Miracle on the Mekong
By Dr. Chris Seiple on 30 March 2010
Friends,
Greetings from Vientiane, the capital of the Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic (PDR). This year the Lao PDR marks 35 years of communism. Today, after
ten years of relational diplomacy with Laos, IGE signed a comprehensive agreement with the Lao government to institutionalize religious freedom here. (Please see attached Memorandum of Understanding and picture of signing agreement.)
Among other things, the agreement calls for bottom-up provincial, and district, seminars that bring local religious leaders and government officials together to better understand one another, as well as the proper implementation of Decree 92—a 2002 administrative statue from the Prime Minister that currently governs religious freedom in Laos. The agreement also calls for the intentional development of comparative scholarship that will help reform Decree 92 toward a law.
This approach enables local and national ownership of these ideas while deepening social stability. Put differently, this process enables an eventual law that is socially and bureaucratically owned by both the state and society.
The highest levels of government know about and approve this agreement. For example, the front page of today's Pathet Lao, the national newspaper, reports on IGE's discussion yesterday about religion and human rights with Dr. Thongloun Sisoulith. He is the foreign minister, deputy prime minister, and one of nine members of the politburo's standing committee.
Incredibly, in a meeting this morning, the Vice Minister of Public Security asked if his people could attend the seminars at the local level. The Ministry of Public Security is the most powerful governmental agency in Laos, and its local officials have implemented Decree 92 with inconsistency, sometimes resulting in religious freedom problems.
According to Lao officials, IGE is the only NGO that has been given this privilege of trust, access, and official, long-term, partnership. It has been ten years in the making.
*****
They have a saying in this part of the world: "If you want to move quickly, work slowly." In fact, friends of mine in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tell me that "PDR" actually means "people don't rush." This saying is consistent with the gentle spirit and rugged geography that characterizes this land.
And it is consistent with a government that only moves when it is good and ready. Indeed, IGE was supposed to visit Laos and Vietnam last fall, but we cancelled the trip when both governments proved unable to implement the religious freedom seminars to which we had mutually agreed.
Last Friday, 26 March, we were in Dien Bien Province in Vietnam (of Dien Bien Phu fame, right along the Vietnamese-Lao border). While investigating a case of religious conversion—and the impact it has on family and village in a group-based society—we got a call from Vientiane saying that the Lao government was ready to sign an agreement with IGE.
We first flew to the ancient capital of Laos, Luang Prabang, to meet with government and religious leaders there. On Saturday morning, we had a frank conversation with the Assistant Governor of the province and the Lao National Front (the governmental agency responsible for religion, and now IGE's official partner). It was almost the same conversation we had with Vietnamese officials in Dien Bien:
· They have a minority-majority society. This means ethnic minorities, when combined, are the overwhelming majority;
· They suffer from tremendous illiteracy, poverty, and an unforgiving geography that is often impassable in the rainy season;
· They have made great efforts to convene and conduct training on the governmental decree regarding religious freedom; and,
· Conversions from traditional ancestor worship to Christianity often prompt social instability, as new Christians tend to completely reject their old way of life and their family and community view this as a betrayal of both blood and culture.
The conversation in Luang Prabang, however, was uniquely fascinating for two reasons. First, we met in a room with portraits of Marx and Lenin on the wall. On the bookshelf was the "Select Works of Kim Jong-Il" (which I am holding in the attached photo). This is their intellectual starting point for thinking about religious freedom; this makes the next point all the more incredible.
These officials asked for more religious freedom training at the provincial and district levels. (The Lao state is organized according to four levels; in descending order: national, provincial, district, and commune/village.) In particular, they said they needed (in my words):
· Better trained pastors whose theologically orthodox teaching builds better citizens who serve neighbor and society (preventing the manipulation of religion by some which can result in cults and separatist movements);
· Better equipped Christians who understood how to balance and reconcile their ethnic (tribal), state (Lao PDR), and spiritual identities. Put differently: how do new Christians show respect for their non-Christian parents, community, and culture while remaining authentically Christian?; and,
· More training on Decree 92 through which local government and religious leaders could also build relationships and ameliorate negative stereotypes of each other.
We asked their permission to raise these three needs with officials in Vientiane. They agreed, and we did so in every meeting in the capital, finding encouragement for these ideas everywhere. In fact, the Lao National Front changed their proposed agreement to include training at the district level.
*****
The above is the "must-have" conversation of the first global century. How will states and their societies—from Laos to Afghanistan to Nigeria—protect and promote their minorities? How will reconciliation take place between majority and minority cultures? How will we steward and reconcile the gift of our multiple identities—from the tribal and state to the global and spiritual? Do we truly understand that we are all minorities somewhere? Do we believe that it is not only the right thing to do, but that it is also in our self-interest to treat minorities with respect and reconciliation?
Warmly,
Chris
 IGE-Laos RF MOU 30 March 2010.pdf |
Last updated 05 April 2010