Hanoi off US religion blacklist but critics persist

HANOI, Nov 14 (Reuters) Vietnam's state-supervised religious groups welcomed Washington's removal of the Communist-run country from its religion blacklist, but critics said harassment of believers remained a problem in the provinces. The government has objected to being on the US State Department ''countries of particular concern'' list since 2004, saying it protected the rights of freedom of religion or non-religion of its 83 million people.

''This decision reflects accurately the reality in Vietnam,'' said Ngo Yen Thi, director of the government Committee for Religious Affairs.

The State Department, which said yesterday's decision was not tied to President George W. Bush's visit to Vietnam on November.

17-20 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, cited an improvement in Hanoi's tolerance for religious expression.

But critics such as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said ''forced renunciations of faith continue in many provinces''.

''New laws on religion are being used to detain or intimidate religious leaders who refuse affiliation with government-approved religious organisations,'' it said.

It said the government ''remains highly suspicious'' of ethnic minority Montagnard and Hmong Protestants, Vietnamese Mennonites, followers of Hoa Hao Buddhism and the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV).

'SACRIFICE PRINCIPLES FOR PROFIT' Paris-based UBCV spokesman Vo Van Ai said in a statement that ''the US has sacrificed principles for profits by removing Vietnam from the list on the eve of the APEC summit''. He said religious followers were still being harassed.

The office of Ho Chi Minh City Cardinal Pham Minh Man did not immediately comment. Unlike in China, the cardinal is appointed by the Vatican, but there are no diplomatic relations between Hanoi and the Vatican.

''The central government doesn't have a policy of suppressing religion, but it is not always followed in the provinces or remote rural areas,'' one Western diplomat said.

One Hanoi-based American who has followed relations between the former enemies called Washington's move a sign of overall progress, ''although it doesn't mean the Americans are not going to pay any more attention to these issues''.

Diverse faiths are registered in Vietnam, including Buddhists, Christians and Muslims. Statistics show that Buddhists number about 9.3 per cent of the population, Roman Catholics 6.7 per cent, Protestants 0.5 per cent and Muslims 0.1 per cent.

Most Vietnamese do not officially profess a religion, but ancestor worship is common.

REUTERS MS PM1721