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According to a press release from the Montagnard Foundation, the authorities responded with force to the thousands who were demonstrating, beating them with electric batons, throwing rocks, and shooting them. A number were reportedly killed. There were also reports of decapitations. There are concerns that thousands may try to flee to Cambodia.

Responding to prior government claims that the people were seeking independence, Kok Ksor, President of the Montagnard Foundation, said, "All we want is to live as indigenous peoples on our ancestral lands without fear of persecution without the Vietnamese authorities interfering in our religious affairs nor forcing us to renounce Christ and without the fear our ancestral lands will be confiscated where we are driven to a life of poverty."

Pray for the families of those killed as well as for many in fear for their lives. Pray for the continued ministry of the Christians throughout Vietnam. Pray also that the Vietnamese government will come to see and know that Jesus is Lord.

For more information on persecution in Vietnam, as well as the plight of the people from the central highlands, click here.

Pray that the Church in Vietnam will continue to stand firm in the face of oppression. Pray that there will not be repercussions against the house churches as a result of this incident.

For more information on persecution in Vietnam,click here.

According to a March 8 report from Compass Direct, they took down the license number of the police motorcycle and reported the police presence to the city ward. When Thach and a teacher named Mr. Hien attempted to take a picture of the motorcycle as evidence, the police attacked them. A scuffle broke out and the police retreated to call in more officers. As they fled on their motorcycle, it skidded out of control and fell. When the Thach and a co-worker approached the officers to ensure there were no serious injuries, the officers struck them in the face.

Thirty minutes later, dozens of police officers from Special Unit 113, the district police, undercover police and local defense forces arrived with guns and electric cattle prods, ordering the twelve Christian workers who had gathered at Quang's home to remain inside. The police then tried to incite neighbours to attack the Christians and produced an unidentified woman who signed a complaint for "disturbing public order." One church elder, Nghia, was taken into custody. When three of the evangelists, Pham Ngoc Thach, Nguyen Van Phuong and Nguyen Thanh Nhan, went to inquire about Nghia later that night, they were also arrested. Two were beaten unconscious and then charged for "resisting an officer." At last report, the three evangelists are still being held. It is believed they may be released when all physical evidence of the beatings has healed.

Pray for physical as well as emotional healing for those injured. Pray for the continued ministry of the Vietnamese Church, despite the opposition from authorities.

For more information on persecution facing Christians in Vietnam,click here.

The charges against Pastor Bui Van Ba stem from a police raid on a prayer meeting in his home on August 18, 2003. (see https://www.vomcanada.com/vn-2003-09-03.htm). While invading the home, police knocked his ailing wife to the floor. She later fainted with severe chest pains. Believers pleaded with police to let him take his wife to the hospital, but they refused. Instead, they turned on Ba and brutally beat him, hitting his head against the concrete wall. Eventually one of the believers was allowed to take his wife to the hospital, but Ba was taken to the police station where he was chained to a post and beaten. He was released the next day, but remains under house arrest.

While Vietnamese believers are rejoicing that the trial has been postponed, they realize that the trial could resume at any time. They call on Christians around the world to pray with them for justice and religious freedom.

Vietnamese police report they detained more than seven Christians in Hanoi on December 4 for handing out Christian flyers on the eve of the South East Asian Games. According to ABC Radio Australia, police deny that the Christians have been arrested, but are being held for questioning to determine the origin of the materials. A police spokesman said that the Christians were breaking the law because they were distributing material without the authority of the organizing committee for the South East Asian Games.

While Christianity is officially legal in Vietnam, there is extreme repression of all religions, particularly those who are not officially state-sanctioned. Pray for physical and spiritual strength for those detained. Pray that the world community will continue to pressure Vietnam to cease its religious repression. Pray that those who received the materials before this arrest will read it and come to faith in Christ.

Ma Van Bay Photo:  Christian Aid

In 1997, Ma Van Bay was a church elder responsible for the collections received from a small congregation in northern Vietnam. When police raided his home, they found the money and accused him of stealing it. He faced up to twelve years in prison but escaped, fleeing to the highlands in southern Vietnam. While there, he was involved in the translation of Christian materials into the Hmong language.

According to Compass Direct, on November 17, he was arrested and on November 29 was extradited back to his home province of Ha Giang on the border with China where Christian sources fear that he will face severe torture.

