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VIETNAMESE AUTHORITIES BANS CHRISTIAN HOUSE CHURCHES WITH THREATS OF
TORTURE AND IMPRISONMENT
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BACKGROUND: The indigenous Montagnards
(Degar) Peoples have suffered decades of persecution by the communist
government of Vietnam , namely; confiscation of their ancestral lands,
torture, killings, unjust imprisonment and religious repression. In
fact in 2004 the US State Department declared Vietnam to be one of worst
violators of religious freedom in the world. To counter the increasing
international condemnation of their human rights abuses and in particular
religious persecution the Vietnamese authorities have started implementing
the banning of Christian House Churches and created a new government
controlled religion called “THAN TUY”. Details of recent atrocities
in Vietnam have been received from Montagnard Foundation sources inside
Vietnam and listed below.
VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT FORCE DEGAR CHRISTIANS TO ABANDON HOUSE
CHURCH DEGAR CHRISTIANITY AND FOLLOW NEW RELIGION: This new
religion, “Than Tuy“ was created by Vietnamese authorities after the
Montagnard Degar demonstrations in February 2001. The
government assigned three leaders to implement the creation
of this new religion in Gai Lai province. Their names
are:
- Thay Hung (who is ethnic Vietnamese)
- Siu Kim (who is from the
ethnic Jarai tribe of the Montagnard Degar people).
- Ui (who is from the ethnic Banhar tribe of the Montagnard
Degar people).
Some of the people who work for these 3 Vietnamese government religious
leaders are: 1. Siu Pek, 2. Ksor Woc, 3. Ksor Ciar and
4. Rcom Boi.
31 HOUSE CHURCH CHRISTIANS THREATENED WITH IMPRISONMENT:
The Montagnard Foundation received information from the Central Highlands
that on 26 July 2005 the people's committee from the commune
of Ia Pet and the police chief summoned 31 villagers from
the villages of Plei Brong Guai, Plei Nglom Thung, Plei
Al Hmoi and Plei Al Roh and forced them to attend a meeting at the communal
headquarters of Ia Pet. At the meeting, they commanded the 31 villagers:
- To renounce Christ
- To stop following the Montagnard Foundation
- To stop fleeing to
Cambodia
- To stop supplying food to the Montagnards
hiding from arrest in the jungles
- To stop following
the Christian Degar house church movement and they
must follow “ THAN
TUY” because this is the only religion that
our government allows you to worship.
The police chief made a statement of agreement for the villagers and
forced them to sign it by threatening them with arrest
and imprisonment in the prison camp T-20 in Pleiku. The
police chief stated any men or women who refused to sign
would be sent there. Eight of the villagers who had previously been tortured
at T-20 prison camp were so frightened of being sent back to prison that
Kok Ksor states:
“This
new religion created by the Vietnamese government is
only a front to control and persecute the Montagnard
Degar people. According to our people's belief as
Christians, we have never seen such a
type of missionary come to our homelands
and force our people to worship their
God until now. We believe that human
beings can seed the rice-fields but to
make the rice grow, what is needed is
God. It is the same thing with spreading
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mankind can
preach the gospel but only the Holy
Spirit of God can make them believe.
Therefore, any religion created by a
government and that forces people to
follow it - is not a true religion. Our
people have suffered so much and they
cry out to the international community
to now protect them.
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they signed the statement of agreement and renounced their faith. The
other Montagnard Degar then followed them out of fear and signed the agreement.
All the villagers later reported to the Montagnard Foundation
that they signed the document solely because they were threatened with
torture and imprisonment. Their names are as follows:
- Byaih, from the
village of Plei Brong Guai , commune of Ia Pet, district
of Dakdoa, province of Gialai . He has just been released
from prison.
- Bop, from the village of Plei Brong Guai
, commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of
Gialai . He has just been released from prison.
- Gat, from the village of Plei Brong Guai , commune of
Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of Gialai . He
has just been released from prison.
- Jo, from the village
of Plei Brong Guai , commune of Ia Pet, district of
Dakdoa, province of Gialai . He has just been released
from prison.
