Vietnam Releases Instruction on Protestant Affairs

While religious freedom debates and Christian persecutions in Vietnam are raising tensions, the Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has issued an instruction guiding affairs concerning Protestantism to all the concerned ministries, services, and provincial and municipal People's Committees.

The statement reaffirms to the state’s willingness to "create more favourable conditions for Protestant followers to adhere to their local communities, thus encouraging them to get more deeply involved in local economic, cultural and social development as well as national construction and defence."

The statement encourages "every Protestant, cleric and adherent, to live a good religious and secular life in the service of God, the fatherland and the nation."

Prime Minister Phan wanted to "ensure that each citizen's freedom of religious and belief practice is observed and outlaw attempts to force people to follow a religion or deny their religion." Also he states the determination "to fight attempts by hostile forces to abuse Protestantism to incite people to act subversively."

For the Protestants who have practised faith for some time, he demanded them to "practise their religion in accordance with the law". He also said "they should be guided to practise their religion at home or at a suitable place in hamlets and villages."

In contrast, the Prime Minster ordered the authorities "to announce publicly to religious believers those disguised Protestants whose activities go against the nation and sow division among the people as well as their illegal activities and the State's punishments and clemency policies."

In addition, he emphasised that illegal missionaries will be strictly punished in accordance with the law.

"Ministers of all ministries and leaders of ministerial-level agencies and governmental offices, and chairmen of the provincial and city people's committees must be responsible for strictly," he concluded at the end of the statement.