PRESS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference
December 14, 2004
MWC Executive Reflects on Vietnam Visit
STRASBOURG, France — Larry Miller, Mennonite World Conference executive
secretary, and his wife Eleanor visited Vietnam, November 20-26 after
attending the Asia Mennonite Conference in India, November 10-14. In the
following interview, Miller reflects on that visit.
MWC: Why did you go to Vietnam?
LM: Consultation with those closest to the Vietnam Mennonite Church and the
situation on the ground indicated that it was time for a Mennonite World
Conference representative to visit, not only to send letters. The purpose of
the visit was twofold: (1) to express visibly the support of the worldwide
community to the Vietnam Mennonite Church; and (2) to communicate directly
with Vietnamese officials to hear their positions and to express to them
international Mennonite positions on issues related to the repression of
some Vietnamese Mennonite churches and the imprisonment of some Vietnamese
Mennonite leaders.
MWC: You travelled first to Hanoi, rather than Ho Chi Minh City. Why?
LM: In order to converse with authorities and seek authorization to visit
Mennonite church leaders, both those in prison and those not, it was
necessary to go first to Hanoi. Also, together with Mennonite Central
Committee representatives in Vietnam, I had received an invitation to a
special workshop in Hanoi, convened under the title "Vietnam-USA: Promotion
of Understanding Towards the Future." Participants included important
Vietnamese authorities as well as knowledgeable Americans with longstanding
relations to Vietnam. The workshop provided opportunity for formal and
informal conversations on a variety of subjects that matter to us.
MWC: What was discussed at the workshop?
LM: One of five major themes was human rights and religious freedom. What
impressed me most in the exchanges on this subject was how highly
politically charged the issue is at this very moment, especially in
connection with the situation in the sensitive central highlands of Vietnam.
Evangelical Christianity is growing dramatically there among ethnic
minorities. Adding intensity is the recent declaration by the United States
State Department that Vietnam is one of very few "Countries of Particular
Concern" in the world, alleging human rights and religious liberty abuses.
MWC: Who did you hope to see during your visit?
LM: We hoped to see the leaders of the Vietnam Mennonite Church, including
Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung, the president, and Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang,
imprisoned Vice-president and General Secretary. We hoped to visit Mrs. Le
Thi Phu Dung (Mrs. Quang) and her young children, as well some of the local
Mennonite churches, including the one in Ho Chi Minh City District 2. And
we hoped to converse with several significant government officials.
MWC: Did you get permission to make the visits you wished to make? If not,
why not?
LM: Word came shortly before our arrival in Vietnam that the Ho Chi Minh
City Bureau of Religious Affairs had already arranged our visit to Pastor Trung.
But we were told at the same time that we could not visit Pastor Quang,
officially because his three-year prison sentence, handed down only a few
days earlier, was under appeal. When we arrived in Hanoi, November 20, all
other requests to visit authorities in Hanoi and Mennonites in Ho Chi Minh
City were, as far as I knew, still pending.
Two days later, however, I was informed that we could not visit Ho Chi Minh
City or any Vietnamese Mennonites. I could continue to attend the workshop
on Vietnam-USA relations and would likely be able to meet leading officials
at the national Bureau of Religious Affairs in Hanoi before leaving the
country.
The MCC country co-representative, Lowell Jantzi, and I were received
Wednesday morning, November 24 by the Vice-chairman of the Bureau of
Religious Affairs. Our discussion was lengthy and, in the end, quite
straightforward, with considerable verbal give and take on both sides.
MWC: What was your reaction to being denied the other visits?
LM: Naturally I was very disappointed, both for Mennonites and for Vietnam.
While I entertain no illusions about the potential importance of our visit,
I believe that it could have been useful for all concerned, for Vietnamese
authorities as well as for those of us around the world who care deeply
about Vietnam and the Mennonites who live there.
MWC: What do you think was the value of your somewhat aborted trip to
Vietnam?
LM: God knows better than I. Throughout the days in Hanoi, we were in
indirect conversation with Mennonites in Ho Chi Minh City and elsewhere. And
we were able to send to them, via a personal emissary, several gifts
intended to communicate the love, support and admiration of the worldwide
family of faith. Some Vietnamese Mennonites say they were encouraged by the
attempted visit. I can only hope so. I hope also that Vietnamese officials
have gained fuller understanding both of worldwide Mennonite friendship for
the people of Vietnam and of our resolve to continue to oppose unjust
repression of Mennonite churches and leaders.
— Ferne Burkhardt, News Editor
