Vietnam Mennonite Church Center Destroyed by Government Officials on 19/7/2005

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VIETNAM MENNONITE CHURCH GENERAL OFFICE
C5/1H Tran Nao, Binh Khanh Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam, July 19, 2005

Ho Chi Mihn City - At 8:00 AM on July 19, 2005 some District 2 officials cordoned off the area around the Mennonite Church center in Binh Khanh Ward in District 2 in order to tear down the rear portion of the center.

With government video cameras rolling and snapping pictures, 70 government officials and hired hands used hammers and electric saws to destroy an 8 by 4.7 meter rear portion of the two story of the home the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang and also the main center of the Mennonite Church of Vietnam. After fours hours of destructive work they left a pile of rubble including brick, wood and metal rebars. In addition to the rear four meters of the building they accused Pastor Quang of constructing illegally several years ago, they also destroyed four meters of the churches 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. In relation to the order to dismantle the rear part of the church center, the Mennonite Church of Vietnam 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 were expelled from the center at the end of 2004. The 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 to tear down parts of the building that were not including in the dispute, but 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 requested 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 churches property". Mrs Quang and her two small children could only watch and pray in anguish as they witnessed the destruction going on.

Christians who got wind of the goings on were kept away from the site by the cordon of officials and could not go to comfort Mrs. Quang. But after the officials left the site at 12:40 PM 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.

An American diplomat arrived at scene at 2:00 pm to investigate and to give assurances to Mrs.Quang and family.

It is worth noting that on June 20, 2005 Missionary Truong Tri Hien, representing the Mennonite Church of Vietnam gave written testimony about 77 separate repressive actions against Mennonite church in Congressional hearings in Washington by the House Foreign Relations Committee. Nevertheless, immediately following, repressive actions continued as before. Official charges were written up virtually every time Mennonite Christians met for worship or prayer. These facts lead us to conclude that the destruction of a part of our church' meeting place, today, July 19, 2005, is just another link in the chain proving that authorities are resolutely determined to stop all activities of the Vietnam Mennonite Church

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.

Some photos of the Vietnam Mennonite Church Center

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The Vietnam Mennonite Church Center before the destruction
The Vietnam Mennonite Church Center after the destruction
A section of the Vietnam Mennonite Church Center is turned into a pile of rubble
A diplomat visits to investigate The worship center is destroyed leaving only a part
The baptismal tank, now a pile of junk, in no way encroached on the drainage ditch.	Pastor Quang Baptizes a believer before his arrest