Evangelicals in Vietnam Repressed, Group Says
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NEW YORK — A new report alleges that the Vietnamese government is intensifying repression against a group of indigenous peoples, many of them evangelical Christians, who are involved in a movement for religious freedom and land rights.
The report by New York-based Human Rights Watch says that more than 200 Montagnards have been detained since February 2001 for their participation in peaceful protests.
The Human Rights Watch report cites an October 2002 internal directive by the Vietnamese government outlining a campaign to root out “Dega Protestantism,” a type of evangelical Christianity popular among many Montagnards in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
The government views “Dega Protestantism” as dangerous, the report said, because it believes the religious movement has been a rallying force for those seeking an independent Montagnard homeland.
Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party has not yet responded to the latest Human Rights Watch report. But earlier this month, the party harshly criticized the watchdog group’s annual report on global human rights violations during the year 2002.
That report said Vietnamese authorities were suppressing Christian church leaders and land rights activists, as well as Buddhist groups.
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