US embassy cable - 05HOCHIMINHCITY55

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000055 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KPAO, PHUM, SOCI, PREL, VM 
SUBJECT: VIETNAM'S PRESS PUSHES BACK AFTER REPORTER'S ARREST 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  The recent indictment of an investigative 
journalist triggered a media-backlash from her newspaper, other 
major HCMC news outlets, legal experts, and the general public -- 
much to the surprise of the Communist Party and the Ministry of 
Public Security (MPS).  It is unclear if the indictment was an 
isolated event, resulting from internal GVN rivalries or a GVN 
warning to the more activist press not to go too far in 
investigating government and Party corruption.  Our contacts see 
the ongoing controversy as a hopeful sign of the press' evolution 
in Vietnam, but the journalist's fate and that of her supportive 
editorial staff -- are not yet resolved.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) On January 5, the MPS accused Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, a 
journalist for southern Vietnam's most popular newspaper Tuoi Tre 
of "appropriating state confidential documents," and placed her 
under house arrest.  The charge stemmed from a May 20 article by 
Anh about pharmaceutical price fixing in which she referred to a 
letter from the Minister of Health to the Prime Minister 
requesting an inspection of the offending company, Zuellig Pharma 
Vietnam.  MPS claimed that the letter was a classified document 
containing "state secrets."  (Note: Zuellig Pharma Vietnam was the 
only distributor in Vietnam of certain drugs and had steadily 
increased its prices over the previous three years by as much as 
60 percent.  Pharmaceutical price gouging has been a hot topic in 
Vietnam, and Anh and other journalists had been covering the issue 
for months.  End Note) 
 
Pushing the Envelope 
-------------------- 
 
3. (U) Since January 7, Tuoi Tre and four other high-circulation, 
HCMC-based newspapers have reported heavily on Anh's detention and 
the public's reaction, publishing editorials and letters to the 
editor in her defense.  Tuoi Tre reported that it has received 
hundreds of e-mails, letters, and telephone calls from readers 
supporting the reporter.  The papers published the opinions of 
legal experts, including a member of the National Assembly's 
Legislation Committee, a former Minister of Justice, and the Vice 
Chairman of the HCMC Bar Association, challenging the MPS claim 
that the document that Ms. Anh published was a state secret. 
Thanh Nien Newspaper ran an editorial saying MPS' rationale was 
"unconvincing" and that "public opinion disagrees with the 
prosecution."   In a published statement, Chairperson of the HCMC 
Journalists Association, Le Thi Hang Nga, stopped short of 
directly criticizing MPS, saying the association supported the 
rights of journalists to do their jobs and hoped to work with the 
authorities "to find out the truth about Anh's case."  The deputy 
chair at the national level was more blunt, saying that MPS should 
"reconsider their decision" and "avoid wasting time and 
resources." 
 
4. (SBU) In a series of meetings with two legal experts, 
journalists and newspaper editors in HCMC (all Party members), our 
contacts said that the controversy showcases the evolution of 
media in Vietnam from a simple mouthpiece of the Party to a more 
sophisticated and independent role.  One contact, a senior HCMC 
judge, told us that he was not surprised that Tuoi Tre defended 
its journalist, despite the fact that the paper is owned by the 
Party's Youth Union.  Tuoi Tre, he explained, is a "brave" 
newspaper that has pushed the envelope of journalism in Vietnam's 
"ongoing economic and social transition."  However, another 
contact said that many journalists were frustrated that Tuoi Tre 
and allied newspapers did not use the controversy to push even 
harder for comprehensive media freedom in Vietnam. 
 
5. (SBU) Our contacts said that the MPS and the Party were caught 
flatfooted by Tuoi Tre's decision to push back and by the support 
the newspaper received from other leading dailies.  They 
anticipated the Party would eventually reign in the newspapers 
criticizing MPS, but also expected MPS to drop the charges against 
the journalist.  A leading defense attorney added that the Party 
would act because it was sensitive to public opinion and "afraid" 
of its influence. 
 
Why arrest Anh? 
--------------- 
 
6. (SBU) One legal expert speculated that Anh's arrest was 
triggered by a power struggle between opposing factions within the 
MOH.  Anh's source for the article was an MOH official, and others 
had pushed for the journalist's arrest as ammunition against their 
rivals in the Ministry, this source told us.  However, our media 
contacts said the MPS took action against the reporter on the 
order of senior elements within the Party -- some said Prime 
Minister Van Khai -- "as a warning," to try and reign-in Tuoi Tre 
and other more activist newspapers.  This contact explained that, 
over the past year, these newspapers had spearheaded reporting on 
a series of scandals in health, education and sports sectors that 
embarrassed a number of senior Party members.  The PM and the 
Minister of Health apparently are reportedly related by marriage, 
according to a number of our contacts.  Another well-placed 
journalist told us that, six months ago, Deputy Prime Minister for 
 
Cultural and Social Affairs Pham Gia Khiem, who bears primary 
responsibility for media oversight, submitted a plan to the 
Politburo to replace a number of editors-in-chief -- including 
Tuoi Tre's -- but the Politburo has not yet acted on his proposal. 
 
7. (SBU) Comment.  Some of our contacts said that the very vocal 
pushback against the MPS signals that journalistic freedom in 
Vietnam has expanded, at least incrementally.  It is notable that 
more progressive elements within southern Vietnam's media now have 
the confidence to defend one of their own and challenge the 
powerful MPS.  However, the Party has not yet spoken on the issue. 
End Comment. 
 
WINNICK 
 
 
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