Pastors say some curbs eased in Vietnam highlands
PLEIKU - Protestant pastors in Vietnam's
restive Central Highlands say conditions for worship have
improved somewhat in the past two years, but Hanoi still
imposes significant restrictions.
Evangelical pastor Siu Y Kim told a government-arranged
briefing in Gia Lai province ahead of a controversial U.N.
repatriation of hilltribe asylum seekers from Cambodia that
while the communist government now approved the existence of the Protestant church, it
still barred the building of churches.
Kim said on Monday there were still only two officially approved pastors for a
congregation of 100,000 and that he himself was only recognised as a pastor by
members of his 300-strong church group. "It may take more time for the government to
recognise my legal status."
He said they were obliged to worship in small groups in their homes, in what are called
"house churches".
"We are free to practice our faith with members of our family, but if other people want to
come, we have to seek permission," he said, adding before the church's recognition it
was illegal to have people come to his house.
The pastor spoke during a rare press tour of the highlands organised by the government,
which is anxious to refute reports that harsh treatment of mainly Protestant hill people
who staged rare protests last year prompted an ethnic exodus into Cambodia.
It is a sensitive issue for Vietnam, as many of the hill people fought along side the United
States during the Vietnam War and are still considered a potential security risk. Hanoi
has been keen to play down the religious aspect of the protests.
Both Kim and another pastor living nearby in Pleiku, Siu Pek, were critical of Protestants
who had joined the unrest, which they said was incited by exiles overseas promising
economic gain.
"Many of the protesters were very young and had not learned the true message of
Protestantism," said Siu Pek. "Some people mistakenly associated Protestantism with
politics."
He said he believed most Protestants living in Gia Lai were "orthodox" believers who did
not support the protest leaders in seeking a separate tribal state dubbed "Degar".
Conditions way
Kim said conditions for Protestants varied from place to place, depending on the attitude
of local officials. "In some places it's easy, in others it's not that easy," he said.
He said he was unable to confirm reports by rights groups, including Human Rights
Watch, that ethnic minority Protestants had been forced to drink animal blood to get
them to return to animist beliefs. But he did not discount them.
"I think that could not be a general policy. There may have been some cases, but this
would not have been the policy of the government, just the behaviour of some individuals.
Some people are good, some people are maybe different."
Asked about a report carried by Human Rights Watch that a Protestant church had been
burned down by police and soldiers in a district of Gia Lai last March, he again said he
had not heard this independently, but added: "It could not have been an official church
because they are not allowed and if there was a gathering, it was not for religious
reasons."
Kim said he had taken part in two prayer meetings several years ago which had been
broken up by the authorities and participants taken away for "working sessions" to
explain government policy on religion.
He said his group was no longer harassed like this and its activities needed not to be
secret. They did though still need to be "discreet".
The two simple church meeting rooms in the large attic at the back of Kim's house bear
this out, with the entrance through a trap door set into the ceiling -- not unlike Jewish
fugitive Anne Frank's "Secret Annex" in World War Two.
The chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Vy Ha said Gia Lai was
implementing a policy to recognise house churches and rejected the reports of the church
burning and animal blood.
He said Hanoi had taken so long to recognise the Protestant church in southern Vietnam
because before the communist victory in 1975 it had mainly existed in the enemy armies
of the United States and South Vietnam.
Kim said he hoped one day he would be able to move his congregation into more formal
premises. "I am sure it will happen," he said.
By David Brunnstrom - Reuters - February 19, 2002.
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