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Congressional Testimony

November 6, 2007

Statement of Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, Executive Director Boat People SOS
on House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Subcommittee,

We are witnessing Vietnam's return to the "dark age" in terms of political tolerance. Soon after Vietnam entered the WTO, extricated itself from the Country of Particular Concern designation, and achieved Permanent Normal Trade Relation with the US, its government mounted a sweeping crackdown against peaceful pro-democracy advocates, nonconformist religious leaders, labor union organizers, and even lawyers that defended victims of persecution and social injustice. We have documented the arrest and detention of at least 42 dissidents. Within the six-week period between March 30 and May 15, 20 of them were sentenced to a total of over 80 years in prison. The picture of Catholic Priest Nguyen Van Ly muzzled at his own trial is symptomatic of the worst political crackdown in 20 years.

In the recently released Vietnam Country Report, we document the escalation in violations of human rights, oppression of religions, and suppression of democracy. In this testimony I would like to focus particularly on the on-going denial of religious freedom to Catholics, Protestants, and Buddhists in Vietnam.

Last year our State Department took Vietnam off the CPC list, pointing to the release of all prisoners of concern, the improved legal framework towards religion, and the registration of over a hundred house churches.

To place this in the right perspective, let's remind ourselves that the Vietnamese government banned more than 4,000 house churches between 2001 and 2004. So far only 3% of them have been registered. We can hardly consider this significant progress.

And the legal framework is not what it seems. It is shaped by three documents: the Ordinance on Belief and Religion that became effective November 2004; the March 2005 decree on implementing this ordinance; and, in between these two documents, the Prime Minister's February 2005 Directive on Protestantism. The Ordinance and Decree set out conditions, regulations, and procedures for denominations to apply for recognition as legal entity or to register for religious operation. The Prime Minister's Directive supposedly provides a venue for religious entities not eligible under the Ordinance and Decree to register for specific activities, which is quite restrictive: only certain religious activities are allowed, involving only individuals and held at only locations pre-approved by the local government.

In most instances, this Directive trumps the Ordinance and Decree. Fewer than ten denominations or house churches have been recognized or registered according to the Ordinance and Decree. For example, according to the Ordinance the Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN), already legally recognized, only needs to inform the local authorities of the annual activities of its affiliated congregations. In reality the government requires these affiliates to register. Of the 671 ECVN congregations in the Northwestern Highlands that have sent in their registration, only 50 have been approved for specific activities. In April of this year, the government declared the suspension of further processing of the remaining applications. The ECVN Chairman has not been allowed to visit his unregistered affiliates.

The situation is even worse for many other Churches. The United Baptist Church operating in Central Vietnam has 87 affiliates; 55 of them applied for registration for religious operation; only 3 were approved for specific religious activities; 10 either saw their applications denied or were banned from activities altogether-in one instance the local government ordered the destruction of the church's facility; in two instances, the government banned followers from participating in religious activities; in another instance the government imprisoned the church leader. Of the 3 approved congregations, one is now "out of status" because its application for the renewal of the registration has been pending for the past 12 months.

We are very concerned about the State Department's assertion that all individuals of concern have been released. We have thoroughly documented at least 50 individuals still in prison, including a dozen Hoa Hao Buddhists-most prominent of them is Monk Vo Van Thanh Liem, arrested in August 2005 after submission of a written testimony to a US congressional hearing; he is serving a 6-year term. Equally troubling is the recent arrest and sentencing of 5 Khmer Krom Buddhist monks to 2 to 4 years and the detention of Khmer Krom Buddhist Monk Tim Sakhorn, a citizen of Cambodia.

The State Department's report also asserts that "there were no known instances of societal discrimination or violence based on religion." We have confirmed several incidents of religious repression by local governments, indicating more subtle measures being used to hinder the religious activities of ethnic minority Protestants. On June 10, the home of Evangelist Dinh Van Xeo in Son Bao Village, Son Ha District, Quang Ngai Province, was burned down. On July 11, approximately 140 Protestant families of the Stieng ethnicity in Bu Dop, Binh Phuoc Province became homeless when the government took away their ancestral lands and homes and destroyed their crops. The authorities continue to cut off electricity to the homes of several Hoa Hao Buddhists associated with imprisoned Monk Vo Van Thanh Liem.

Our Vietnam Country Report documents many more instances of discrimination, intimidation, and violence against people of faith.

In conclusion I would like to offer the following recommendations:

1. Our State Department should set concrete benchmarks to assess Vietnam's commitment to religious freedom, such as:

• Recognition of all 671 ECVN congregations in the Northwestern Highlands;
• Timely processing of all applications for recognition or registration according to the Ordinance and Decree;
• Release of all "individuals of concern" from prison or "temple" arrest.

2. Our State Department should consider placing Vietnam on the CPC list if these benchmarks are not met.

3. Our Embassy in Ha Noi should maintain an up-to-date list of persecuted Khmer Krom Buddhists, Hoa Hoa Buddhists, Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam leaders, Catholic priests, and Protestant house church members; and convene regular meetings with leaders of the persecuted Churches so as to monitor the true conditions of religious freedom.

4. Congress should authorize and appropriate funding to build capacity for independent Churches in Vietnam to defend their rights under the new legal framework.

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Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang arrived to the United States in 1979 as a boat person from Vietnam. He is currently Executive Director of Boat People SOS, a national organization with branch offices across the country, and founding member of Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam. For the past 20 years he has worked on the protection of Vietnamese and Montagnard refugees and asylum seekers. In 1990 he launched Legal Assistance for Vietnamese Asylum Seekers (LAVAS) to provide legal protection to refugees in Southeast Asian and Hong Kong camps. His advocacy efforts culminated in the resettlement of over 18 thousand former Vietnamese boat people to the US under the Resettlement Opportunity for Vietnamese Returnees.

Dr. Thang has also played a prominent role in combating human trafficking in the US and overseas. In 2001 he worked with federal agencies to rescue Vietnamese and Chinese victims in the American Samoa in the largest human trafficking case ever prosecuted by the US federal government. He regularly monitors Vietnam country conditions with respect to human rights, religious freedom and human trafficking. In 1998 he co-founded Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam and has served on its Board of Directors since. He recently co- founded the Vietnam Study Group and co-edits its Vietnam Country Report.

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"EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT BOAT PEOPLE SOS THANG TESTIFIES ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS IN VIETNAM BEFORE HOUSE PANEL." US Fed News Service, Including US State News. HT Media Ltd. 2007.HighBeam Research. 18 Nov. 2009 <http://www.highbeam.com>.

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