US puts religious rights in Vietnam under close scrutiny
HANOI - An impending US decision on whether or not to punish Vietnam for its poor record on religious freedom has put the communist country under mounting pressure that could already have yielded significant changes. The US State Department last year classified Vietnam as a "country of particular concern" for violating religious freedoms and Washington must decide by March 15 if Hanoi is to face sanctions.
In recent weeks, Hanoi has made a number of goodwill gestures that some analysts see as an attempt to please the United States.Just before the first day of the Lunar New Year, Hanoi released several dissidents including Catholic priest Tadeus Nguyen Van Ly, who had been detained since 2001.At the same time, the government made a gesture in favour of Protestants in the country's troubled central highlands.An instruction signed by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in early February called on officials to "ensure that each citizen's freedom of religious and belief practise is observed (and) outlaw attempts to force people to follow a religion or to deny their religion".The instruction also signals that religions so far not officially registered could be recognised in the future.
It also gives Protestants the possibility of holding religious ceremonies on their premises provided they have no contact with the rebel United Front for the Struggle of the Oppressed Races (FULRO).The officially dissolved FULRO movement fought on the side of the Americans during the Vietnam War and against the communist state until the beginning of the 1990s, with the objective of creating an independent state.
"The Protestants who undertake purely religious activities are authorized to organize their masses at home or in suitable and registered places," an official from the Commission for Religious Affairs told AFP.Khai's instruction was "aimed at separating the leaders from the Protestants operating for FULRO and others," he said, on condition of anonymity.Taken literally, it means the followers of religions without any political ambitions could be allowed to practice their faith.
If implemented, it would be a major reform in a country accused by human rights organisations of persecuting Protestants, bulldozing churches and organising sessions for the forced renunciation of faith.The message to Washington is clear.
Agence France Presse - February 18, 2005
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