Bien Province alone, the ECVN reports 444 
congregations and 72,500 followers.  (According to the ECVN, nearly 
all of its adherents are ethnic minorities, of which 88 percent are 
Hmong.) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The vast majority of these congregations await formal 
registration, but continue to operate with the tacit permission of 
local officials.  According to Pastor Au Quang Vinh, Secretary 
General of the ECVN, these unregistered congregations function 
without interference, though there are occasional incidents of 
harassment.  Pastor Vinh noted the importance of official local 
registration for facilitating training, as well as pastoral travel. 
 
 
 
HANOI 00000097  002 OF 002 
 
 
Hmong Bibles 
------------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The ECVN also awaits approval for the dissemination of a 
Hmong translation of the Bible, an important priority, he said, 
given the fact that most Hmong pastors lack formal education in 
Vietnamese.  He explained that the ECVN in 2006 provided the 
Committee for Religious Affairs (CRA) and the Ministry of Education 
and Training (MOET) with a side-by-side Vietnamese-Hmong translation 
of the Bible and asked for permission to print it in Hmong.  In 
meetings with the Embassy, the CRA has stated that they have no 
objection to the translation but that it is MOET's responsibility to 
authenticate the translation prior to allowing publication.  The 
Ambassador sent a letter on January 23 to DPM Nguyen Thien Nhan, who 
also serves as Minister of Education and Training, urging that MOET 
speed approval. 
 
Catholics: Better Conditions, but Tensions over Land 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Meeting with the Ambassador just before Tet (ref. A), 
Hanoi Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet emphasized continued general 
improvements in the overall ability of Catholics (and others) to 
exercise their religion freely.  He did, however, point to problems 
registering congregations in the Northwest Highlands, particularly 
Son La.  He also pointed to a continuing "lack of trust" on land-use 
issues, highlighting moves by Hanoi authorities to transform two 
Church-claimed properties into public parks. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The issue is likely not going away, the Prime Minister's 
recently issued decree on the land-use rights of religious groups 
(ref. B) notwithstanding, as events on February 2 in Vinh suggest. 
In Vinh, tensions flared as Bishop Paul Maria Cao Dinh Thuyen led 14 
priests in celebrating mass at a disputed site seized by the 
government in 1997.  According to Catholic internet reports, the 
mass was attended by thousands of parishioners, who believe that the 
property -- a church significantly damaged by U.S. bombing in 1968 
and subsequently turned into a war memorial -- should be returned to 
the local diocese. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Much remains to be done, particularly in enforcing the 
2004 Ordinance on Religion and Belief at the local level.  But we 
see developments in 2008 as continuing the broadly positive trends 
begun in 2006.  It is particularly noteworthy that in addition to 
the Baha'i, five Protestant denominations -- including two different 
Baptist churches -- obtained national recognition in 2008 and early 
¶2009.  And while land-rights disputes grabbed the headlines, 
relations between Vietnam and the Church continued to warm.  While 
random incidents of harassment, especially in outlying areas, did 
occur in 2008, religious leaders representing all the major 
denominations in Vietnam, registered and unregistered, uniformly 
agree that, overall, religious freedom and adherence continues to 
expand in Vietnam. 
 
¶11. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Ho Chi Minh City.