Son La - On 24th December, police attacked a gathering in the village of Co Noi, Mai Son, in Son La province, North Vietnam. They raided a private house where people were praying together on the occasion of Christmas. A young man from the nearby Phu Tho province attending the meeting was beaten brutally and taken away. Police falsely accused him as a criminal for whom they were hunting down. However, he was set free later after a protest of the villagers.
The next morning, on the Christmas day, Father Joseph Nguyen Trung Thoai, Chancellor of Son Tay Bishop’s office, was arrested on the way to Co Noi to celebrate Christmas Mass. He was in police custody from 10 AM to 1 PM at Co Noi People’s Committee. Again, he was only set free after a protest of the villagers.
Police in Co Noi village and in Mai Son district threatened students not to practice their faith and not to convert to Catholicism or otherwise, they would get really bad marks at school.
As usual, after submitting the pressure of the protests, police start terrorizing Co Noi’s Catholics who attended protests. They have tracked down those who organized the two protests mentioned above. Some have been interrogated several times at police stations.
In the village of Muong La where there is a significant of Catholic workers working for Muong La hydroelectric power station, police did not dismiss a Christmas prayer event held in a private house. However, they prevented anyone outside the village to join the gathering. A group of tribe people who had to walked 40 km from Truong An to attend Christmas Mass at Muong La was forced to go back to their tribe.
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| Father Josheph Thoai was released at 1 PM on Christmas Day |
Police in Co Noi village and in Mai Son district threatened students not to practice their faith and not to convert to Catholicism or otherwise, they would get really bad marks at school.
As usual, after submitting the pressure of the protests, police start terrorizing Co Noi’s Catholics who attended protests. They have tracked down those who organized the two protests mentioned above. Some have been interrogated several times at police stations.
In the village of Muong La where there is a significant of Catholic workers working for Muong La hydroelectric power station, police did not dismiss a Christmas prayer event held in a private house. However, they prevented anyone outside the village to join the gathering. A group of tribe people who had to walked 40 km from Truong An to attend Christmas Mass at Muong La was forced to go back to their tribe.