US embassy cable - 03HANOI2610

UNCLAS HANOI 002610 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, VM, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTRY COMMENTS ON WHEREABOUTS OF UBCV 
PATRIARCH THICH HUYEN QUANG AND PARTY 
 
REF: HCMC 0978 (NOTAL) 
 
1.  (SBU) On October 10, Charge and Acting POLOFF met with 
Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Duc Hung to express our 
concern about the apparent police actions this week to 
interfere in the travel of Unified Buddhist Church of 
Vietnam Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang, his deputy Thich Quang 
Do, and several other monks of the same order (ref).  He 
also raised unconfirmed reports that police officials 
returned the monks to their home pagodas in different 
provinces, instead of letting them all travel together to 
HCMC as planned, and then detained them for questioning.  He 
said the apparent heavy-handed police treatment of the monks 
was in sharp contrast to the reception that Thich Huyen 
Quang received during his call on Prime Minister Phan Van 
Khai earlier in the year, and was an unwelcome prelude to 
the visit next week of Ambassador at Large for Religious 
Freedoms John Hanford.  Charge urged the GVN to follow its 
international commitments, as well as its own laws, and 
fully respect the human rights of its citizens, including 
freedom of religion, assembly, and movement. 
 
2.  (SBU) Hung responded that he "agreed with" the Charge's 
assessment of the unfortunate timing of the police actions, 
but assured the Charge that the reports of the monks' 
problems, particularly reports emanating from exiled 
Buddhist groups in Paris "with an agenda," were 
"inaccurate."  Hung stated that it was not Vietnamese 
officials or police who were interfering with the monks' 
travel in Binh Dinh, but rather "local supporters who did 
not wish to see the monks leave."  Hung added that the 
government could "not control the actions of all people in 
Vietnam," but was now "ensuring the safety of all involved 
in the incident."   He stated that "both Thich Huyen Quang 
and Thich Quang Do were now safely back in their respective 
pagodas in Binh Dinh and HCMC.  He further added that "no 
detentions or suppression of freedoms of either monk have 
occurred, but caveated this statement by clarifying that his 
understanding was based on "preliminary information." 
 
3.  (U) ConGen HCMC is reporting additional information 
septel. 
PORTER