Vietnam Bans Celebration of Christmas

Threaten Montagnards with Fines, Arrests and Even Death

HANOI, Vietnam, DEC. 24, 2002 (ZENIT.org).- The Vietnamese government has 
stepped up its campaign against the Montagnard minority to keep them from 
celebrating Christmas.

The Montagnards, who live in the southern and central highlands of this
communist-led country of 81 million, are mostly Christians.

The U.S.-based Montagnard Foundation (http://www.montagnard-foundation.org) 
said that the communist authorities announced they would enforce fines of 
about $10 against any Montagnard caught celebrating Christmas. Officials 
have also threatened the minority with arrest, imprisonment and even the 
death penalty, the foundation said.

The group also charged that government forces, since Dec. 15, have arrested 
anyone they suspect of having supported the Montagnard Foundation.

The authorities contend that those arrested belong to the United Front for 
the Struggle of the Oppressed Races, a group fighting for independence from 
Vietnam.

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