VZCZCXRO6971
OO RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0694/01 2080959
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 270959Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9947
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 6026

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000694 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF and DRL/AWH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF VM
 
SUBJECT: DCM Raises Buddhist and Catholic Disputes, Other Issues, 
with CRA 
 
Ref: Hanoi 653 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: On July 22, the DCM met with Committee for 
Religious Affairs (CRA) Vice Chairman Nguyen Thanh Xuan to press for 
a resolution to the ongoing dispute between Buddhist sects at the 
Bat Nha Pagoda in Lam Dong Province, express concern over the 
reported beating of Catholic parishioners in Quang Binh, and urge 
the CRA to do more to end the harassment of Protestants in Tra Vinh. 
 In the course of a protracted, frank, and at times frustrating 
conversation, Xuan deflected responsibility for the Pagoda dispute, 
characterizing it as an internal matter "between two brothers."  He 
insisted that local authorities are working to resolve the situation 
in Quang Binh, but blamed the Vinh Diocese for reneging on an 
earlier agreement with provincial officials.  Xuan cited "cultural 
conflicts" to explain the slow registration of Protestant 
congregations in the Northwest Highlands; however, he promised that 
over 200 congregations will be registered in that area by the end of 
¶2009.  He acknowledged the right of the H'mong people to have Bibles 
in their own language, but declined to offer a timeframe for their 
printing in Vietnam or provide authorization to allow congregations 
to import the Bibles from abroad.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Bat Nha Pagoda 
-------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Meeting July 22, the DCM pressed CRA Vice Chairman Nguyen 
Thanh Xuan to take firmer action to facilitate a peaceful resolution 
to the dispute at the Bat Nha Pagoda in Lam Dong Province, 
emphasizing that our main interest is in seeing an end to the 
violence and harassment (reftel).  It was particularly troublesome, 
she stressed, that local authorities, including police, would stand 
by while a mob attacked monks and nuns.  Those responsible for the 
violence should be brought to justice.  Even now, the approximately 
400 hundred monks and nuns affiliated with the Lang Mai ("Plum 
Village") Order continue to be isolated, without access to water and 
electricity, she said.  In response, Xuan likened the situation to a 
dispute "between two brothers," but added that the Plum Village 
Order had never received a formal land deed nor had sought approval 
for construction of its facilities.  The CRA had discussed the issue 
with senior monks of the two disputing groups and considered the 
dispute settled, Xuan insisted.  He said that water and electricity 
had been restored, an assertion the DCM rejected, noting that post 
had been in contact with Bat Nha monks as recently as July 23 and 
water and electricity were still lacking. 
 
Quang Binh Catholics 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The DCM drew a sharp contrast between the situation at the 
Bat Nha Pagoda, where officials and police did nothing to stop 
violence against peaceful religious followers, to the situation at 
the Tam Toa church ruins in Quang Binh province, where, on July 20, 
the police had instigated violence against Catholic parishioners. 
Vice Chairman Xuan recounted the Tam Toa dispute in detail, noting 
that provincial officials felt that the Catholic Church had reneged 
on its earlier agreement to exchange the disputed site for new 
property.  The CRA's role, Xuan said, was to mediate between the 
parishioners and the local authorities in order to reach a solution. 
 (NOTE: The MPS newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan confirmed on July 23 that 
seven "law breakers" arrested for "disturbing the public order" -- 
Mai Xuan Thu, Cao Thi Tinh, Nguyen Quang Trung, Mai Long, Hoang Huu, 
Hoang Thi Ty and Nguyen Van Dan -- had "confessed their wrongdoings" 
and would be prosecuted.  END NOTE.) 
 
Tra Vinh Protestants 
-------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The DCM also raised concern over the harassment faced by 
Protestant denominations in Tra Vinh Province, noting that embassy 
diplomats and visitors from the IRF office had visited the area in 
June and found that congregations in neighboring provinces in the 
delta are not experiencing the same degree of difficulties.  Vice 
Chairman Xuan attributed any difficulties faced by Protestants in 
Tra Vinh, as well as Soc Trang, to the high proportion of Khmer Krom 
Buddhists, arguing that Protestants often faced strong resistance 
from the local community who were striving to "preserve their own 
culture and religion."  He acknowledged that local officials were 
subject to these same biases, but asserted that CRA paid special 
attention to these instances and strove to be transparent when 
settling "cultural" conflicts.  The DCM urged the CRA to better 
educate local officials, regardless of their background, about laws 
and regulations allowing freedom of belief. 
 
NW Highlands Protestant Registration 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Regarding the sluggish pace of registration for 
congregations in the Northwest Highlands, Xuan said that provincial 
 
HANOI 00000694  002 OF 002 
 
 
officials had registered 160 congregations so far and promised to 
have more than 200 registered by the end of the year, though he 
conceded that registrations had been slow for a number of reasons. 
First, there was a tendency for congregations to change religious 
affiliation or to "sell their followers" to each other, and that 
local officials had a responsibility to ensure that new groups were 
"stable." Second, as a religion "new to the area," Protestantism 
still encountered skepticism in local communities.  Ethnic 
minorities in more rural areas tended to be the first converts, a 
fact that Xuan said confounded local officials.  Third, registration 
in the Northwest had been slower than in the Central Highlands due 
to the landscape of the region and the remoteness of mountain 
villages, rendering the process more difficult, Xuan said. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Xuan emphasized that believers were still allowed to 
gather and to practice their beliefs even if their groups had not 
been registered.  The DCM countered that since pastors are not 
allowed to receive training until their congregations are registered 
it puts these congregations at a disadvantage.  Nor can cultural 
conflict be an excuse for inaction, she said, noting that it was the 
duty for local officials to implement the law regardless of their 
own religious beliefs.  Xuan claimed that CRA had removed local 
officials who had not properly implemented the law, transferring 
them to jobs where they would no longer work on religious affairs 
issues, but when pressed could not provide examples of when this had 
happened. 
 
H'mong Bible 
------------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The DCM pressed Vice Chairman Xuan to permit 
H'mong-language Bibles to be printed in Vietnam, emphasizing that 
this was a long-standing issue that needed to be resolved.  In the 
meantime, the CRA should allow H'mong Bibles to be imported.  She 
noted that the Ambassador had raised MOET approval of the 
translation with the Minister of Education, but that the request for 
approval had already been pending for two years.  Xuan noted that 
currently there are 800,000 H'mong Protestants in Vietnam and 
acknowledged that as the number grew, so too had the demand for 
local-language Bibles.  Commenting on the fact that the CRA had thus 
far only permitted the Bible to be printed in an antiquated 
Latin-based version of H'mong no longer used by everyday H'mong 
people, Xuan said that this was the official H'mong language 
designated by Ho Chi Minh and that CRA did not have the authority to 
recognize new languages.  Xuan had no direct response to the request 
to allow imported Bibles, saying only, and in vague terms, that the 
Bible was a cultural and spiritual product, and that people had a 
right to use it.  (NOTE: As recently as 18 months ago some H'mong 
Protestants were fined for being in possession of H'mong Bibles 
printed outside of Vietnam.  END NOTE.) 
 
MICHALAK