Vietnamese
Government and State TV launch fresh attacks on Bishop of Vinh
by J.B. An Dang – AsiaNews
09/16/2013
A 10 minute report aired last night made slanderous
accusations against Msgr. Paul Nguyen Thai Hop and the local Catholic community
. The prelate is charged with leading a revolt , exploiting a story to create
legal cases of religious persecution . Diocesan website risks closure.
Vietnamese Catholics at home and abroad united in defense of the prelate.
Vinh (AsiaNews) - Vietnamese authorities, with the support of the media,
have launched a new , violent attack against the Vinh diocese and Msgr . Paul
Nguyen Thai Hop, "guilty" of asking for the release of two parishioners
imprisoned for months without motive. In a 10-minute report broadcast last night
by state television harsh accusations were made against the prelate , guilty of
"lying , breaking the law on purpose and inciting to revolt " against Hanoi. The
Catholics are accused of having "artfully fabricated" a legal issue - this is
what the authorities say - to transform it into a case of "religious persecution
." And the smear campaign was followed by threats against the Catholic community
of My Yen and Nghe An, with the promise of "new arrests" if the protests
continued .
"In an interview with foreign journalists - claimed the state television
broadcast service in Hanoi yesterday - t Bishop Nguyen Thai Hop manipulated the
truth, made false accusations against the government of Vietnam in order to
transform what is a normal procedure into a case of persecution against the
Church . " The prelate also apparently "took advantage" of Catholics and their
good faith to "foment riots." The report ended with a warning , which sounded
more like a threat : "no one is above the law" and there will be " more arrests
" if the rebellion continues.
Along with the bishop, the Vietnamese authorities have also targeted the website
of the diocese of Vinh . Ngo Ba Hao , vice - president of the Committee for
telecommunications , sent an urgent letter to Msgr. Paul sent an urgent letter
to the prelate asking him to shut down the Web site of the diocese or face legal
actions as the Web site is operated without the government permission. In fact,
the government has never granted any such permission to Church institutions. Due
to pastoral needs, dioceses in Vietnam run their websites at the risk of being
prosecuted at any time.
The entire Vietnamese
Catholic Church, both domestic and in diaspora, has shown full support to the
Diocese of Vinh in its responds to recent defamatory attack by government media,
defending the good name of its bishop and community and reiterating the baseless
accusations of the authorities.
The dispute is really over events linked to the parish in My yen, which is
seeking the release of two parishioners who have been in jail since last June
without even a formal accusation being made against them. The diocese of Vinh
and its bishop intervened in defense of the imprisoned parishioners, requesting
the release , and the entire community , legitimizing the protests . The support
of the diocesan Catholic leadership has sparked the reaction of the local and
central authorities , who have launched a smear campaign against Msgr. Paul
Nguyen Thai Hop and threatened to intervene harshly to quell the protest.
For some time now, the Vietnamese government has been involved in a campaign of
repression against bloggers, activists and dissidents seeking religious freedom,
respect for civil rights, or the end of the one-party state. A
petition has been launched for that purpose. In 2013 alone,
Hanoi has arrested more than 40 activists for crimes "against the state", a
legal notion human rights groups consider too general and vague. The Catholic
Church has also been subjected to constraints and restrictions; its members,
victims of persecution. In one case back in January, a Vietnamese court
sentenced 14 people, including some Catholics, to prison on charges of
attempting to overthrow the government, a ruling criticised forcefully by and
human rights activists and movements.