March 30, 2011
Source: Human Rights Watch
“Freedom of religion does not mean freedom for state-sanctioned religions only. Vietnam should immediately recognize independent religious groups and let them practice their beliefs.” – Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director.
(Bangkok) – The Vietnamese government has intensified repression of indigenous minority Christians from the country’s Central Highland provinces who are pressing for religious freedom and land rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 46-page report, “Montagnard Christians in Vietnam: A Case Study in Religious Repression,” details the latest government crackdowns on these indigenous peoples, known collectively as Montagnards. The report documents police sweeps to root out Montagnards in hiding. It details how the authorities have dissolved house church gatherings, orchestrated coerced renunciations of faith, and sealed off the border to prevent asylum seekers from fleeing to Cambodia.
Human Rights Watch found that special “political security” (PA43) units conduct operations with provincial police to capture, detain, and interrogate people they identify as political activists or leaders of unregistered house churches. More than 70 Montagnards have been detained or arrested in 2010 alone, and more than 250 are known to be imprisoned on national security charges.
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