Government-conducted training programs tried to ensure compliance with the new laws and central government officials began responding to complaints from religious leaders about their treatment.
Following these measures, religious believers and the Vietnamese government both reported an increase in religious activity and observance in the North and Northwest Highlands. Nearly 1,000 places of worship were legalized in the regions, and the changes also allowed training for hundreds of new Protestant and Catholic clergy.
The U.S. government had listed 45 individuals imprisoned because of their religious beliefs, but all were released by September 2006.
Despite the land disputes, the U.S. cable says, the Catholic Church continues to report an improved ability to gather and to worship. Restrictions on the assignment of clergy have also eased, while the government has approved an additional Catholic seminary and no longer restricts the number of seminary students.
Despite continuing problems, like “isolated” harassment of Christians and some forced renunciations of faith, there are no indications that the Vietnamese government is “backsliding” on its commitment to register and recognize religious groups.
While the U.S. Embassy to Vietnam opposed the designation of Vietnam as a country of particular concern, Members of Congress such as Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) have called for the designation to be re-applied.
In a Dec. 15, 2010 hearing, he cited mounting tensions between the communist government and Catholic parishioners.
A May 2010 funeral procession in the Diocese of Da Nang tried to bury the body of an 82-year-old woman in Con Dau parish cemetery, which had been seized by the local government to build a tourist resort. Police broke up the procession, arrested 59 people and beat over 100 mourners.
Police deliberately beat two pregnant women so as to kill their unborn babies, charged Rep. Smith. In July a pallbearer at the funeral named Nam Nguyen was later kicked and bludgeoned to death by police.
A Dec. 8, 2010 police raid on the Redemptorists’ Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ho Chi Minh City interrupted scheduled liturgical celebrations and ongoing Christmas preparations. Local authorities took provincial superior Fr. Vincent Pham Trung Than in for questioning and the Redemptorists were accused of preaching anti-government sentiment, instigating disorder, inciting riots and violating social media codes.
“Congress, the president, and all those who espouse fundamental human rights ought to be outraged at Vietnam's turn for the worse,” Rep. Smith added. “President Obama should re-designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern for its egregious violations of religious freedom.”
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WikiLeaks is slowly releasing many of the cables it has obtained, giving a partial view of the U.S. government’s diplomatic relations and its officials’ evaluations of other states.