By Jeremy Reynalds Correspondent for ASSIST News Service SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA ANS – An advocacy group for the Degars, the indigenous people of Central Vietnam, says the group is tormented on an ongoing basis by the Vietnamese government and many other Vietnamese people. Speaking in a news release, the Montagnard Foundation said not only do the Vietnamese authorities publicly beat up and murder Degars, but they abduct them from their villages where they are killed in secret. That, the group said, is what happened to a Christian minister called Mup. … Read entire article »

By Michael Ireland Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM (ANS) — Ten Vietnamese officers of the local police authority some of them in uniform, others in plain clothes and others in disguise, last Sunday, (August 31), rushed into the Church With A Mission house church interrupting the service and creating great anxiety among new converts. “One of them chased after our guest preacher, Pastor Hieu, to as far as he went into the restroom of our house church and snatched his camera right from his hand in front of our very eyes,” said Pastor Chinh Van Nguyen in an e-mail report of the incident sent to ANS. “On seeing this, one of our members shouted at them, saying ‘Give it back to him; otherwise we bring this to the public.’ … Read entire article »

By Jeremy Reynalds Correspondent for ASSIST News Service SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA (ANS) — An ethnic Degar or Montagnard, who sought safety in a UN refugee camp in Cambodia, was shipped back to Vietnam. He is now under house arrest and cannot even work in his fields. Ethnic Degars are a minority who live in the Vietnam central highlands. A story reported by Asia News reported that persecuted on ethnic and religious grounds, Y Hning, 36, fled Vietnam for Cambodia, but was eventually shipped home. Back in Vietnam police ordered his family to pay for his release and forced Y Hning to give up his Christian faith. Now he fears for his life. Asia News reported that the Montagnard Foundation is appealing on Y Hning’s behalf to embassies and international agencies in the hope that he … Read entire article »

By Jeremy Reynalds Correspondent for ASSIST News Service SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA (ANS) — A Degar Christian was recently tortured and killed by Vietnamese security police. According to a news release from the Montagnard Foundation, the murder of Y-Cung Nie occurred on April 14 after his involvement in a demonstration protesting the arrest of three Christians who had been arrested a few days previously. The Degar (or Montagnards) are the indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The mission of the Montagnard Foundation is to protect the lives and culture of the Montagnard people. Following the demonstration, Y-Cung Nie returned to his village and went home. According to the news release, shortly after that, Vietnamese law enforcement stormed Y-Cung Nie’s house, arrested him, and took him to a nearby wooded area where they tortured and killed … Read entire article »