US embassy cable - 01HOCHIMINHCITY1082

Disclaimer: This site has been first put up 15 years ago. Since then I would probably do a couple things differently, but because I've noticed this site had been linked from news outlets, PhD theses and peer rewieved papers and because I really hate the concept of "digital dark age" I've decided to put it back up. There's no chance it can produce any harm now.

DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST U.S. INTERFERENCE

Identifier: 01HOCHIMINHCITY1082
Wikileaks: View 01HOCHIMINHCITY1082 at Wikileaks.org
Origin: Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Created: 2001-09-20 00:31:00
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Tags: PHUM PREL VM HUMANR
Redacted: This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

200031Z Sep 01

2001HOCHI01082 - UNCLASSIFIED
 
 
 
                           UNCLASSIFIED     PTO9103

PAGE 01        HO CHI  01082  200051Z 
ACTION EAP-00   

INFO  LOG-00   NP-00    AMAD-00  ACQ-00   CIAE-00  DS-00    EB-00    
      FBIE-00  UTED-00  VC-00    H-01     TEDE-00  INR-00   IO-00    
      LAB-01   VCE-00   DCP-01   NSAE-00  OIC-02   PM-00    P-00     
      SP-00    SS-00    STR-00   TEST-00  PMB-00   DSCC-00  DRL-02   
      NFAT-00  SAS-00     /007W
                  ------------------21D3FB  200051Z /38    
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5540
INFO AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 
USMISSION GENEVA 
ASEAN COLLECTIVE
USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
JICPAC HONOLULU HI
SECDEF WASHDC
DIA WASHDC
NSC WASHDC
DEPTTREAS WASHDC
USDOC WASHDC
UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001082 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV AND EAP/PD/JMARTIN 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR DRL/IRF 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR USTR 
CINCPAC FOR FPA 
SECDEF FOR ISA/EA/LSTERN 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 02        HO CHI  01082  200051Z 
DEPTTREAS FOR OASIA 
USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OKSA/HPPHO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, VM, HUMANR 
SUBJECT: DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST U.S. INTERFERENCE 
 
REF: HANOI 2307 
 
1. A SMALL GROUP OF PEACEFUL STUDENT DEMONSTRATORS 
(APPROXIMATELY 35 TO 50 PERSONS) ARRIVED IN FRONT OF 
CONGEN AT 7:40 A.M. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, TO PROTEST 
RECENT CONGRESSIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATION TARGETED 
AT VIETNAM.  THE GROUP CARRIED SEVERAL BANNERS WITH 
SLOGANS SUCH AS "LONG LIVE THE VIETNAM COMMUNIST PARTY" 
AND "US GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO INTERFERE 
IN VIETNAM."  RSO WAS ALREADY PRESENT AT CONGEN, AND 
LOCAL UNDERCOVER POLICE WERE NEARBY.  THE DEMONSTRATORS 
DISBURSED AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES.  THEY DID NOT ATTEMPT 
TO SPEAK WITH ANYONE OR PASS ANY WRITTEN DOCUMENTS TO 
CONGEN. 
 
2. THE PROTEST OCCURRED JUST PRIOR TO A MEETING OF 
SEVERAL HUNDRED YOUNG PEOPLE CALLED TOGETHER BY THE 
HCMC COMMUNIST PARTY YOUTH UNION, THE HCMC COMMUNIST 
YOUTH BRIGADE, AND THE HCMC STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION TO 
DENOUNCE THE PASSAGE BY THE U.S. HOUSE OF 
REPRESENTATIVES ON SEPTEMBER 6 OF THE VIETNAM HUMAN 
RIGHTS ACT.  THE DEMONSTRATORS WERE LIKELY ON THEIR WAY 
TO THAT MEETING, WHICH WAS HELD AT THE HCMC YOUTH UNION 
CENTER JUST THREE BLOCKS FROM CONGEN.   SEVERAL PARTY 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 03        HO CHI  01082  200051Z 
ORGANS UNDER THE UMBRELLA FATHER LAND FRONT COMMITTEE 
HAVE ORGANIZED MASS MEETINGS IN THE CITY OVER THE PAST 
SEVERAL DAYS TO DENOUNCE THE ACT. 
 
3. VIETNAMESE VERNACULAR MEDIA IN THE CITY ALSO HAS 
BEEN CARRYING DAILY EDITORIALS CONDEMNING THE ACT AND 
DENOUNCING AMERICAN INTERFERENCE IN VIETNAM'S INTERNAL 
AFFAIRS.  THE CAMPAIGN APPARENTLY HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL 
IN STIRRING UP SOME ANTI-AMERICAN FEELING.  THE 
DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR ON SEPTEMBER 13 PUBLISHED AN 
ARTICLE STATING THAT MANY VIETNAMESE WERE PLEASED WITH 
THE RECENT TERRORIST ATTACKS ON THE U.S. QUOTING ONE 
STUDENT AS SAYING THE ATTACKS SHOULD OPEN THE U.S.'S 
EYES TO THE RESULTS OF "INTERVENING IN THE INTERNAL 
AFFAIRS OF OTHER NATIONS."  WHILE POST HAS NOT HEARD 
SUCH SENTIMENTS EXPRESSED, THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC 
EXPRESSIONS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCES FROM THE 
VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY IN HCMC HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT LIMITED. 
 
WHITE 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 


Latest source of this page is cablebrowser-2, released 2011-10-04