Evangelical Christianity in the South

 

     

The Persecution in the Provinces

 

      

In Ben Tre Province, the Christians were not only discriminated on grounds of religion but also maltreated because of resistance of repression. The authorities of Tra Vinh forced the Christians to close their worship places. These believers were  denied  authorization to build one even though it met the rules and regulations as required by the law. A worship place was built in Ngu Lac in 2003. Police raids occurred again and again. On January 25, 2007, the pastor Nguyen Van Dien and fellow Christians were beaten  near a bridge at Ngu Lac Commune by a group of about 15 thugs. There was no intervention whatsoever from the authorities. On November 15, the pastor came to Ngu Lac to celebrate and baptize new converts.  Police disrupted the celebration. The local authorities who came to attend a celebration at a Therevada temple nearby ignored this act of religious intolerance. They incited the Buddhists who were in attendance to complicate the situation, instead. They even forced the Christians to stop their celebration and disband themselves.

In Binh Phuoc Province, Christians of the ethnic minority S’tieng have also suffered harsh repression as have the Vietnamese Christians. On April 8, 2005, the security police came and surrounded Thanh Binh Commune, Binh Long District while the Christian congregation and the youths of the S’tieng ethnic minority were performing religious services. The following day, it broke away the assembly of 300 Christians on grounds of illegal assembly, saying that the program of activities had not been registered at police headquarters for permission. Visitors must leave, and only local residents could stay. People from afar had to return to their places of destination. Pastor Tran Mai, on behalf of his congregation, protested against the breaches of the Sate against the right to religious assembly as instituted in the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.His protest came to no answer.

   

Religious practices of Christians iin Binh Duong Province are strictly controlled. Fifty Christian congregations in the province were continually harassed by police raids. Christians of the Mennonite Church at Phuoc My Commune, Ben Cat District, met with difficulty from the local authorities any time they assembled for prayers. During Christmas 2008.the authorities and security police came to the worship place of the Church and stopped the worship celebration.They confiscated the Bibles and religious materials.. Being asked about the reason for such intrusion, the Head of the Religious Affairs Section of Binh Duong Nguyen Khai Hoan said that the authorities in Binh Duong just wanted to offer the Christians some guidance. Theey had not followed legal guidelines. Christians had obligation to register their religious activities at the administration’s office, but they had not. Pastor Nguyen Thanh Nhan, on the contrary, negated the accusation, saying that the Christians had already come to the district and province offices, the Department of the Interior and had applied in vain for the authorization from the authorities. Preaching faith, and an assembly for prayers, which are of primay importance to religious practices, are denied. To the Christians of Mennonite Church preaching the Bible and assembly for prayers are religious performances with which Christians serve their faith.  

The growth of the Church is rapid. The administration attributes to this religious drive as a counterrevolutionary movement. Out of fear, they ought to dissolve it. The Church is ever targeted with suppression. In Binh Duong, at the end of August of 2011, the police forces dissolved any assembly of Christians at the industrial My Phuoc I of which the Reverend Nguyen Thanh Nhan was the pastor in charge. Church services were entirely paralyzed, so were religious activities.

At 11:30 P.M. of June 11, 2014, more than three hundred plainclothes and uniform security agents and civil guards of Ben Cat, B broke down the gate and stormed the chapel of the Mennonite Church. They cut electricity and brutally assaulted 76 Christians who were performing religious practices on charge of illegal assembly, although the Christians had registered a temporary household registration. Pastors, ministers, and even women and children were beaten. Twenty-nine pastors and ministers, and 47 Christians including seminarians and Bible instructors were arrested. The seminarians were beaten while under detention. The pastors, ministers, and 47 Christians were released the following day. The authorities did not give any explanation on the incident. Pastor Nguyen Huu Tinh, who was one among the arrested, declared that the administration in Vietnam no longer “observe moral conduct. They use violence to show power and create fear to intimidate the Christians. Nevertheless, those believers find ourselves more resilient,  firmly serving faith and standing up to struggle for the Truth