Police and thugs front-line attack on Vietnamese Mennonite Church

From 9 June 2014 until midnight June 12, pastors, followers and participant learners of the Mennonite Church in Bến Cát Bình Dương (Road D10 - Thới Hòa ward) were continually harassed, detained, and beaten. The peak of this cruelty occurred on 12 June 2014 at 9:15pm when police and thugs surrounded the Church, whilst power and water were cut off under the command of government officials. Inside the church, everyone, women and children, were all frightened. Soon after, a storm of rocks was hailed against the building where Pastor Hồng Quang used to hold worship services, smashing 90% of the glass window. The window’s iron bars were also bent, cut and damaged by thugs and police.

The harassment caused anger and distrust in witnessing people. They wondered what kind of government they had, when officials had to have the electricity cut off before they started attacking their citizens. In the dark, obviously no one was able to see or recognise the abusers; in fact, it was really the act of cunning thugs. 

The video shows many women beaten and injured on their faces, with torn lips. Bình Dưong police even had humiliated the pastors by removing their shirts and keeping their arms raised to their heads on the way to the police station, like war prisoners captured in a battle. 

Bình Dương local people still have in their mind images of the violent riots occurring a month ago in the area. On that day, 13 May 2014, rioters and thugs had violently vandalized and damaged foreign owned companies in Bình Dương. Now, at the Mennonite Church, the sounds of vandals and the way the police were leading the line, followed by thugs, the roaring motorbike engines with horns blearing, were exactly the same.

Translate by Jasmine Tran