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.”
