The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada strongly condemns the destruction done to the building that serves as the main centre of the Vietnam Mennonite Church and the home of imprisoned Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang on July 19, 2005. According to a press release by the Vietnam Mennonite Church General Office received by VOMC yesterday, some 200 District 2 officials cordoned off the area around the Mennonite Church center in Binh Khanh Ward in District 2 at 8:00 AM on July 19, 2005 in order to tear down the rear portion of the centre.
The press release reports that, with government video cameras rolling and pictures snapping, seventy government officials and hired hands used hammers and electric saws to destroy an 8 by 4.7 meter rear portion of the two-story home of Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang and the main center of the Mennonite Church of Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. After four hours of destructive work, they left a pile of rubble including brick, wood and metal rebar. In addition to the rear four meters of the building which they accused Pastor Quang of having illegally constructed several years ago, authorities also destroyed four meters of the church's meeting room where weekly worship services are held. The space above the church’s meeting room is the home of the family of the Rev. Quang and was constructed in 1999. Authorities charged that it had been built without a permit. This is a technicality that is rarely required in Vietnam. The Mennonite Church of Vietnam reports that they had petitioned officials many times, pointing out the irrational nature of the order, but the People’s Committee of District 2 refused to deal fairly with the issue.
Only Mrs. Nguyen Hong Quang and two of her small children were at home when the area was cordoned off and the destruction of part of the building took place. Other Mennonite workers and students who normally resided at the house had been expelled from the centre at the end of 2004. Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang himself, who has recently suffered a serious decline in his health, has been incarcerated since June 8, 2004 and is currently held in the infamous Dac Trung prison in Dak Lak Province.
While government authorities were tearing down the building, they blocked the mobile phone of Mrs. Quang so she could not communicate with anyone. Mrs. Quang urgently requested the authorities to respect the law and not tear down parts of the building that were not included in the dispute. They ignored her and continued to order those they had hired for the job to destroy part of the church’s meeting room not included in the order. Those hired to do the dirty work asked Mrs. Quang to please "sympathize with us. We are only hired hands and are doing this because we need food on our tables; we don't want to destroy the church and we will be very careful not to destroy the church's property." Mrs. Quang and her two small children could only watch and pray in anguish as they witnessed the destruction going on.
Local Christians who learned of the incident were kept away from the site until after the officials left at 12:40 PM. Upon their departure, a steady stream of Christians came to visit and comfort Mrs. Quang and her two small children, and helped her tidy up the awful mess left by the destruction.
In their July 19 press release, the Vietnam Mennonite Church General Office wrote, "We call on the worldwide community of Mennonites and Christian communities to continue to pray and to do all in your power to encourage and support the family of the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang and the Vietnam Mennonite Church during this time of heavy repression. We call on international human rights organizations, mass media organizations and governments who care about human rights to please do everything within your power to raise your voices to support us."
The Voice of the Martyrs urges believers from around the world to pray for Mrs. Quang and her family during this time. You may write a letter of encouragement to them at:
Ba Le Thi Phu Dung
C5/1H Tran Nao, Khu Pho 1
Phuong Binh Khanh, Quan 2
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam
Letters of protest to the Vietnamese embassy in Canada can be sent to:
Her Excellency Thi Hoi Nguyen, Ambassador
Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
470 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 6M8
Canada
Addresses to Vietnamese embassies in other countries may be found through our links page.
Earlier this year, VOMC released a video report containing an interview with Mrs Quang and other Mennonite church workers and their families who have suffered from almost continual persecution from Vietnamese authorities. This report can be viewed on VOMC's multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Vietnam, click here.
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