HANOI, Vietnam (KRT) -- The government of communist Vietnam, notorious for its control and suppression of religion, gave its official blessing Tuesday to a group of Protestant churches located in the southern part of the country.
Under a decree from the prime minister, the regime granted recognition to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, a collection of some 250 Protestant congregations located mainly in Danang and Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon.
''There's still a well-documented persecution of Christians in Vietnam, but as a trend this is important,'' said a Western diplomat who asked not to be identified. ''The government moving forward on the broader recognition of Protestants is something we' re very pleased about. It's a surprising and very positive development.''
Vietnam permits just six religions to operate openly -- Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, and the indigenous faiths of Cao Daism and Hoa Hao Buddhism. Most Vietnamese are nominally Buddhist, and ancestor worship is also practiced in many househ olds.
Until Tuesday's recognition of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, the government had sanctioned only a dozen Protestant churches, all of them in the north.
Despite its large number of churches, the Evangelical Church of Vietnam only has an estimated 25,000 followers. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Vietnam's 700,000 Protestants are forced to worship privately or in secret ''house churches.''
Vietnam tightly regulates all aspects of religious life in the country, with the Communist Party controlling everything from ordination of priests and the training of new clergy to church construction and renovation.