Pray for Ma Van Bay at this time. Pray that he will not be tortured, now that he has been returned. Pray for God's keeping hand on his wife and three children during this ordeal.

Sources for The Voice of the Martyrs report that ten pastors were taken from a meeting at the home of Rev. Bùi Văn Ba in Ho Chi Minh City on August 18. After protests from the United Gospel Outreach Church, seven of the pastors were released. Pastor Ba and two other pastors were handcuffed to tables and tortured. They were released the following day after representatives of the United Nations Human Rights Committee flew to Ho Chi Minh City to intervene. Pastor Ba remains under house arrest, charged with resisting arrest.

Pray for strength and a continued assurance of God's presence for Pastor Ba and the others arrested. Pray for protection for God's people suffering in Vietnam.

For the past month, The Voice of the Martyrs has been following the plight of the Thu Thiem Evangelical Church in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Their church building was destroyed in 2000 and, when they applied to rebuild it, approval was repeatedly delayed. Finally in June 2003 they began rebuilding without permission. Authorities stopped them and ordered them to destroy what had been built by July 12. After meeting with the officials from the Religious Department, it was mutually agreed that the approval process had been excessive, but that the building should not have begun without approval. It appeared at that point that the approval process would continue. For more details, see https://www.vomcanada.com/vn-2003-07-09.htm and https://www.vomcanada.com/vn-2003-07-16.htm.

This week the church faced opposition from a different front. When the church applied to the city authorities for a house number, water and electricity, they received a rejection because Pastor Nganh had admitted that he had begun to rebuild the church without permission and had not paid the fine. Pastor Nganh and another church leader met with civil authorities on July 25 and were informed that the order to destroy the building remained in force, despite the meetings held with the Religious Department. Christians in Vietnam now believe the concessions made by the Religious Department were intended only to appease international observers and to bring about an admission by Pastor Nganh which could be used against him.

We are calling on Christians around the world to continue praying for the Thu Thiem Church, that these difficulties will be resolved and that, in the midst of these struggles, they might be a testimony to those to whom they speak.

Last week the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported on the Thu Thiem church that was ordered destroyed by the Vietnamese authorities. In June the congregation had gathered to begin reconstruction on a building destroyed in July 2000 but the construction was stopped when the authorities confiscated the building materials. When the church gathered again on the site for a service on July 6, the police surrounded the gathering and demanded that all new construction be dismantled by July 12.

According to the Australian office of The Voice of the Martyrs, the Religious Department in Ho Chi Minh City called the church leaders together on July 10 to discuss the situation. They were able to reach an agreement in which the government acknowledged their mistake in taking too long to consider the application for the new building. At the same time, the church acknowledged their error in building the church on farmland before they received a government permit and Pastor Truong Van Nganh agreed to withdraw the letter of protest he had written.

The church is giving thanks to God for His intervention in this matter as well as thanking those who prayed. Continue to pray for the Thu Thiem Evangelical Church, that all the permits will be granted and that they will be able to have a building to gather for worship.

An evangelical church in Ho Chi Minh City has been ordered to cease construction on their church building and to destroy what has already been built by July 12. According to reports received by The Voice of the Martyrs in Australia, police originally destroyed the Thu Thiem Evangelical Church in July 2000. The believers continued to meet on the concrete slab for four months until moving to a house church.

On June 9, the congregation quietly began rebuilding at 4:00 a.m. Two hundred police officers descended upon the congregation three hours later, surrounding the site and attempting to stop the building project. According to a report from Compass Direct, the church's pastor, Truong Van Nganh and Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, a Vietnamese Mennonite activist, spoke with the police, who reluctantly left when they realized they could not legally stop the building project. A gang of troublemakers arrived later in the day and tried to provoke those who were praying nearby. Authorities were called in to remove the agitators and, while there, cut off the electricity to the site. However, the church had a generator and continued working. Eventually construction stopped when the authorities confiscated the building materials.

On July 6, Pastor Truong called the people together for a service at the site. Police surrounded the 140 believers who met and ordered them to dismantle the new construction by July 12. On July 8, police interviewed the assistant pastor for most of the morning and it is expected that Pastor Truong will be questioned today.

The church has received support from Christians throughout Vietnam, including a letter of solidarity written by two Catholic priests. The church members are asking for Christians around the world to join with them in prayer during this difficult time. Pray for wisdom and strength for Pastor Truong and the other leaders as they deal with the authorities.