The Oversight

The Communist Party of Vietnam nevertheless kept a severe watch on religious activities, particularly those of the Roman Catholic Church. Observers remarked that during a two-day conference, June 22-23, 1998, the Secretary-general of the Vietnamese Communist Party Le Kha Phieu firmly warned the Catholics of hidden political sabotage of hostile forces. Likewise, the Politburo also drew up a balance sheet of religious activities in Vietnam. The official press, in particular, disclosed some revelations based on the resolution made at the conference. The official daily Nhan Dan, on June 24, 1998, cited the declarations by the secretary-general of the Communist Party at the conference. While heightening the important role of the religion in Vietnam, the secretary-general admonished hostile forces not to use religion to destabilize the country.  He further  stressed that party members must mobilize and direct the believer to heighten vigilance against hostile forces that might use the religion, exploiting it for malicious schemes. He waned the Catholics of the hostile forces’ attempts to derange the bicentennial ceremony of Our Lady of La Vang, denigrating the political regime.

There was nothing new in the attitude of the Party toward the Church. Previously, in May 1998, the  secretary-general had given indication that he had not wished to have a colossal assembly of Catholics at La Vang. He would limit, as much as possible, the participation of the Vietnamese Catholics in the event to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady of La Vang in which about 5 million Vietnamese Catholics would attend. Some observers noted that the Communist Party intentionally chose May 5, the day of the 180th birthday of Karl Marx, “the great ideologist and heroic revolutionary” to announce this measure. To justify, he presented as a pretext that the event would cause serious problems concerning the poor conditions of logistics and  the untenable situation of economy in the region. He gave remarks that  to assure of conditions of safety for thousands of people in such a small place and to secure their transportation and accommodations were not a simple matter. He nevertheless predicted that that the festival of La Vang would be proceeded all right and that all this was a sign of respect of the government for religion. There was no interdiction.

The Law

Strict control on the religion is obvious. During the eleventh session of the National Assembly, April 7, 1997, even Deputy Phan Khac Tu, a Catholic priest and State’s “protégé,” had to express his concern over a legal status for religion, a theme of civil liberties deemed sensitive. His speech, which was published in its entirety in the Catholic review Catholicism and the Nation (No. 1104, May 4, 1997), devoted all the last part to the application of the politics of religious freedom. The priest particularly criticized the gross manner with which certain regional authorities had conducted themselves  in matters of religion.  “The executions of rules and regulations varied depending on the  interpretations by diverse regional services or authorities, and cadres in this specialized domain. Twenty years after the reunification of the  country, no uniformity of application of the rules and regulations has been applied, as far as religious freedom  is concerned.”     

   

      A Legislative Code for Religions

On July 2, 1998, the Politburo issued an important document inspired b from Party Secretary-general Le Kha Phieu initiative,` announcing that "the government might publish a draft of a legal code for the creation of a house of editions for the publication of books of prayers and cultural and religious works." A year later, in a circular fixing the applications of rules and regulations, entitled "01/1999TT/TGCP of June 1999, the authorities in charge commented with remarks the malfunctioning of the house of editions.  It particularly specified that : "Those organizations that have the needs in the matter of printing, of publishing diverse categories of books of prayers, cultural products with religious contents must have their proposals for publication registered with the house of religious editions dependent on direct authorization the Bureau of Religious Affairs of the government." and that "within a period of  thirty days starting from the reception of the application, the director of the house of religious editions must resolve the matter and furnish a written answer."

     

It is difficult to interpret the said decision of the government on the creation of a  house of religious editions as a signal of liberalism this time. Could it be a matter of show of power of the State in the control of the literary and spiritual production of diverse sectors of the civil society? Not only did the decision of the government go against the will of the public and of the wish of the bishops for possessing a house of editions of their own, but it also created an atmosphere of  doubt and uncertainty. Had this decision been realized, it would soon put an end to a state of abuse of authority and finally showed respect for freedom of expression the Catholic Church had ever requested.

