Thai Ha-katolikkene angrepet - politiet grep ikke inn

Fra de fredelige demonstrasjonene i Hanoi.

Bevæpnede menn gikk til aksjon mot katolikker i Hanoi natt til mandag den 22. september. Rundt hundre menn raidet bønnevigilien som daglig holdes av Thai Has troende. Rundt 500 polititjenestemenn var til stede men grep ikke inn. Mobben raserte et kapell, helte motorolje over en statue av Vår Frue og truet katolikkene som var i bønn.

En lignende episode fant også sted fredag kveld den 19. september, da en annen gruppe angrep de troende, ransaket St. Georg-kapellet og utendørsalteret, ødela statuer og religiøse bilder - mens politiet kun sto og så på.

"Gjerningsmennene ropte slagord og skrek at erkebiskopen og superioren i Thai Ha, p. Matthew Vu Khoi Phung, måtte drepes," forteller redemptoristene.

Søndag den 21. september truet formannen i Folkets Komité i Hanoi, Nguyen The Thao, med å gi erkebiskopen av Hanoi, msgr. Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, og alle som ham, en "alvorlig straff", siden de "oppvigler folket, fremsetter falske anklager mot regjeringen, trosser loven og splitter nasjonen." Thao uttrykker særlig sinne mot protestbrevet som erkebiskopen har sendt til Vietnams president Nguyen Minh Triet, til landets statsminister og formannen for Kommisjonen for Religiøse Anliggender, hvor erkebiskopen ifølge Thao "fremsetter falske anklager mot bymyndighetene". Hanois myndigheter har altså valgt å bruke vold for å stanse en fredelig demonstrasjon, satt i gang av katolikker for å få tilbake to områder som er illegitimt konfiskert av komministmyndighetene. De aktuelle områdene er eiendommen hvor nuntiaturet tidligere holdt til, like ved St. Josef-katedralen, og området som tilhørte menigheten Thai Ha og redemptoristklosteret. Myndighetene planlegger å bruke eiendommene til restauranter (det tidligere nuntiaturet) og til en konfeksjonsfabrikk (Thai Ha).

De troende har i lang tid samlet seg daglig til fredelig bønn ved de to eiendommene. Selv om protestene kun har gått fredelig for seg, er de allikevel de største siden kommunistene overtok landet i 1954. Også katolikker fra andre deler av Vietnam oppsøker nå Hanoi for å vise sin solidaritet med katolikkene der. Blant annet har ti av landets øvrige biskoper besøkt Hanoi for å markere sin støtte. Søndag den 21. september ledet biskop Joseph Dang Duc Ngan av Lang Son en protestmarsj, hvor flere tusen katolikker og 100 prester fra Ha Nam, Ha Tay og Nam Dinh, forsøkte å komme seg frem til det tidligere nuntiaturet. De ble imidlertid stoppet og kom aldri i nærheten av området. Siden fredag den 19. september er nemlig eiendommen sterkt bevoktet av politistyrker. Det er satt opp barrierer, som også hindrer fremkomst til erkebiskopens residens og til katedralen. Politiets spesialstyrker er tilkalt og står på vakt med full utrustning og hunder, og man har også avskåret mulighet til telefonkommunikasjon. Området er regelrett beleiret.

Inntil nå har myndighetene reagert på de fredelige demonstrasjonene ved å spre desinformasjon, svertekampanjer og arrestere troende, men har nå valgt å gå til det skritt å bruke vold. Katolikkene i landet fortviler, og katedralens klokker ringer konstant, som et rop om hjelp.

Foreningen for vietnamesiske katolske massemedier har mandag den 22. september publisert en sterk appell for landets katolikkers menneskerettigheter og trosfrihet. Foreningen omfatter flere katolske publikasjoner som er stasjonert utenfor Vietnam.

