Vietnam moves
closer to passing controversial religion bill
ucanews.com, August 19,
2015
Law would
require religious groups to register with government or be
outlawed
Vietnam is moving
closer to passing a restrictive law on religion, Christian groups
have warned.
The country's most
powerful political organ, the Standing Committee of the National
Assembly, discussed the bill Aug. 14 with few signs major
amendments would be made before passing next year, said the
religious freedom advocacy group Christian Solidarity
Worldwide.
“We know from our
research that many religious leaders and community representatives
have serious concerns about the draft, which could, in its current
form, lead to further interference into religious life in Vietnam,”
said Andy Dipper, the group's chief operating officer.
Lawmakers
consulted with religious groups on the law — currently in its
fourth draft — although there have been few subsequent changes to
its wording so far.
Critics of the
draft warn it would require all group religious activity to be
registered with authorities or face being outlawed, a system
similar to China.
Vietnam has no
current law managing faith groups, instead relying on a religious
ordinance passed in 2004, followed by decrees in 2005 and
2013.
The draft law — if
passed — would be considered "a step backward", said Archbishop
Leopoldo Girelli, the Vatican's nonresident representative to
Vietnam.
"The pontifical
representation is monitoring the ongoing legislation about religion
and belief," Archbishop Girelli told ucanews.com.
"The local Church
hopes to be more involved in the consultation in view of the new
law being passed."
Setback
In a strongly
worded letter to Hanoi in May, Vietnamese bishops said the draft
shows the communist regime "completely imposes its power on
religious organizations and creates loopholes for executive bodies
to carry out abuse of power".
Observers warn the
law represents the first major setback for religious freedom since
Vietnam re-established ties with the Vatican, leading to Girelli's
appointment in 2011.
The U.N.'s special
envoy for freedom of religion, Heiner Bielefeldt, made a landmark
visit to the country in July last year in another sign of
progress.
Vietnam ranks
among the least religious nations in the world with just 27 percent
of people recognized as followers of organized religions, according
to a census last year. However, the population represents a diverse
and often overlapping mix of faiths, with as many as 45 percent
practicing folk religions, more than 12 percent Buddhist and nearly
seven percent Catholic.
While authorities
have recently improved their treatment of followers of organized
religions, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide and the
United Nations, minority faiths continue to face harassment by
authorities, particularly those viewed as a political
threat.
Minority Christian
Montagnards living in Vietnam's southern highlands face among the
worst persecution of any group, Human Rights Watch said in a report
in June.
Montagnard De Ga
Protestants and Ha Mon Catholics continue to flee to Cambodia to
escape “propaganda, proselytization and struggle” against
unauthorized forms of Christianity. But many are forced back across
the border by a Cambodian government that maintains close ties to
Vietnam, Human Rights Watch said.