VIETNAMESE COMMUNISTS BLOCK EASTER DEMONSTRATIONS Christians were among those caught up in the brutal suppression of a demonstration protesting the severe repression suffered by the Montagnard people of Vietnam. Thousands were on the road to Buon Ma Thuot, the capital of Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands on April 10 when they found their way blocked. Many others were peacefully making their way to other nearby towns and cities for mass demonstrations. The crowds were set upon by security forces dressed in civilian clothes, armed with metal bars, shovels, clubs with nails attached to them, machetes and chains. It is reported that several dozen were killed and many hundreds wounded in a bid to stop the demonstrators who were calling for religious freedom and the return of their ancestral lands.  There are still hundreds of people missing who have yet to be accounted for. Montagnard Christians, numbering some 500,000, are the largest Christian group in Vietnam. They have been considered illegal since 1975 and many have been forced to take part in ceremonies entitled “Repenting of following Christianity”.  They are not allowed to associate with the Evangelical Church of Vietnam and from late 2002 to mid 2003, virtually all 750 churches in Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces were forcibly disbanded.                                  ARTICLE From Christian Solidarity Worldwide
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