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SIDEBAR #1: MWC President Meets with Vietnamese Officials in Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On June 16, Nancy Heisey, president of Mennonite World Conference, and several other Mennonites met with Mr. Ngo Yen Thi, leader of a delegation of Vietnamese officials who visited the U.S. capitol June 14-17. Eight days earlier, Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, General Secretary of the Mennonite Church in Vietnam, had been arrested by security police in Ho Chi Minh City.

After hearing a request for the release of Quang, Thi said that the charges against Quang will be investigated. If the evidence is not serious, he will be released; if it is serious, he will have to face the charges in court.

Thi noted that the Vietnamese government has given official status to six religions, including the Evangelical Church of Vietnam. Several other religious organizations active in Vietnam, including Baptists, Mennonites, Assemblies of God and Jehovah Witnesses, operate normally but with no official recognition. He said that the government is working at a new plan for these groups.

Thi said that some religious organizations working in Vietnam prior to 1975 were engaged in political activities and that the government is concerned that religious organizations be involved in religious activity only.