The pastors Y Pui Ya, Trần Minh Hòa, and Nguyễn Hồng Quang would like to urgently inform you of a targeted attack against us.
On the afternoon of 2 November 2014, over a hundred thugs raided the residential area in Bến Cát, Bình Dương district where the Mỹ Phước Mennonite Church is located. They vandalized the property, and threw stones into the hall where followers were worshipping. Over a hundred tattooed men on large motorcycles attacked the church. They were instructed by masked individuals of neat appearance. The vandalizing started from 4pm and was still continuing at 8:45pm.
Unless they were under police command, would these thugs have dared to throw stones and beat people with batons for hours in such a residential area?
Nguyễn Văn Hòa, (pastor Nguyễn Thành Nhân’s older brother, and brother-in-law of pastor Trần Minh Hoà) worried for his grandchild and children's safety in the hall. He tried to get into the hall to escort them out. He was bashed in the face until he severely bled, and his nose was broken. A follower named Đức was savagely beaten and managed to flee the scene.
The thugs announced that they had orders from the police – to beat anyone entering or exiting the church. Currently, three people have been assaulted and suffered bodily damage; one person was so severely harmed on his face and required emergency care.
The many ordinary workers who were attending the Mennonite Church were scared for their lives, and tried to flee the hall. A group of H’mong students managed to escape to forest nearby, and called for help from the residents. In the worship hall, there remained 25 people who had not managed to escape. The entire area of Mỹ Phước was in chaos, with people afraid of the anarchist situation for hours. No uniformed police had arrived to stem the attack.
Thugs aimed at the church hall, shooting with slingshots
It is essential to keep in mind that police have continually obstructed and harassed followers to prevent them from going to the Church. They seek to hinder the Sunday worship at the Mennonite Church of the local Protestant believers. On over ten occasions from 9 June 2014, police damaged and destroyed the entire façade of the Church. Police have taken pastors, missionaries and theology students to the police station, where they were submitted to torture, beatings, and had their identification papers confiscated. Police once seized 8,500,000 dong from a believer, and have still not returned this money. And most recently, from afternoon until night, they gathered about 150 thugs, blocking all the ways leading to the Church. These thugs announced they would completely demolish the Mennonite worshipping hall.
We would like to inform all of you about this assault - from the Mỹ Phước Catholic Parish, to friends from other religions. We affirm that we are only practising our right to freedom of religion, which is allowed by Vietnam’s Constitution and the International Convention on Human Rights, of which Vietnam is a signatory. These acts demonstrate human rights abuses are a feature of a nation which is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Please keep us in your prayers. We hope that national and global media will speak against the Vietnamese Government, to urge them to end their cruel treatment of us.
With urgent sincerity,
Pastor Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng
For more details please contact us at:
Pastor Nguyễn Hồng Quang, tel: 0978207007.
Pastor Trần Minh Hòa, tel: 0986417513
Pastor Y Pui Ya, tel: 01684424026
Below is a video clip of thugs throwing stones and using slingshots to attack the church hall. Please click on the links below.
Throwing stones video clip – 1:56
Slingshotting and throwing stones clip – 0:54
Translated by:
danlambaovn.blogspot.com
Bài tiếng Việt:
Công an Bình Dương dùng côn đồ tấn công Giáo hội Mennonite độc lập tại Bình Dương
