Hundreds of Christians from ten northern provinces were prevented from entering a Christmas celebration that was supposed to take place there on Sunday, December 19. The large crowds that arrived at the National Assembly Hall in the district found the doors locked and a line of police officers who reportedly tried to turn them away. In deep disappointment, some of the Christians began singing and praying in the square in front of the assembly building, but police moved in and beat some of the Christians with fists and batons in the ensuing commotion. Christian leaders stepped in to calm the disappointed crowd, who eventually left, but only after at least six people, including Pastor Nguyen Huu Bao, the event's speaker, had been arrested. They had not been released before the news broke.
Similar incidents took place on the same Sunday in at least four other locations across the country, in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Nam provinces and the city of Danang in central Vietnam. Even people who closely follow developments in the Protestant church in Vietnam have expressed some surprise at the crackdown on Christmas celebrations. According to a respected Vietnamese leader abroad, it is now clear that the police actions were part of a coordinated, well-planned and well-executed attack by top Communist Party and government officials. A key figure in Vietnam's church leadership informed Compass Direct news service that it was Directive No. 75, a secret document from the Ministry of the Interior dated October 15, 2010, that ordered the crackdown on unregistered Christian groups.
Project Manager at the Danish European Mission, cand.scient.pol. Samuel Nymann Eriksen says: By comparison, the largest Protestant Christmas celebration to date with an estimated 40,000 participants took place last year, including participants from unregistered congregations. The authorities did not stand in the way of this sensational event and it was even featured positively in an article in the state-controlled press, which often speaks disparagingly of Christians. The authorities' tougher stance this year can thus be interpreted as a tightening of the previous year's seemingly relaxed policy towards Christians.
Source: Compass Direct News Service
