FLASH NEWS from COMPASS DIRECT Global News from the Frontlines

********** 200 POLICE HALT CHURCH CONSTRUCTION IN VIETNAM Cooperation Growing Between Protestant and Catholic Religious Liberty Advocates Special to Compass Direct

Summary: HO CHI MINH CITY, June 30 (Compass) — For the second time in three years, authorities in Thu Thiem district of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) halted the construction of a church building. This time, however, they did not destroy the initial construction, as Christians involved showed increased sophistication in their organizational skills. At 4 a.m. on June 9, Christian believers transported building materials to the construction site and, while one group gathered to pray, another constructed the temporary building’s frame. At 7 a.m., an estimated 200 police arrived on the scene, but left after realizing they could not legally stop the building project. Police then sent a gang of trouble-makers to the site, but efforts to provoke the praying Christians failed. The incident ended when authorities seized and hauled away all the building materials. Two weeks later, Catholic priests Peter Nguyen Huu Giai and Peter Phan Van Loi published an unprecedented “Letter of Solidarity with the Protestant Church in Vietnam” in which they expressed strong support for Christians involved in the Thu Thiem building project, as well persecuted Montagnard believers in the central highlands.

Full Story: HO CHI MINH CITY, June 30 (Compass) — For the second time in three years, authorities in Thu Thiem district of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) halted the construction of a church building. This time, however, they did not destroy the initial construction, as Christians involved showed increased sophistication in their organization of the building project and in subsequent protests against government interference.

At 4 a.m. on June 9, building materials were transported to the building site. One group of Christians, wearing on their heads a white mourning cloth emblazoned with a red colored cross, gathered to pray at the site, while another group constructed the building’s frame. By 5 a.m., the frame of the temporary building had been completed.

At 7 a.m., an estimated 200 police arrived on the scene. The pastor of the church, Truong Van Nganh, and Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, a Vietnamese Mennonite activist, peacefully engaged the authorities. The police left after realizing they could not legally stop the building project. However, officers apparently sent a gang of trouble-makers to the scene to cause problems. The gang tried unsuccessfully to provoke the praying Christians.

The Christians called high police authorities, who eventually sent police to call off the trouble-making gang. Authorities then ordered electricity to the area cut, but the Christians had brought their own generator. An officer from the U.S. Consulate also appeared at the scene.

The incident ended when authorities seized and hauled away all the building materials but did not destroy the frame.

On June 16, the church’s building committee chairman, Mr. Le Thanh Dung, and treasurer, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc, were summoned for police questioning. Police also called on the home of Rev. Quang on June 18. Investigations continue.

The Thu Thiem congregation belongs to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South), which was legitimized by the Vietnamese government in April 2001. Nevertheless on June 19, authorities ordered the ECVN (S) executive committee “to work with Pastor Nganh and his congregation to dismantle their church building.” This will likely prove an impasse, sources said, because the Thu Thiem church members have declared they will defend their church to the death.

Three years ago on July 1, 2000, authorities destroyed a similar church construction attempt. As a result, Pastor Nganh, along with Mennonite Pastor Quang, determined to obtain official approval for the church’s construction by carefully following and testing existing laws. In November 2001, with authorities stalling on the building permit request, Christians threatened a hunger strike on front of city hall. Because the hunger strike occurred on the eve of a visit from former U.S. president Bill Clinton, a building permit was immediately provided.

The building permit, however, included a requirement for an additional engineering permit. A year and a half later, that permit still had not been issued. In May 2003, Pastor Nganh requested a permit for a “temporary” building. According to law, applicants may proceed if officials do not respond within 20 days. When that period passed, the Christians proceeded with their early morning construction.

On June 13, four days after construction was halted, an account of the incident was distributed worldwide by the Vietnamese Catholic Conscience in San Jose, California. It was sent to human rights organizations, leaders of Western governments, and Protestant and Catholic advocacy groups.

The news was also circulated in Vietnam. On June 24, two Catholic priests in Hue, Peter Nguyen Huu Giai and Peter Phan Van Loi, published an unprecedented “Letter of Solidarity with the Protestant Church in Vietnam.” The two priests are supporters of well-known Father Nguyen Van Ly, recently sentenced to 15 years in prison for saying Vietnam lacked religious liberty.

In the letter, the priests thanked Pastor Quang for his courageous support of Father Ly’s three relatives, who are charged with treason. They also expressed strong support for the persecuted Montagnard Protestant Christians and for the Thu Thiem Christians involved in the church building project.

Cooperation between Catholic and Protestant religious freedom activists appears to be growing. The Catholic bulletin, Thu Nha (Letter from Home) connected to activist Father Stephen Chan Tin, recently published details about the persecution of Hmong Protestants. In April, the prestigious Catholic journal Eglises d Asie (Churches in Asia)

of the Paris Missionary Society published a French translation of “Distinct and Conflicting Policies: Religious Human Rights in Vietnam — The Protestant Experience,” a paper authored by the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

Catholics also circulated a Vietnamese copy of the paper on the internet.

END

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