Her følger appellen, som også gir en god forklaring av konflikten (engelsk):

The Federation of Vietnamese Catholic Mass Media

Urgent Letter of Appeal

To: The Clergy, Religious, Faithful, Journalists, Peace Lovers and Fellow Justice Supporters

Dear Brothers, sisters, friends, and colleagues,

We are writing this letter to express our deep concerns about recent religious and human rights violations against Catholics by Vietnam government. As we are writing this letter to you, Hanoi archbishop's residence, St. Joseph Major Seminary, and the convent of Sisters of Adorers of the Holy Cross are still being under siege by Vietnamese massive forces of armed policemen, militiamen and security personnel aided by professionally trained dogs.

Before sunrise on Friday morning, Sep. 19, hundreds of police had assembled in front of the archbishop's residence in Hanoi, blocking access to the residence, the cathedral, and all roads leading to the nearby nunciature. Bulldozers were brought into the area and began digging out the lawn of the nunciature. Later on, at 6 am, after police and demolition workers were in place, on state-controlled television and radio stations came the announcement that the government had decided to demolish the building, to convert the land into a public playground.

An American reporter, Ben Stocking, known as Hanoi bureau chief for Associated Press, was an eye witness at the site. He wanted to show to the world what he was seeing. For that reason, as reported by the Associated Press, he was punched, choked, and hit over the head with a camera by police, as he was trying to take photos of the confrontations at the nunciature. He was arrested and later released, but his camera was confiscated. He also needed stitches on his head to treat the injury caused by the police.

The obvious question is why to build "a public playground" Vietnam government had to employ hundreds of police armed to the teeth, aided by professionally trained dogs; and was prepared to attack anyone who dared to inform their plot to the outside world?

To be able to understand what is going on, we would like to take you back to the roots of the problem.

The dispute at Hanoi nunciature

Since Dec. 18, 2007, Hanoi Catholics had been organizing daily prayer vigils outside the former nunciature in Hanoi, pleading for return of the building that had been confiscated unlawfully by the Communist regime in 1959. The building and its lawn have been used for various purposes, including those as means to distract and harass Hanoi Catholic leaders and staff who lived nearby with loudly music played late into midnight. Needless to say, the music and other commotions from the building have been frequently disrupting to church services at the nearby Hanoi Cathedral, also causing a negative effect on the study of the seminarians on the premise.

Vietnam Conference of Catholic Bishops had repeatedly sent petitions to the authorities for the return of the building. Yet, their petitions had gone unanswered.

Hanoi Catholics were left with no choice other than holding peaceful protests completely complying with Vietnam law to call out for justice from the authorities.

The protests only came to a halt after the government had agreed to restore the building in Feb. 1. It was supposed that the government would return the property through many steps. However, it managed to delay returning the property through various bureaucratic maneuvers.

All in a sudden, the government announced the nunciature would be demolished for a playground and immediately carried out with the back of its armed forces. This action is going against the policy of dialogue that the Catholic Church and Vietnam government have pursued. It was such an insult to the legitimate aspirations of the Hanoi Catholic community, ridicules the law, and disrespects the Catholic Church in Vietnam. It is also an act of trembling morality, and a mocking of society's conscience.

The dispute at Thai Ha parish

Meanwhile, similar protests were broken out at Thai Ha parish of Hanoi archdiocese on Jan. 5, 2008. It was the land dispute between the Redemptorists congregation at Thai Ha parish versus the local government.

The Redemptorist congregation purchased the disputed property in 1928, but since most of the Redemptorists in Vietnam were jailed or deported after the Communist takeover in 1954, Fr. Joseph Vu Ngoc Bich was left alone in charge of the 15 acres of land and the parish church.

Later, despite Fr. Vu's protest, the authorities slowly took the property piece by piece, leaving only about half an acre.

Since 1996, Fr. Vu and his parishioners had been repeatedly requesting the requisition of the property claiming that it was seized illegally - all to no avail. Daily protests were broken out after Thai Ha parishioners discovered that local government officials sold the land to many individuals. The Redemptorists and their followers in their desperation were left with no choice other than holding peaceful protests completely complying with Vietnam law to call out for justice from the authorities since Jan. 5, 2008.

The government has not listened to them and repeatedly attempted to silence protestors by using great mass of police and security forces, militiamen, and even street gang members. Also, Hanoi authorities claimed that Fr. Vu had donated the land to the government. But their claim has repeatedly been discredited and/or contradicted by their own documents.

