Mourning Vietnam

WHEN CHRISTIANS are deemed to be overstepping the mark in Communist Vietnam, the State’s response is swift and severe. Around eight percent of the South East Asian country’s 80 million people are Catholic and actively involved in evangelisation through their schools, day clinics and leprosariums. But spreading the good news is not without its risks. Recently, the Government has been accused of oppressing Montagnard Christians – indigenous mountain people affiliated with Dega Protestantism, a form of evangelical Christianity banned in Vietnam – because of their demands for land reform and religious freedom. During the last three years, several hundred Montagnards have gone into hiding to escape arrest, persecution, and torture. Human Rights Watch reports that the Government crackdown has intensified this year, with hundreds of paramilitary police from unit 113 of Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security conducting “sweeping” operations throughout the Central Highlands to arrest Montagnards.

A troubled past

Vietnam is no stranger to violent conflict. Colonised by France in the late 19th century, independence was officially declared after the Second World War, but the French effectively continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Ho Chi Minh’s Communist forces. These took control of the North of the country and, in an attempt to stem the ‘domino effect’ of successive nations falling to Communism, the United States supplied increasing economic and military aid to South Vietnam through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster its Government. The United States then entered hostilities with the North in 1963 leading to a jungle war – which, during its latter stages, held the attention of the world – that produced heavy casualties on both sides, atrocities against civilians, and the indiscriminate destruction and contamination of much of the landscape. American armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Communist forces seized the South of the country in 1975, leading to unification the following year.
One of the world’s leading rice exporters, Vietnam is a largely agricultural country, with more than two-thirds of the workforce employed on the land. Having originally attempted to organise its unified economy along strict collectivist lines with little success, from 1986 the Communist Government introduced freer markets, and tolerated private enterprise. A stock exchange was established in 2000, and levels of foreign investment in the country, which depends heavily on the tourist industry for revenue, have increased. American efforts to normalise relations with the former enemy culminated in a visit by former president, Bill Clinton, in November 2000. The country finally seemed to be opening itself up to freedom of religion when, in meetings with Vatican officials in 2002, Vietnam’s bishops presented their most upbeat reports in decades on Church life in their country. Church membership had grown by more than 14 percent in just five years, and some dioceses had more priestly vocations than they needed.

An Easter massacre?

But the growth of Christianity has inherent problems. During Easter weekend, thousands of Montagnards had planned to hold demonstrations against Government repression in Buon Ma Thuot, capital of the Daklak province in Vietnam’s central highlands. The rally was intended to be a peaceful five-day protest calling for religious freedom and return of ancestral lands. According to Christian sources in the area, clashes erupted when police used tear gas, electric truncheons, and water cannons to prevent demonstrators from entering the city. Dozens of people were arrested and Government forces then sealed off the area, using tanks to block the main road into Buon Ma Thuot. Eye-witness reports allege that several demonstrators were beaten to death by police. Thousands more were reported to be fleeing across the Cambodian border to seek refuge from what they claimed was a Government-sponsored ethnic cleansing campaign.
Protests quickly flared up around the region, and police are reported to have fired on crowds of demonstrators who refused to disperse. Following the clashes, hundreds of Montagnards did not return to their villages, fearing police would be there, ready to make arrests. On the night of 10 April, all the men of one village disappeared, and it is not known whether they were arrested, or went into hiding. Montagnards reported that their villages were filled with police, who prohibited them from leaving their houses to buy food or farm their fields.
A Vietnamese Government spokesman said that though there had been disturbances in several areas of the Dak Lak region on 10-11 April, the demonstrators were “violent extremists who burned schools and public offices, fought against police and caused public disorder.” He denied there had been any deaths, and said that though the area had been secured, journalists and foreign observers were being refused access “for their own safety.”
“We are extremely concerned that so many are missing or being held incommunicado by the police, and about the possibility of torture and mistreatment,” said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. “The Government’s heavy-handed response is clearly backfiring. The policy of repression of Montagnard Christians is only fuelling unrest.”
Adams called for the Vietnamese Government to immediately allow independent observers into the region, and for neighbouring Cambodia – which has since closed its border to the fleeing Christians, as well as shutting down a UNHCR station along its frontier with Vietnam – to honour its obligations under the United Nations Refugee Convention and stop forcing back Montagnards seeking asylum. Under pressure from Vietnam, Cambodia closed refugee camps in its border provinces and barred UNHCR protection officers from operating outside of the capital, Phnom Penh, in 2002. Montagnards caught trying to cross the border are promptly expelled back to Vietnam, where many are beaten, detained, or sentenced to lengthy prison terms, according to Human Rights Watch reports. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party, requires that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention, and that anyone arrested shall promptly be brought before a judge and informed of the charges against him or her.

