VIETNAM AUTHORITIES IN THU THIEM APPEASE INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS

There has been a further development in the on-going persecution of the Thu Thiem house church in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This church is not registered with the government and is therefore not under Communist control, and its attempt to worship publicly in its own church building has become an unprecedented test case for true freedom of worship in Communist Vietnam.

Following the demolition of the Thu Thiem church building in July 2000 (reported by VOM), Pastor Truong Van Nganh filed a request in November 2001 to re-build. Authorities stalled the request so that in May 2003, Pastor Nganh requested a permit for a “temporary” building. According to law, applicants may legally proceed if officials do not respond within 20 days. With no response, the church began construction on June 9, 2003.

As previously reported by VOM, initially 200 police and special officers were sent to halt construction and church leaders were later interrogated by the police. The congregation still managed to complete the building but on July 2, was ordered by the District 2 People Committee to dismantle the construction by July 12. The church met for worship on July 6 with 140 people. In the meantime, the Pastor had sent a letter of protest to the Government.

In a surprising act of conciliation, the Religious Department of Ho Chi Minh City, at 3 pm on July 10, called Pastor Truong Van Nganh, two members of the Thu Thiem house church committee, and Rev Tran Ba Thanh, a member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnamese Evangelical Church (South Vietnam), to discuss the situation.

The Department conceded that it had taken too long to consider the church’s application and gave temporary approval for the Thu Thiem house church to conduct services in the building while the government considered the church’ s application for a permanent building. During this time Pastor Truong was to take responsibility for public order relating to church meetings.

Pastor Nganh agreed in the meeting that he had begun building on farmland before final permission for urban use by the church. He further agreed to withdraw the appeal letter he had sent to higher government officials. A compromise arrangement was signed by both sides at 4 pm on July 10, 2003.

VOM-Australia has now received an update on this situation. Apparently Pastor Nganh’s admission to the Religious Department of Ho Chi Minh City has provoked a reaction from city and district civil authorities.

When the church applied for a house number and the supply of water and electricity for the church building, they received an official letter rejecting their application, because: a) Pastor Nganh admitted that he built the church without permission and had not paid a fine according to decision No. 6635 by the District Two People’s Committee; b) Pastor Nganh had not dismantled the church building so no temporary house number could be issued yet.

Subsequently, on the July 25, 2003, at 9am, the local authorities invited Pastor Nganh and an executive member of his church, Mrs Tran Thi Cuc, to a meeting with a Mr Hung, representative of City Management, and Mrs Thu, representative of the District 2 National Front. They insisted that: a) Pastor Nganh must pay the fine for illegally building the church and, b) Decision No. 6635 is still valid, and therefore the Pastor must pull down the church building.

Pastor Nganh objected, saying that he was scheduled to meet the Religious Committee again.

It is now believed by Vietnamese Christians that the conciliatory act of the Religious Department of Ho Chi Minh City in offering a compromise agreement with the church was to appease international observers. It is also believed that the agreement was designed to placate the church while providing an opportunity for other civil authorities, using Pastor Nganh’s admission that he had begun building on farmland before final permission was given for urban use, to pressure the Pastor and his congregation to pull down the church building.

Please pray for the Thu Thiem house church while it struggles to receive from Communist officials the concessions and permits that would normally be available only to registered churches under Communist control. VOM is assisting the Thu Thiem house church with your gifts.

29 July 2003

Voice of the Martyrs Servants of the Persecuted Church http://www.persecution.com.au