- Cel, from the village of Plei Brong Guai
, commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of
Gialai . He has just been released from prison.
- Hoa, from the village of Plei Brong Guai , commune of
Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of Gialai . He
has just been released from prison.
- Tho, from the
village of Plei Brong Guai, commune of Ia Pet, district
of Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Prong, from the village
of Plei Brong Guai , commune of Ia Pet, district of
Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Dac, from the village
of Plei Brong Guai , commune of Ia Pet, district of
Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- . Suar, from the village
of Plei Brong Guai , commune of Ia Pet, district of
Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Gum, from the village
of Plei Brong Guai , commune of Ia Pet, district of
Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Suan, from the village
of Plei Nglom Thung , commune of Ia Pet, district of
Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Dok, from the village
of Plei Nglom Thung , commune of Ia Pet, district of
Dakdoa, province of Gialai . He has just been released
from prison.
- Klaih, from the village of Plei Nglom
Thung , commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province
of Gialai.
- H'Io, from the village of Plei Nglom
Thung , commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province
of Gialai.
- Huit, from the village of Plei Nglom
Thung , commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province
of Gialai. He has just been released from prison.
- Yum, from the village of Plei Nglom Thung , commune
of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Bluk, from the village of Plei Al Hmoi , commune of
Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of Gialai .
- Jih, from the village of Plei Al Hmoi , commune of Ia
Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of Giala .
- Anoih,
from the village of Plei Al Roh , commune of Ia Pet,
district of Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Djip,
from the village of Plei Al Roh , commune of Ia Pet,
district of Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Ploc,
from the village of Plei O Deh , commune of Ia Pet,
district of Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Wel, from
the village of Plei O Deh , commune of Ia Pet, district
of Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Mong, from the
village of Plei Al Klah , commune of Ia Pet, district
of Dakdoa, province of Gialai.
- Gao, from the village
of Plei Bia Bre , commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa,
province of Gialai.
- Go, from the village of Plei
Bia Bre , commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province
of Gialai.
- Sap, from the village of Plei Bia Bre
, commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of
Gialai.
- Anet, from the village of Plei Bia Bre
, commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of
Gialai.
- Ceo, from the village of Plei Bia Bre
, commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of
Gialai.
- Grung, from the village of Plei Bia Bre
, commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of
Gialai.
- An, from the village of Plei Bia Bre,
commune of Ia Pet, district of Dakdoa, province of
Gialai.
ARRESTED - WHERABOUTS UNKNOWN: 24 July 2005, the Vietnamese
police arrested our Christian Brother named, Rmah Treh (age
40) at his village of Plei Ken Hmek, district of Cu Se,
province of Gialai and took him to an undisclosed location. The reason
of the arrest was that he refused to follow the religion called “Than
Tuy” and his family
is extremely distressed as his whereabouts are unknown
and they fear he will be tortured or killed.
ARRESTED - WHERABOUTS
UNKNOWN: 31 July 2005, the Vietnamese
police arrested our Christian Brother named Rmah Nang, (age
24) from the village of Plei Ken Hmek, district of Cu
Se, province of Gialai. The reason of the arrest was
that he refused to follow the religion called “Than Tuy” and his family
is extremely distressed as his whereabouts are unknown and they fear
he will be tortured or killed.
THE MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION URGENTLY CALLS ON:
- The
United States Government, the European Union, the
United Nations and all other peaceful nations to insist
Vietnam ceases all religious persecution inside Vietnam
before Vietnam be granted entry into the World Trade
Organization.
- The United States Government and the European Union
to insist all Montagnard Degar Prisoners are fully
accounted for and released from Vietnamese Prisons before
Vietnam be granted entry into the World Trade Organization.
- The United States Government, the European Union, the
United Nations, and all other peaceful nations insist
Vietnam abide by the 2002 Concluding Observations of
the UN Human Rights Committee regarding the “serious violations” facing
the Montagnard peoples (UN doc: CCPR/C/SR.2031) and allow
human rights monitors access to the central highlands
as a precondition to Vietnam gaining entry into the World
Trade Organization.
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