Government-Incited Gang in Vietnam Attacks House Church – July 26, 2010

Since Vietnam achieved its goal of obtaining U.S. trade privileges in 2006 and acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2007, it has hardened its treatment of democracy, rights and religious freedom activists.

A gang of youths attacked a house church as the congregation worshiped on July 18^th. In Vietnam, a common approach for church expansion is to build a roomy home for an evangelist to serve also as a meeting place. 

Vuong, a pastor for the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South),  Vietnam’s largest government-registered denomination, had started the new congregation and the home had just nearly been completed when it was attacked.

According to a petition, village officials assembled young people for a meeting and plied them with liquor. Very late at night the youths attacked the evangelist’s house.  The gang stole 60 million dong ($3,000 CAN), which had just been borrowed to pay the house contractor. They burned Christian books and stole or destroyed everything else in the house, including new building materials and the contractor’s tools.

“There was no other reason for this – it is religious persecution, pure and simple, incited and allowed by local government officials,” said one prominent ECVN(S) leader. “The inaction of higher officials casts into doubt our country’s claim to uphold religious freedom.”

Since then this same gang of local youths has been harassing and threatening Vuong, sources said. The pastor reported death threats.  The petition blames the village chief, who is also the local Communist Party leader, for inciting the young people.   

Observers   do not foresee any positive changes in Vietnam’s human rights record at least until after next January’s five-yearly Communist Party Congress. In preparation for the congress, for which all major decisions are made in advance, no party factions can be seen to be weak on perceived threats to the revolution.

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