   

Uncertainty was still fell as regards the destiny of the review “Hiep Thong” (Holy Communion), the press organ of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Vietnam. During the annual assembly of the Episcopal Conference, the director of the Bureau of Religious Affairs suggested to the bishops that there was a necessity to set a term for the existence of the bulletin “Hiep Thong,” the official publication organ of the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference and the only press organ of the Catholic Church in Vietnam (EDA 318). However, several days later, one could consult on the internet, at the web-site of the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, the entirety of contents of the issue number 9 of the bulletin “Hiep Thong” with 300  pages devoted to  religious education for the laity, edited and diffused before the intervention of the Bureau of Religious Affairs. That was the last issue.  No further information on the site Internet had been posted since then, except a communiqué signed by the secretary of the Episcopal Conference, Bishop Barthelemy Nguyen Son Lam.

   

     A Directive on Religion   

The new religious politics of the Communist Party in the 1990’s is reflected in the directive on religion of the Politburo entitled “The Politburo’s Enumeration of the Rights of Believers.” It appeared on the official Vietnam Press Agency’s news release  on July 2, 1998. Another presentation of the text was published by the official daily Nhan Dan  (The People) on July 8, 1998. The approximate English version of the complete text by VHRW is as follows:

   “ I. Situation of Religion and Religious Work

Vietnam has numerous religions and millions of our compatriots adhere to different religious beliefs. Religious belief constitutes a spiritual need for a part of the population. The Party and State favor the application of an unchanged politics of respect for liberty of belief and non-belief of the people.

The policy of renovation of our country has obtained important results in the past ten years. Owing to the new policy, the standings of the material and spiritual life of the believers have reached higher standards. The politics of the Party and State has responded to the legitimate aspirations of the people, and thus consolidated their confidence in the Communist Party and State. The religious politics is welcomed with enthusiasm by our compatriot believers and the clergy. In many aspects, religious activities have been normalized within the frame of the law. In a general manner, the clergy of different religions practice their religious faiths suitably to the conditions of the nation and appropriately with the situation of our country. The believers enjoy greater peace, have confidence in the political lines of the Party and State, carry them out with enthusiasm, contribute to the work of renovation, reinforce the great union of the whole people, and participate in the building of the fatherland.

However, the religious activities of some believers and some members of the clergy in a certain number of places still do not conform to the law. Thus, the organization of certain religious activities, the printing and publication of books, the import and export  of printed materials, the diffusion of books of prayers, the use of land, the construction and restoration of worship places, the excessive exploitation of labor of the population remain unchanged in the domain where the prescriptions of the law are not respected. There are people who use the worship places for superstitious practices. Still, others who do not belong to any clergy organization practice proselytizing in contradiction with the law. There exist cases of predication of religion and use of religious beliefs for personal interests. These evil doings, which are in contradiction with the objectives of religion, incite prejudices, wear out the interests of the nation and the people, and orient the people toward individual interests.

In some places, certain sections of the Party authorities and specialized cadres in the religious domain are not conversant enough with the policies of the Party and State, and thus fail to correctly accomplish their work of orientation and motivation of the spirit of the believers and the clergy. The State itself does not specify its point in the texts of orientation  best suited to the new situations as needed and in time. In the conduct of religious affairs, one finds at the same time the manifestations of both uneasiness and relaxation. The struggle is not led with enough resolution to mete out the erroneous activities by certain people who use religion for the service or activities that are unlawful, harmful, and disadvantageous to the interests of the people.

     II. Principles, Politics of the Party and State with respect to Religion

Since we are now entering the period of industrialization and modernization of the country, a catalyst is to be fomented to step up the forces of the people in the struggle for the prosperity of the population and power for the nation, and justice, and civilization for the society. The Politburo invite all cadres in the central sections of the Party and the local authorities to mobilize our compatriot believers so that they will be able to develop our traditional patriotism, participate with enthusiasm in the work for restoration, accomplish their religious obligations as well as their civic duties to build up and defend the Fatherland, and continue to correctly apply the political lines for religion of the Party and State in conformity with the principles and political guidelines which are  as follows:  

1. Promote the respect for and warranty of the liberty of belief and non-belief of the citizen: All citizens are equal as regards their duties and rights before the law, whether they follow or not a religion and regardless of their religious denominations.

