Vietnamese police forces swooped down on a house church in a village, attacking worshippers with firearms, batons and tree branches, leaving 16 men and women injured, including a 13-year-old girl, and a man who was beaten unconscious, then arrested.
The incident, which occurred last month, took place in Buon Kret Krot village, in the ?province of Gai Lai. The police forces kicked and beat the worshippers until many were rendered unconscious.
The police also threatened the villagers, saying they would return and if they are worshipping in the same way when they come back, they will face five years in prison.
Twelve men and four women were attacked in the melee, according to an ICC report. Ten of the men and two women were attacked so viciously that they fell unconscious.
The villagers were attacked and beaten with firearms, tree branches and batons. When they fell on the ground, the policemen kicked and stomped on them, including Y Kang, a 13-year-old girl.
Also beaten by the police was A. Jung, 29, who was repeatedly hit with a baton until he fell to the ground, after which police kicked him and stomped on his stomach until he was rendered unconscious. He was arrested by the police and is in custody, where he likely is being tortured.
The International Christian Concern said on its website that the persecution of Degar Montagnard Christians continues to be purposeful through policing, harassment and violent coercion of this minority indigenous and religious group.
Hundreds of Christians are festering inVietnam?s harsh prisons for refusing to join government-sanctioned churches, which are heavily monitored and controlled by the Communist nation.
House church preferred
Christians prefer house churches, which are illegal, but which they believe are more genuine. One worshipper, Puih H?Bat, a Central Highlands Degar woman, was arrested for leading an underground church.
Puih, then 41, is a mother of four. In 2008 police broke into her home while some 20 worshippers were praying with her. She and two others were arrested, tortured and threatened. The two men were later released, but Puih continues to be in jail and is serving a five year sentence for ?destruction of the unity of the people?s solidarity,? Canada Free Press reported.
Although Puih is expected to be released in 2013, the international community has made several failed attempts to speak to her or to see her. It is not known whether she had been murdered or if she died amid the harshness of the prison system.
ICC has petitioned the government of Vietnam to release information on the state of health of Puih H?Bat, for the benefit of her family and her community.
On its website ICC said, ?Vietnam has a long-standing practice of policing, harassing, and arresting Christians who are unaffiliated with the government-sanctioned and only legally-recognized religious bodies in the nation.?
Scott Johnson of the Montagnard Foundation told ANS, ?The Vietnamese government has targeted indigenous Degar Montagnards for simply being members of Christian house churches, in a long running policy designed to eliminate independent Christian house churches.
?Hundreds of Degar Montagnards remain in prison today and in custody many prisoners are brutally tortured and even killed. There is a shameful silence from the international community, including the United Nations and State Department, as to the plight of these forgotten prisoners even while the evidence of systematic religious persecution is overwhelming.?
ICC?s Kris Elliot, regional manager of Southeastern Asia said on its website, ?We call upon the Vietnamese government to cease this systematic practice of violence and persecution against Christians, especially Degar Montagnards. We also urge the US Department of State to once again designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern, as conditions for religious minorities have vastly deteriorated since the designation was lifted in 2006.
?A CPC designation backed by strong US policies has the potential to pave a path towards significant improvements for Christians and other religious minorities inVietnam,? Elliot said.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/theundergroundsite/EYpE/~3/Zgknr6BuBWY/
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