US embassy cable - 05HANOI767

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000767 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PREL, PGOV, VM, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: EXILED BUDDHIST LEADER RETURNS TO VISIT HOMELAND 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  Exiled Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh 
(TNH) completed a "successful" two-and-a-half-month visit to 
Vietnam, his first in almost forty years.  In a private 
meeting with the Ambassador March 26, he described the 
Buddhist community in Vietnam as split and weakened due to 
Government interference in religious affairs.  In public 
statements during the visit, however, he did not criticize 
GVN policies on religion.  In a meeting with Prime Minister 
Phan Van Khai, TNH recommended the "separation of Church and 
State" in Vietnam and emphasized that a revitalized Buddhist 
Church could help to address social divisions and 
corruption.  TNH made the ability to travel freely in 
Vietnam and the publishing of his previously-banned books 
prerequisites to his visit.  In addition to his meeting with 
the PM, during the trip TNH met with large numbers of the 
faithful as well as with intellectuals.  Leaders of the 
banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) condemned 
the visit as legitimizing Government control of religion. 
The UBCV criticisms came after the UBCV and TNH's delegation 
failed to agree on modalities for their leaders to meet. 
The UBCV reportedly insisted that TNH agree to meet with the 
UBCV as an independent Buddhist organization, but TNH 
countered that he would only meet with UBCV leaders in a 
private capacity.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) During his March 26 meeting with the Ambassador, 
TNH described the Buddhist community in Vietnam as being 
"deeply split."  Regular believers are free to go to temple, 
but the overall health of Buddhism is poor, largely as a 
result of Government interference in the Church.  Many monks 
have been placed in leadership roles for political reasons, 
and representatives of the officially recognized Vietnam 
Buddhist Sangha (VBS) "act like government employees."  The 
VBS is tied to the GVN for financial support and for 
permission to conduct such activities as training monks 
abroad.  This "turns people away" from Buddhism.  Despite 
the benefits of Vietnam's rapid economic development, the 
country is suffering social trauma.  There is a deep divide 
between the older generation, which struggled with political 
problems, and the young, who are consumed with 
commercialism.  "The suffering between generations is very 
large.  Youth do not believe in the happiness of family 
life," TNH averred. 
 
3. (SBU) TNH recounted that he had met with Prime Minister 
Phan Van Khai for an hour and a half the day before.  PM 
Khai had called upon him to follow the Party's lead in 
seeking unity within Vietnam.  TNH rejected this, replying 
that, instead of unity, Buddhists should seek "brotherhood" 
in which they are separate from political groups but do not 
conflict with them.  In addition, he told Khai that 
"Communists should become more Vietnamese" by accepting 
traditional ideas of ancestor worship and Buddhist culture 
that are fundamental to Vietnamese society.  Failing to do 
so will "bankrupt" politics and cause the Party to lose the 
support of the people.  TNH called upon Khai to "separate 
church and state" in Vietnam.  "Monks should not be forced 
to join the National Assembly and People's Councils," and 
"the Church should not be forced to become a member of the 
Fatherland Front." 
 
4. (SBU) On balance, TNH considers his visit to have been a 
"success."  He spoke to large numbers of believers and 
estimated that 10,000 people came to listen to him at a 
teaching in Hue despite efforts by officials to dissuade 
them.  He remarked particularly on his opportunities to 
speak with Vietnamese "intellectuals," saying he had 
addressed a gathering in HCMC, as well as 300-500 people at 
the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy in Hanoi.  In Hue, TNH 
recalled that he brought together the unreconciled factions 
of the Buddhist community there, allowing them to repeat the 
Buddhist precepts together for the first time in 13 years. 
TNH claimed that the initial printings of 10,000 copies of 
all twelve of his previously banned books had sold out, and 
that the effect of these books has been "like a hurricane 
sweeping through the country."  Still, he expressed 
frustrations at efforts by "conservatives" to interfere with 
his visit and limit his contact with believers.  This group 
is "very strong" and is permeated by a legacy of suspicion 
and authoritarianism resulting from the war and difficulty 
of unification. 
 