Fr. Vu had repeatedly asserted in words and in writing that he never donated any part of the property. To date the government is yet to present any new, legitimate documents to back their claim.

In addition, according to Church Canon 1292, only the diocesan bishop can dispose of Church property. Fr. Joseph Vu was only a local priest. He was neither the owner of the land, nor had any authority to make such a decision.

It's note worthy that so many properties once belonged to the Church were transferred to state administration under coercive conditions on the grounds that they were needed for social purposes. Even when these purposes are no longer met, the properties are seldom returned to their owners. Recently, it is reported that they have been used as financial resources for government officials. Some of them were turned into movie theatres, restaurants, night clubs or government offices. Some simply were destroyed. Others were sold or provided to selected government officials for personal use.

In order to crackdown protests that have been dragging on for 8 months, Vietnam government launched a terrorizing campaign against Hanoi Catholics, starting with a media campaign threatening to use "extreme actions" against the Redemptorists, depicting them as "criminals" who have used their influence to incite the faithful in a confrontation against the government, destroying state property, assembling and praying illegally in public areas, and disturbing public order. The campaign, which has incited a socially negative sentiment not only against the Redemptorists but also the Church as a whole, has been stepped up by a series of arrests on 28th August.

On the same day, numerous of priests and lay people were kicked and beaten brutally by police when they peacefully requested for the release of detainees. Demonstrators had claimed the police beat them brutally and used stun guns on them.

Even worse, on Sunday 31th August, Vietnam police disrupted a Catholic procession on the ground of Hanoi Redemptorist Monastery. Fr. Peter Nguyen Van Khai, the celebrant, was personally attacked when he was leading this procession. A policeman sprayed the priest, altar boys and people nearby with tear gas at close range causing many to faint and vomit. Smoke grenades were reportedly being thrown into the crowd causing a total chaos among the faithful, many ran and cried out in panic. About thirty parishioners, most of them were women and children, suffered badly from tear gas inhalation. Among them at least 20 were hospitalized. Needless to say, a supposed-to-be peaceful religious event had been completely ruined as it was showing a clear signal from an unyielding government which was determined to persecute rather than negotiate.

We are at our wit's end as the injustice being done to our brothers and sisters in Christ, to the unarmed, religious people whose only weapon to protect themselves and church property has always been praying with an unshaken belief in God. Now their hope for the return of their property is gone, their integrity crushed, their trust in the very government who called themselves "servant of the people" evaporated as this self-proclaimed "servant" did just the opposite with what they promised

As our Church leaders and fellow parishioners' effort being exhausted, we are calling out to you to be our eyes and ears, to be our voice to the world. This self serving communist regime has never done anything for the common good of its people, let alone to the benefit of Christians whom they have a long history of despite and discrimination against.

Our hope is that you would be informed of the situation we are facing so that you can carry on the torch of freedom of speech and the right to own our homes and property in Vietnam where no one is allowed to report any governmental abuse of power and of its people. Ben Stocking was a startling example. The Vietnamese government has the advantage of being the monopolistic owner of more than 600 newspapers, magazines and several broadcasting companies to support their twisted agenda while we have none to voice ours. We only have faith in God and in people like you

It is absurd to label our fight for justice as to serve the Church's ambition and financial gains when sending parishioners into harm's way to confront the governmental mighty forces. Our Church leadership and parishioners did not ask for their homes and property to be illegally taken away by the government while there's a great needs for room to conduct religious activities at hand? We are just simply demanding our constitutional rights to be respected by the same government who leads the country under the guidance of the same constitution. How can Vietnam while trying by all means to be recognized by the world as a civilized, democratic country, be at the same time denying our basic human rights to practice our religion and to own our home/land?

With that in mind please accept our sincere thanks in advance for being the witness to the truth. We hope that if God has led us to you, he will bless you with the wisdom, the zeal to serve mankind to your absolute best- more than we can imagine.

We praise the Lord everyday for his love and guidance, we will also forever be grateful for your being there for us at this difficult time of our Church as a whole. May God bless you and your families.

AsiaNews/Catholic News Service/The Federation of Vietnamese Catholic Mass Media (22. september 2008)