_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ Vietnam ________________

Systematic repression
All faiths under attack
The Vietnamese government is engaged in a steady effort to crack down on religious belief, the Fides news service has reported.

Fides cited the urgency conveyed by a Buddhist monk who has threatened to commit suicide as a protest against religious oppression; a Protestant pastor who has endured repeated efforts at intimidation; and a Catholic priest who has been sentenced to a long prison term for protesting offenses against religious freedom.

Vo Thanh Liem, the Buddhist monk, has been arrested at least 10 times because of his advocacy of religious liberty. At least 16 members of his Hao Hoa sect are now under surveillance, several have been arrested, and police have blocked access to his temple in the An Giang province.

Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, a Mennonite clergyman, has been warned that he must cease conducting religious activities in his home in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). He has also been arrested and beaten, and deprived of the identification papers he needs to obtain an education for his children.

Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, who offered written testimony to the US Congress detailing the transgressions against religious freedom in Vietnam, has been sentenced to a 15-year prison term.

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