US embassy cable - 04HOCHIMINHCITY1123

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KIRF, VM, HUMANR, ETMIN, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: PASTOR REPORTED DETAINED ON CAMBODIAN BORDER 
 
1. (SBU) Embassy and Congen have received reports over the 
last few days that Pastor Tran Mai was detained on August 29 
while attempting to enter Vietnam from Cambodia in the 
border town of Chau Doc, An Giang province.  Pastor Mai is a 
leader of the Inter-Evangelistic Movement in Ho Chi Minh 
City, an unrecognized Protestant denomination associated 
with the (also unrecognized) Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship. 
 
2. (SBU) According to these reports, Pastor Mai was 
returning from a trip to the United States.  The Pastor, and 
a number of his colleagues, are reported to regularly use 
the Cambodian border rather than Tan Son Nhat International 
Airport when departing or returning to Vietnam.  (It is 
unclear to us what procedures or travel documents are used 
for this border crossing.  HCMC issued Mai a visa in his 
Vietnamese passport this spring.  However, we understand 
that this trip is sometimes made with a border crossing card 
that is intended for one day travel within the border 
region.) 
 
3. (SBU) Mrs. Truong Thi Lieu (protect), Pastor Mai's wife, 
informed Embassy Hanoi Poloff that HCMC police had told her 
that Mai would be freed "soon," and that Chau Doc police had 
told her Mai would be released after they "cleared up some 
issues."  She said she knew of no specific reason why he 
should be detained at this time, and said he was not 
carrying religious tracts or other illegal items.  Mrs. Lieu 
speculated that the police were concerned about his 
international travels, and added that she had heard 
authorities viewed Mai with concern as a result of his 
prominent role in the Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship. 
 
WINNICK