5. (SBU) TNH's attempts to meet with leaders of the Unified 
Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) were unsuccessful.  He had 
sought to meet UBCV Secretary General Thich Quang Do in HCMC 
in January and traveled to Binh Dinh Province on March 30 in 
a failed effort to meet Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang. 
Although the GVN "didn't want to allow this," it did not 
prevent TNH from seeking the meetings.  Both UBCV leaders 
refused to receive him, however, and the UBCV's Paris-based 
"Information Bureau" released statements criticizing TNH's 
visit to Vietnam as propaganda that served to legitimize the 
VBS.  UBCV contacts in HCMC reported that the UBCV and TNH's 
delegation had negotiated over the modalities of meetings. 
Thich Quang Do insisted that TNH acknowledge such meetings 
as "official" and wanted them included in TNH's public 
schedule.  According to the UBCV, TNH reportedly would only 
meet with the UBCV if his visits were labeled private and 
unofficial.  Thich Huyen Quang was reportedly less insistent 
on this point than Thich Quang Do, but decided to reject the 
meeting with TNH to maintain UBCV "solidarity."  (Note: 
Prior to leaving France for Vietnam, TNH's principal aide, 
Sister Chan Khong, was quoted in press reports as saying 
"The flags of the old regime are hidden behind some of these 
banned churches."  Chan Khong, also present at the meeting 
with the Ambassador, claimed that she had been misquoted. 
Her message was that when the old flag of the South 
Vietnamese Government is flown at pro-UBCV rallies abroad, 
the GVN sees it as a political, not religious, movement. 
End note.) 
 
6. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that TNH's planned visit in 
1999 had been cancelled and asked what had changed to allow 
the trip in 2005.  TNH explained that the GVN had previously 
only been willing to allow him to conduct a tightly 
controlled visit as a "guest" of the VBS, which he refused 
to accept.  "This time we were able to dictate our terms," 
which included traveling with an entourage of 100 monks and 
nuns, meeting with GVN officials while here, the publication 
of TNH's books in Vietnam and the ability to hold retreats 
for believers.  "The Ministry of Public Security was 
reluctant to allow this, but the Foreign Ministry supported 
the visit."  (Note: In his public appearances throughout 
Vietnam, TNH did not publicly criticize the GVN's policies 
on religion.  End Note.) 
 
7. (SBU) At the end of their discussion, TNH presented the 
Ambassador with copies of a document he had given to PM Khai 
entitled "Seven Points Proposed by Monk Thich Nhat Hanh on 
the Policy of the State of Vietnam Towards Buddhism."  The 
document, written both in the form of a set of policy 
statements that the GVN could issue and as questions 
directed to the State, consisted of the following basic 
ideas: 
 
- "The State confirms the intention to separate religious 
power from political power."  As part of this, monks will 
not hold public office or receive commendations from the 
Government. 
 
- Leading Buddhist figures in Vietnam, including from the 
UBCV, will meet to reconcile their differences and "restore 
brotherhood in the Buddhist community and establish good 
communication with the State."  This does not require the 
creation of a single Buddhist Church, but the leaders are 
asked to advise on how to "put this community out of the 
influence of domestic and overseas political powers." 
 
- Buddhist pagodas will be able to conduct ethics-based 
programs to prevent social problems and restore harmony. 
 
- "What specific measures" can Buddhists take "to help put 
an end to the corrupt situation of seminarians, monks and 
nuns who are only interested in securing their fame and 
power?" 
 
- "The State shall order its agencies to support monks and 
nuns by issuing permanent resident registration certificates 
to any monk or nun who wants to join a pagoda...." 
 
- Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do shall "have the right 
to move freely, provide teachings and practice religion 
everywhere in the country." 
 
- The Government Committee for Religious Affairs shall "only 
observe and make recommendations" to Buddhist leaders.  In 
return, Buddhists will have their own "Committee for Liaison 
with the Secular Administration" which will advise the GVN 
"on measures to eliminate abuses, injustice, corruption, and 
what is detrimental to the State, the nation and Buddhism." 
 
8. (SBU) Comment:  The GVN allowed TNH some degree of 
latitude in his activities, but it is clear that they were 
concerned about the possibility of his becoming a mass 
figure.  It strikes us that TNH is looking for the 
opportunity to be the catalyst for Buddhism to flourish 
again in Vietnam, and he acknowledged to the Ambassador that 
he can envisage returning to Vietnam to play that role.  End 
Comment. 
 
9. (SBU) Bio Note:  Thich Nhat Hanh, born in 1926, is a 
France-based monk sometimes described as the world's second 
most followed Buddhist leader (after the Dalai Lama).  After 
studying at Princeton and lecturing briefly at Columbia 
University in the early 1960's, TNH returned to South 
Vietnam and helped found a university and Buddhist social 
services group.  He preached a doctrine of reconciliation 
between North and South Vietnam.  While traveling in the 
United States in 1966, he was warned not to return to 
Vietnam.  In his subsequent four decades in exile, TNH has 
become a prolific writer and popular spiritual leader.  He 
espouses a personal philosophy of "mindfulness" and has 
spiritual centers in France (Plum Village, where he lives) 
and in the United States (California and Vermont).  During 
his time in exile, TNH avoided direct criticism of the GVN 
or mention of issues of human rights or religious freedom. 
Nonetheless, his books were banned in Vietnam.  In 1999, he 
made an attempt to return to Vietnam that drew some support 
from Congress and the Department. 
MARINE