 2.  The intimate union will bind compatriot believers and non-believers  together within in the great union of the people.

3. Every individual and every organization that is engaged in religious activity must observe the Constitution and the law, make it a duty to protect the interests of the Vietnamese Socialist Fatherland and maintain national independence and sovereignty.

4. Religious activities are useful to the country. Practice religious activities in conformity with the legitimate aspirations, and with respect for the law under which they are protected. The cultural and moral values of religions are respected and encouraged.

5. Those who conduct activities under the cover of religious activities, imperil public order, cause harm to national independence, sabotage national union, oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, divide the clergy and believers, and obstruct them from performing their civic duties will be tried according to the law. Superstition will be criticized and eliminated.

6. The sections of the Party, the local authorities, the Fatherland Front of Vietnam, and the popular associations, social organizations, and religious organizations are in charge of mobilizing the masses and correctly enforcing the religious politics of the Party and State.

    III. The Tasks in the Domain of Religion

1. The sections of the Party and local authorities at all levels must vouch for the normalcy, honesty, and legality of religious activities. These organisms must permanently take care of the material and spiritual life as well as the elevation of the achievement standard of the people among whom are our compatriot believers of diverse religions. It is necessary to mobilize the clergy and believers of diverse religions to exercise their rights and perform their civil duties and participate positively in the tasks for economic, cultural, and social development, national defense and security, and the building a new life at the base.     

2. The sections of the Party, the local administration, the Fatherland Front of Vietnam, popular associations, and social organizations must positively propagate, diffuse, and explain the religious politics of the Party and State in the population and particularly within the circles of the clergy and the laity of the religion. Religious activities must be oriented according to this politics. We will have to develop our cultural and moral values within the cope of the situation where they are safe and sound. The religious orientations must be carried out in accordance with our national cultural traditions and social life. It is necessary to practice a religion suitably to  national cause and promote concatenation of activities and unite the whole people to the service of building and defending the fatherland.

3. The government will provide complements to this directive the regulations regularizing religious activities. It will prepare a writ on religion that will be presented to the Permanent Committee of National Assembly for promulgation. It will serve the task of administration of the State and create necessary conditions to actuate the legal functioning of religious activities. The government will prescribe concrete regulations and orientations for the activities of the religious congregations and societies for financial appropriation, humanitarian activities, artistic and cultural activities of the religion, the relations between the religion with the foreigners, the use of land, the formation of clergy, and other religious activities in such a manner that they should be duly performed in conformity with the law.  The government will soon publish a project for the creation of a printing house for the publication of books of prayers and cultural works of religion and the publication of a review destined to publicize religious studies and the orientations, and information on  in-service training in this domain.

4. We will intensify the works of propaganda, orientation, and assistance vis-à-vis the clergy and the faithful to elevate vigilance and encourage them to engage in the resistance to and struggle against all attempts to use the religions as  hostile forces to oppose the building and defense of the Fatherland and people.

5. We will have to edify and consolidate the base of the Party in response to the needs required to perform our economic, cultural, and social tasks as well as those in the national defense and the security in the regions and territories inhabited by our compatriots of diverse religions. The cadres and members of the Party, in general, must serve as an  example when stimulating the believers to correctly apply the orientations and political lines of the Party and the laws of the State.

6. It is necessary to reinforce the apparatus that is responsible for all those who work in the religious domain at all levels and in all branches.

7. The Fatherland Front of Vietnam, popular organizations, and social organizations will intensify their efforts beside the faithful and members of the clergy so that they will be able to associate with the whole community in the task for renovation. All these organizations will participate in the campaign entitled “All the people Unite to create a New Life at the Places of Residence.” They will consolidate the organization of the Fatherland Front and the associations operating within it. They will support positive elements and movements of patriotic emulation of our compatriots of diverse religions. They will contribute to the normalization, the development of economic and social sectors and the reinforcement of national security and defense at the local and national levels.”