US embassy cable - 04ROME1509

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ROME 001509 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREF, PREL, VM, IT, HUMAN RIGHTS 
SUBJECT: ITALY: VIETNAMESE AMBASSADOR CALLED IN ON CENTRAL 
HIGHLANDS UNREST 
 
REF: SECSTATE 82712 
 
Classified By: A/POL M/C Gary Robbins for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary. Italy responded quickly to the recent 
crackdown in Vietnam by summoning the Vietnamese Ambassador 
and stressing that all rights be respected and that 
international access be granted to the Central Highlands 
region. Ambassador Thu Le Vinh confirmed to MFA Deputy 
Director General for Asia, Ignazio Di Pace and MFA South East 
Asia Office Director, Marco della Seta that there had been 
clashes between protesters and police but that there were no 
casualties and order was restored by April 13th. Missionary 
sources also reported that calm was restored after a few 
thousand people, protesting against religious repression and 
land issues, clashed with authorities. In response to media 
attention, the Embassy of Vietnam released a press statement 
on April 14. See paragraph 6 for full text of statement. End 
summary. 
 
2. (C) The MFA summoned Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy, Thu 
Le Vinh on April 13 to express the Italian government's 
concern over the weekend crackdown on protesters in the 
Central Highlands. MFA officials stressed to Ambassador Thu 
Le Vinh that all rights be respected in full and that access 
to the region be granted in order to allow for international 
monitoring of the situation. The MFA also instructed the 
Italian Ambassador in Phnom Penh to demarche the Cambodian 
government not to obstruct the entry of Vietnamese Montagnard 
refugees into Cambodia. 
 
3. (C) Della Seta, confirmed that the Government of Vietnam 
(GVN) cracked down on weekend protests in the Central 
Highlands and sealed off the region to all air traffic and 
foreign nationals. Della Seta said that Ambassador Thu Le 
Vinh confirmed the events and stated that the authorities 
confronted the protesters only after they had encircled and 
damaged a provincial administration building. Ambassador Thu 
Le Vinh reported that there were approximately a dozen 
arrests and no casualties, and that order was restored by 
April 13. 
 
4. (C) According to della Seta, missionary sources reported 
that there were a few thousand protesters in different areas 
of the region demonstrating against religious repression and 
land issues. He noted that it was not coincidental that the 
protests occurred over Easter since the government bans many 
religious ceremonies. These sources also confirmed that calm 
had returned by April 13 but did not report on arrests or 
casualties. Della Seta expects that, due to the number of 
protesters spread out over the area, the numbers reported by 
the Vietnamese Ambassador may be inaccurate. 
 
5. (C) Della Seta expressed interest in working closely with 
post to gather more information on the events and asked about 
rumors that U.S. NGO's were involved in promoting the 
protests. PolOff thanked della Seta for the information and 
assured him that post would continue sharing information. 
Comment. Italy's quick reaction to this problem offers us a 
willing partner within the EU if the Department is 
contemplating further actions. End comment. 
 
6. (U) Text of press statement follows: 
 
Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
PRESS STATEMENT 
 
Allegations, largely promoted by the Italian Radical Party, 
are currently circulating within the Italian political 
community and in the Italian public media that last weekend 
thousands of Christian Montagnards in the Central Highlands 
of Vietnam participated in demonstrations against the 
Government for having burned down their churches, forcing 
them to conduct Easter prayers outside, and requesting the 
protection of their fundamental rights, and that the 
Vietnamese Government had ordered a tough repression against 
the demonstrators, causing more than 400 deaths. 
 
Faced with such unreliable information, the Embassy of 
Vietnam in Italy is authorized to declare as follows: 
 
1.  We categorically deny the information provided 
principally by the Radical Party and reported in the Italian 
public media and declare that this information was totally 
 
 
false and unfounded.  The fact is that last weekend, in some 
parts of the Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces in the Central 
Highlands, a few hundred persons of various ethnic 
minorities, and not only Christian Montagnards as it was 
alleged, demonstrated against the irregularities and errors 
by the local authorities while exercising their official 
powers, in particular on the use of arable land.  Most of the 
demonstrators, after having received assurances from the 
local authorities of a speedy remedy for the errors and 
irregularities, withdrew, returning to their homes.  However, 
some unyielding groups attacked, occupied, and destroyed some 
local authority seats and intentionally provoked a clash with 
public order forces, causing a number of wounded on both 
sides.  Some of the wilder demonstrators, who were directly 
responsible for the clashes and disorders, were stopped by 
the public order forces, but there were no casualties.  After 
the clashes, living conditions in the venues above returned 
to normal and we hope that the region can soon be visited 
once more by foreign tourists and the foreign press. 
 
2.  Full respect of the fundamental rights of individuals and 
ethnic groups is the basis for the policy of national 
solidarity of the Communist Party and the Government of 
Vietnam.  All the ethnic groups, including the minorities, 
are treated equally.  The right to preserve and develop their 
culture and traditions, as well as their religious beliefs 
and the other fundamental rights of every ethnic group are 
guaranteed and sanctioned by the State Constitution. 
Currently, 54 ethnic groups coexist peacefully in Vietnam, 
tied by liens of brotherhood and mutual respect.  There are 
also 6 main religions, including the Christian religion, with 
about 6 million followers.  In the Central Highlands as in 
the rest of Vietnam, Christians, Protestants, Buddhists, 
etc., can freely exercise their religion in their places of 
worship and have good relations of cooperation with the local 
authorities.  During the recent Easter Holidays, masses and 
common prayers were organized in all the churches in Vietnam, 
including in the Central Highlands.  The encouraging results 
Vietnam has recently obtained in this sector were fully 
recognized by the great majority of the countries in the 
world, the many non-governmental international organizations, 
including those that have been working in Vietnam for a long 
time, and by the UN Organizations.  Certainly, the country,s 
legal and administrative system is not yet perfect and must 
be improved further; in the social lives of populations there 
still are cases of injustice and disparity that must be 
eliminated step by step, but to state that the Government of 
Vietnam violated human rights by tolerating the destruction 
of places of worship and the repression of persons who asked 
for the respect of their individual rights is simply absurd 
and unacceptable.  There are forces that are hostile to 
Vietnam and that have been trying for some time to take 
advantage of the backwardness of the mountain regions, in 
particular in the Central Highlands, and of the low level of 
instruction of the local populations to foster disorder and 
instigate people in the ethnic minorities to rebel and flee 
illegally abroad, with the intent of destroying Vietnam,s 
national unity, provoking political and social instability in 
the region, and damaging Vietnam,s image and international 
prestige.  This dark design will be combated in a decided 
manner by the people of Vietnam and is destined to fail 
completely.  With the cooperation and support of the 
international community, Vietnam will make further effort to 
consolidate national solidarity and integrity, improve 
further the fundamental sectors of the lives of its people, 
and preserve and increase further its international prestige. 
 
Rome, April 14, 2004 
Press Office 
Embassy of Vietnam 
 
Visit Rome's Classified Website: 
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SKODON 
 
 
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 2004ROME01509 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL