Again playing tricks to support activities that exploit religion

Through several ill-intentioned websites overseas, recently, some hostile organizations and individuals have taken the guise of “protecting religious freedom” to criticize the Vietnamese government for “rampant religious repression”; “forcing hundreds of people to renounce their religion”; “discriminating between religious and non-religious people”;… demanding the release of prisoners serving sentences for taking advantage of religion.anti-stateSocialist Republic of Vietnam.

Viet Tan and RFA (Radio Free Asia) distort the religious situation in Vietnam.

It must be affirmed immediately that such absurd criticisms are based on unfounded, distorted, and falsified information that distorts the nature of the problem. In Vietnam, on the basis of the Constitution and the law, following or not following a religion is entirely voluntary on the part of citizens; there is no such thing as the government forcing people to abandon their religion. All activities of religious followers and dignitaries are carried out normally everywhere in Vietnam; there is no such thing as the government “oppressing religion”.

In recent years, the religious activities of Vietnamese citizens have increasingly developed. Churches, pagodas, temples, shrines, etc. have been renovated, embellished, and built more and more. The country currently has more than 29,600 places of worship. The training of religious dignitaries has been increasingly expanded. Vietnam currently has more than 57,400 dignitaries and over 147,000 officials. The number of people participating in religions is increasing. Vietnam currently has about more than 26,5 million religious followers (accounting for 27% of the population)... Reality has proven the attention of the Vietnamese State in implementing the right to freedom of belief and religion. All policies and guidelines of the Vietnamese State always aim to mobilize religious followers to strengthen the great national unity bloc to build a life of "good life, good religion", guide religious dignitaries and officials to operate in accordance with the provisions of the law, support progressive trends in religions to make churches increasingly attached to the nation and the revolutionary cause of the entire people. All Vietnamese citizens, regardless of whether they follow different religions or not, areequality before the law.

In Vietnam, there are currently 43 organizations belonging to 16 religions that have been recognized or granted certificates of registration for operation by the State. Some religious groups are not permitted to operate by the government, and some individuals have been arrested and prosecuted by the authorities because they have taken advantage of religion for political activities, incited division in the great national unity bloc, and sabotaged the cause of innovation of the Vietnamese people. Their actions have violated Vietnamese law and require measures to combat and prevent them.

Along with respecting freedom of belief and religion, the Vietnamese State regularly propagates and educates all citizens, including religious dignitaries and followers, to always heighten vigilance, clearly identify and promptly fight to defeat all plots and actions of hostile and reactionary forces that take advantage of religion to sabotage.

Despite their deliberate distortions and falsifications, some hostile organizations and individuals cannot deny the good reality in the religious life of Vietnamese citizens.

Illustration: Source

As for those who are serving sentences and are being demanded to be released by some hostile individuals and organizations, they are in fact using religion to sabotage the Vietnamese State, not for the purpose of ensuring religious freedom. Demanding the release of those individuals is a gross interference in Vietnam’s internal affairs.

The United Nations Resolution on the principle of "non-interference in internal affairs" was adopted in 1965 and is recognized and expressed in many other important international legal documents, namely: "Declaration on the prohibition of interference in internal affairs, protection of independence and sovereignty of nations". Thus, the action of demanding the release of those serving sentences for the crime of exploiting religion as mentioned above is both contrary to Vietnamese law and violates the principles of international relations. The truth is very clear, how could some individuals and organizations hostile to Vietnam not understand these things? Or are they deliberately not understanding because of dark motives and purposes: Supporting activities that exploit religion to sabotage the Vietnamese State?