Vietnam's New
Religious Ordinance Under Fire
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
September 01, 2004
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) -Vietnam's communist government is
introducing a new ordinance that claims to uphold citizens' rights to religious
freedom, but critics - including church leaders inside Vietnam - say the
authorities are, on the contrary, trying to restrict the freedom to worship.
The move comes at a time when advocacy groups are pressing for U.S. Senate
passage of legislation passed last month in the House of Representatives, which
ties increases in U.S. aid to improvements in Vietnam's human rights record.
Previous efforts to get the Vietnam Human Rights Act enacted were stymied
by Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate. Arguing that the move
would hinder rather than help reforms, Kerry used his position as chairman of
the foreign relations committee's East Asian and Pacific Affairs subcommittee to
block further progress.
The lengthy Ordinance on Beliefs and Religions, which comes into effect on
November 15, "assures citizens of their basic rights regarding religious
freedom" and says these rights "cannot be violated by anyone,"
according to the official Vietnam News Agency.
But a commentary by three Catholic priests in Vietnam, made available by Freedom
House's Center for Religious Freedom, sees the document instead as part of an
effort by Hanoi to "mislead the naive" into thinking Vietnam has
freedom of religion.
Chan Tin, Nguyen Huu Giai, and Phan Van Loi asserted that the ordinance
"violates the legal rights of all religions and the rights of all religious
people," and urged the government to withdraw it.
Although article one of the document states unambiguously that freedom of
religious believe is guaranteed by the state and cannot be violated, virtually
every one of the 40 articles that follow threaten to do just that, they argued.
"Article one grants religious freedom, then the following articles
gradually withdraw that freedom until nothing is left."
They pointed to numerous references to a requirement to register - in some
cases, annually - or to seek permission, approval or recognition before carrying
out religious activities.
From past experience, the priests said, "registering" does not simply
mean reporting to the authorities and then going ahead with a planned activity.
"It means waiting for the authorities to grant permission before you can
begin anything."
And getting that approval is not guaranteed, either.
"The State grants local authorities the power to give permission or not to
give permission depending on their own will, according to their own convenience,
subject to their own feelings, case by case - perhaps also dependent on a
bribe."
Tin, Giai and Loi questioned the legitimacy of communist officials having the
power to make judgments on age-old religions.
"For centuries the world has recognized these religions while the Communist
Party has been in existence for less than a hundred years," they said.
"But now the Vietnamese communist state claims the right to decide which
religion is recognized and which religion is not recognized, which religion is
permitted to operate and which religion is not permitted to operate. What
arrogance and stupidity!"
'Undermining security'
Among the most worrying clauses for critics are articles eight and 15.
The first forbids "abuse" of religious freedom to "undermine
peace, independence and national unity." It also forbids religious leaders
or groups from disseminating "information against the State's prevailing
laws and policies."
Article 15 provides for the suspension of religious activities deemed to
"violate national security" or "negatively affect the unity of
the people or the nation's fine cultural traditions."
A leading critic of Vietnam's human rights record, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.),
has called the religion ordinance an "Orwellian move" on Hanoi's part.
"This new law is the most capricious and arbitrary policy imaginable -
designed to snare and incarcerate believers for undermining peace, independence
and national unity, whatever that means," he said in a statement last
month.
Smith, who is vice-chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said
Vietnam "needs to come out of the dark ages of repression, brutality and
abuse and embrace freedom, the rule of law, and respect for fundamental human
rights."
Smith was the sponsor of the Vietnam Human Rights Act, which the House approved
last July.
The Vietnamese government, which responded angrily to passage of the Act,
insists that it does uphold religious and other freedoms.
Nguyen Thanh Xuan, deputy head of the government's Committee for Religious
Affairs, recently told the Vietnam News daily that the Communist Party and the
state "have made many efforts to ensure the people's rights regarding
religious freedom."
He listed the sanctioning of nine religious organizations since 1994; the
existence of six Catholic seminaries and three institutes of Buddhism; the fact
that more than 300 Buddhist monks and nuns and more than 100 Catholic priests
had been sent to study abroad; and the publication of nearly five million copies
of religious books and Bibles over the past five years.
Plea to senators
A significantly different picture comes from Shandon Phan, advocacy coordinator
for the U.S.-based Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam (CRFV).
Since 2001 -- when Kerry first blocked the Vietnam Human Rights Act -- religious
repression had not only continued, but intensified, Phan said Tuesday.
The CRFV cited numerous incidents, including the destruction of more than 400
Christian churches in the central highlands, the confiscation of properties of
non-conformist churches, and the detention of Buddhist leaders.
The government also "forced thousands of Montagnard to renounce their
faith," Phan said, referring to the predominantly Protestant "mountain
people" of the central highlands.
Phan said the Human Rights Act was significant because, unlike other
congressional resolutions, the legislation provided for action if Vietnam
continued to disregard international criticism.
"Many dissidents and religious leaders, who currently are imprisoned or
under house arrest, have repeatedly expressed their support of this bill."
Phan saw a direct link between worsening repression in Vietnam and Kerry's
actions three years ago.
"Since 2001, immediately after the bill was blocked, the Vietnam government
has increasingly escalated their oppression policy since they have had reasons
to believe that as it is not that difficult to reach out to Washington DC to
lobby a few Senate members to block the bill."
In 2001, Kerry said that he and another opponent of the legislation, Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.) "are concerned that denying aid to Vietnam would actually
slow human rights improvements."
Phan said it didn't make sense to speak about "constructive
engagement" if the approach "failed miserably" to advance human
rights.
"The House has clearly spoken out with their vote," Phan said.
"We only hope that our U.S. Senators would consider our community's concern
and the interest of 82 million Vietnamese people."
"The bill has become a defining issue for our community in this election
time."
Vietnam
Human Rights Network
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