Freedom of Religion and Artistic
Expression
VOICE
11
January, 2014
1. Article 70 of Vietnam’s Constitution guarantees
‘Citizens have the right to freedom of belief and religion, and may practise or
not practise any religion’. However, the government has tried to control
religious freedom, using both force and administrative measures. Current
administrative measures include the 2004 Ordinance on Religion and Belief
(Ordinance No. 21) and the 2012 Decree on Directions and Measures for
Implementing the Ordinance on Religion and Belief (Decree No. 92).
2. The government does not grant religious
organizations the same legal status as other nonreligious organizations. Both
the latest Ordinance 21 and Decree 92 fail to mention the legal status of
religious organizations. Without this status, religious organizations cannot
engage in routine transactions, such as opening a bank account or buying and
owning property. Consequently, as religious organizations’ bank accounts or
properties can only be registered under the names of private citizens, they
become easy targets for harassment and confiscation by the authorities.
3. The authorities allow religious organizations to
register for operation (without a legal status) but with major restrictions
(Articles 5–8, Decree 92), such as control over the religious organizations’
right to operate and run its own affairs (e.g. admission of clergymen or
appointment of bishops must be vetted by the authorities). Currently, several
religious organizations are outlawed, including the Unified Buddhist Church,
the Original Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, the Orthodox Cao Dai Church, and
evangelical churches such as the Mennonites or Lutherans. Members of the banned
churches are routinely harassed and persecuted while government–approved
churches and their leaders are appointed to represent and legitimize the
set-ups.
4. Religious organizations are forbidden from
setting up publishing houses, radio stations, TV stations, web pages or any
other communication sources. They are also prohibited from communicating to the
public their religious teachings, even when such teachings are intended to
improve society, establish and operate schools, or run orphanages, clinics,
hospitals, or retirement homes.
5. Vietnam’s current Constitution is premised upon
the State owning all land, thus the authorities have released regulations, such
as the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 1940 (2008), allowing the nationalization
of church property, including liquid assets seized in the past. Furthermore, in
order to prevent expansion of activities, religious organizations are not allowed
to accept donated real estate.
6. Public security police keep a tight watch on
banned churches and their practices. On June 24, 2013, over 100 policemen and
local henchmen launched an attack against a religious service held by the local
Hòa Hảo Buddhists in An Giang in the Mekong Delta. The faithful, including
women and children, were violently beaten.
7. The authorities also continue to use brutal
measures against defiant Catholic and Protestant parishes in North Vietnam. For
example, in 2012, plainclothes police launched an attack against the Catholic
diocese of Con Cuông (Nghệ An province) while they were holding a praying
ceremony in a private chapel, injuring more than 60 people. In September 2013,
thousands of police were deployed to Mỹ Yên diocese (Nghệ An province) to curb
a “riot” by Catholics who claimed they were barred from attending church. Many
civilians were beaten, with 20 people sustaining serious injuries. This
prompted the bishop, in an unprecedented move, to denounce the government’s
brutal crackdown publicly and with the international media, such as the BBC.
8. From January 28 to February 1, 2013, an obscure
group of 22 founders of a Buddhist religious sect in Central Vietnam, called
“Hội đồng Công luật Công án Bia Sơn” (the Bia Sơn Public Law Council), were
tried for the crime of ‘organizing activities to overthrow the people’s
administration’ under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Criminal Code. They were all
given exceedingly harsh sentences, ranging from 13 years to life imprisonment,
yet received little media attention. The group’s members suspected that this
stemmed from powerful local public security police officials desiring to grab
the group’s communal land plot, which had grown in size and worth over the
years due to its location.
9. From October to November 2013, police arrested
eight religious members of the ethnic Hmong group in the northern province of
Tuyen Quang, charging them with “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon
the interest of the state” under Article 258 of the Penal Code. The warrant did
not specify exactly what the arrestees had done to “infringe upon the interest
of the state”, but it is believed that they were arrested for initiating a
class action suit against authorities who suppressed Dương Văn Mình, a
Christian sect founded in 1989. Earlier in June, police demolished unauthorized
religious shrines of the said sect on orders of the government Committee on
Religious Affairs. Harassment continued, targeting adherents of Dương Văn Mình
and leading to their arrest.
