Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 9/3/2011
Recent news from Vietnam shows concern that police brutality against Christian worshipers continues unabated.
International Christian Concern reports police raided a house church as 16 members of the Degar tribal group, or Montagnards, were worshiping.
“Twelve of them were actually beaten so severely that they became unconscious -- and from the witnesses who were there, ... these people were just beaten with batons, tree branches, weapons, pistols to the head,” explains Kris Elliott of ICC. “People were just collapsing to the ground.”
The youngest victim was a 13-year-old girl and the oldest a 53-year-old woman. They are members of a house church, which in Vietnam is illegal.
“The police force came in and said that if anyone worships like this we're going to arrest you. We're going to put you away for five years or even more,” Elliott says. “Many Montagnards right now are in prison. It's estimated that at least 350 Montagnard Christians are currently in prison for their faith. And so this is unfortunately a very commonplace event that happens in Vietnam.”
The Montagnards are largely Christian and many were helpful to the U.S. military during the Vietnam war.
Elliott is hopeful the U.S. will re-designate Vietnam as a "country of particular concern" in terms of violating religious freedom -- a status that could be helpful in applying more international pressure for change.
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