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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Vietnam_______________
New leaders, same policies
Religious repression continues
After a shuffling at the top of Vietnam’s Communist Party, which held its congress in April, outgoing party secretary Le Kha Phieu will officially hand over the reins of government to Nong Duc Manh, who has been president of the National Assembly since 1992.
Some observers say Nong Duc Manh’s appointment should accelerate the drive for reform within the government, but sources in Vietnam doubt that the change in leadership will bring any significant change in government policies. “So far, signals are not encouraging,” reported sources quoted by the Fides news agency. The Fides sources pointed out that when he offered his official greetings to the foreign delegates who were attending the convention, Nong Duc Manh addressed first the representatives of Laos, then those from China—thus giving his first recognition to neighboring Communist regimes. This, the witnesses suggested, was “a clear indication that policies will remain as they are.”
The Fides sources in Vietnam held out very little hope for a change in the government policies regarding religious freedom. The Catholic Church in Vietnam is waiting for the appointment of a new head for the government’s Bureau for Religious Affairs, hoping that he might institute new policies that would lift the heavy restrictions on the freedom of the Church. The current government policies include tight controls on the assignments of priests, the entrance of young men into seminaries, and the nomination of bishops. The Vatican has sent several delegations to Vietnam to discuss these policies and plead for greater religious freedom. A new mission from Rome is expected to visit Vietnam in June.