Mass graves

Before the Easter protests, checkpoints were established along main roads and strict travel restrictions have been enforced. Dogs have been used to search for hiding Montagnards suspected of supporting the Dega movement. Meetings of more than two people have not been allowed, and communication with the outside world has been barred. The searches are focused in particular on activists who use mobile phones to make international calls to report on abuses. Villagers suspected of helping those in hiding are interrogated and sometimes beaten, their homes being ransacked by police officers.
Eye witness reports to the American-based Montagnard Foundation claim that, during searches of highland villages, truckloads of soldiers enter a village, systematically search houses, and beat and arrest those inhabitants with suspected Dega sympathies. One witness reported soldiers clearing up dead bodies on the street with bulldozers, and accounts have been given of mass graves being dug in secret locations.
“The ethnic cleansing campaign is now targeting women and children,” said Kok Ksor, president of the South Carolina-based Montagnard Foundation. “Local authorities as well as Vietnamese civilians have threatened to exterminate all the Montagnards before they leave the central highlands.” Accounts have been reported of officials forcing Montagnard villagers to abandon Christianity and cease all political or religious activities in public self-criticism sessions or by signing written pledges.
Nguyen Van Lang, a Vietnamese Government official and chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said that Kok Ksor – whose ties with America stretch back to the Vietnam War when anti-Communist Montagnards allied themselves with the United States – was considered a terrorist by Vietnam’s Government. Lang strongly hinted that the American Government had played a role in igniting the mass protests, questioning the “very strange coincidence” that two American diplomats had travelled to the area during Easter weekend. A spokesman for the American Embassy denied any connection between the protests and the 10 April visit, which was described as a routine trip that had been planned in advance and approved by Government officials.

Vatican Advances

In May, Mgr. Petro Parolin, the Vatican’s undersecretary for relations with states, led a delegation to Vietnam, which has no official diplomatic relations with the Holy See. The trip was the latest in a series of visits, stretching back 10 years, during which Vatican officials have met officials of the Government’s religious affairs bureau urging them to ease restrictions on the activities of the Church. Though the Government allowed the Vatican emissaries to visit the diocese of Buon Ma Thuot, it insisted that the visit was conducted without any fanfare, and refused to permit any meetings with local lay Christians. No direct reference was made to clashes between Montagnards and police during the visit, but Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican spokesman, said the Vatican delegates “celebrated the Eucharist in a climate of intense ecclesial communion and received expressions of deep affection and fidelity to the Holy Father.”
A key issue in the Vatican’s dialogue with the Hanoi regime has been the appointment of new bishops. The Vietnamese Government has been slow to allow new bishops to take office, and several of the country’s dioceses are now waiting for leadership. Following the last visit of Vatican officials to Vietnam, in October 2002, the Vietnamese vice-premier, Wu Khoang, made a trip to the Vatican which Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State, described as a “step forward” in the effort to establish formal diplomatic ties.
Meetings with officials of Vietnam’s Office for Religious Affairs during May’s six-day visit took place behind closed doors, but the Vatican said they were held in a “positive climate”. The Holy See’s representatives also met members of Vietnam’s Bishops’ Conference, and visited the diocese of Xuan Loc, which is known as “Vietnam’s Vatican” because of its high concentration of Catholics – nearly 1 million faithful and 200 parishes – and numerous religious institutions.
Regional analysts believe the success of the trip could be measured in the Vietnamese Government’s approval of the nomination of Mgr. Thanh Hoa to the rank of bishop. The Episcopal seat had been vacant for two years, because the Vietnamese Government does not allow the direct appointment of bishops. Rather, the Holy See is required to suggest several names from which the Government chooses its preferred candidate. The authorities also decide on the candidates for seminaries, where the teaching of Marxism is obligatory. Several dioceses, including Xuan Loc and Hanoi, still have elderly bishops who need an auxiliary or a successor. Clearly, there is progress still to be made in Vietnam but, for the Catholic Church at least, diplomatic pressure seems to be yielding more fruit than outspoken protests.

Our Lady of La Vang
 Our Lady of La Vang is the central and national shrine of Vietnam, approximately 60 kilometres from the former capital Huê. The name is derived from a type of fern which used to grow in great quantities in the region. During the great persecution (1798-1801) many Christians took refuge in the jungle situated in proximity of Quang Tri, a village in central Vietnam, where they experienced hunger and sickness, and prepared themselves for martyrdom. One day, as the community was assembled in prayer, the figure of a lady surrounded by many lights, appeared to them. She presented herself as the Mother of God, encouraged and consoled them, and gave them a special sign of her loving care. She advised the people to use the leaves of the fern to treat their ailments, and promised them to receive their prayers with maternal generosity. Mary appeared on several occasions at the same site. In 1802, after the persecution, the Christians left their jungle hiding place and returned to their villages. However, the story of the apparition and its message was passed on. In 1820 a chapel was built at the apparition site. From 1820-1885 still another wave of persecution decimated the Christian population. More than 100,000 Vietnamese Christians died as martyrs. In 1885 the chapel in honour of Our Lady of La Vang was destroyed by a fanatic. A new chapel was built between 1886 and 1901. Soon it was no longer able to hold the many pilgrims to La Vang, and in 1923 a new and bigger church was erected. It was consecrated in 1928 (August 22) in the presence of 20,000 pilgrims. Every three years a national pilgrimage was organized for the whole country which was to have a special meaning even after the separation of South and North. In 1959 La Vang was officially declared a national shrine, marking the 300 years of the Church’s presence in Vietnam. The Church of La Vang was made a basilica minor in 1961.
The Holy Father recently said, “In visiting the shrine of Our Lady of La Vang, who is so loved by the Vietnamese faithful, pilgrims come to entrust to her their joys and sorrows, their hopes and sufferings. In this way, they call on God and become intercessors for their families and nation, asking the Lord to infuse in the heart of all people feelings of peace, fraternity and solidarity, so that all the Vietnamese will be more united every day in the construction of a world based on essential spiritual and moral values, where each one will be recognized because of his dignity as a son of God, and be able to go in freedom as a son toward the Father in Heaven”.