Strict Censorship on Artists
10. In October 2012, songwriters Việt Khang and Trần
Vũ Anh Bình were given sentences of 4 years and 6 years imprisonment,
respectively, under Article 88 for their advocacy through music. Their defense
lawyer had insisted to the end and in court that there were “scarcely any
anti-state elements” in their songs.
11. In May 2013, song-writer Ngọc Đại was fined 30
million VNDs (approximately 1500 USD) for distributing his two musical albums
“without permission”. Copies of his albums, though sold out, were confiscated
and destroyed for containing “crude” and “politically sensitive” lyrics.
12. In June 2013, the much anticipated action movie
“Bụi Đời Chợ Lớn” (Chinatown’s Dust of Life) was banned because, according to
the censorship agency, the film “wrongly reflects Ho Chi Minh City’s real
life,” thus “blemishing the country and city’s image and adversely impacting
viewers, particularly youths.” The film’s director, Charlie Nguyễn, could not
do anything but express his frustration on his Facebook page.
13. In August 2013, “Tycoon” (in Vietnamese: Đại
Gia), a novel by writer Thiên Sơn, was banned by the Department of Publishing
for “exaggerating real life in Vietnam.”
14. Also in August 2013, police launched an
investigation against “Café Cộng” (a café chain in Hanoi, whose double-meaning
name means either “Plus” or “Communist”). The inspection originated from an
article published on a police newspaper alleging that Café Cộng made a mockery
of the communist government, its menus parodying Lenin’s speeches and Ho Chi
Minh’s poems and smearing other Communist figures. Following the investigation,
the owner of Café Cong, singer Linh Dung, was fined and forced to change the
chain’s presentation and style.
VOICE
(Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment) is a non-profit,
non-religious, and non-political organization registered in the United States
and the Philippines. Its mission is to advocate for the rights of refugees from
Vietnam and to help develop civil society in the country. Founded in 2007, to
date, VOICE has offices in California, USA; Bangkok, Thailand; and Manila, the
Philippines. For further information, you may contact our Manila office at:
+632.571.5439 or by email: voiceinmanila@gmail.com
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Tuyển tập này bao gồm 6 báo cáo, đều được soạn thảo
bằng tiếng Anh:
1.
Stakeholder submission for the UPR of Vietnam 2014. Đây là báo cáo chính trong tuyển tập, do VOICE, Dân Làm Báo, Truyền
thông Chúa Cứu thế, Con Đường Việt Nam, và Freedom House, phối hợp thực hiện
vào tháng 5/2013. Nó cũng là phần “báo cáo của các bên liên quan” (stakeholder
submission), một trong các nguồn tài liệu chính để Nhóm Làm Việc về UPR của
Liên Hợp Quốc sử dụng làm căn cứ đánh giá tình hình nhân quyền ở Việt Nam.
2.
Vietnam 2013 Human Rights Report (Báo cáo Nhân
quyền Việt Nam 2013), do Dân Làm Báo thực hiện.
3.
Human Rights Day in Vietnam (Báo cáo về
những vụ đàn áp blogger nhân ngày Nhân quyền Quốc tế), do Mạng Lưới Blogger
Việt Nam thực hiện.
4.
Freedom of Religion and Artistic Expression (Về tự do tôn giáo và quyền tự do sáng tác), do VOICE thực hiện.
5.
How State Impunity Operates (Lợi dụng luật
pháp để chống tự do ngôn luận), bài viết của nhà báo Đoan Trang.
6.
Chronology of Blogging Movement in Vietnam (Lịch sử blog Việt).
Dân Làm Báo
sẽ đăng tải tất cả các báo cáo trong tuyển tập này, để bạn đọc tham khảo.
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