US embassy cable - 02HANOI1653

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001653 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PINS, SOCI, VM, RELFREE, DPOL, HUMANR 
SUBJECT:  RESEARCHING RELIGION AT THE PARTY SCHOOL 
 
REF:  HANOI 156 
 
1.  (U)  SUMMARY.  A SEVEN YEAR-OLD CENTER AT THE MAIN PARTY 
SCHOOL FOCUSES ON THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN VIETNAMESE HISTORY 
AND PRESENT, AND HELPS TO EDUCATE UP-AND-COMING PARTY 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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MEMBERS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ABOUT THE "POSITIVE" ROLE 
RELIGION CAN PLAY IN VIETNAM'S DEVELOPMENT.  ITS OFFICIALS 
HAVE PROMISED LATER THIS SUMMER TO PROVIDE DETAILED FEEDBACK 
ON THE VIETNAM CHAPTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS 
FREEDOM REPORT. END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U)  LIKE ITS COUNTERPART TO ANALYZE HUMAN RIGHTS 
(REFTEL), THE "CENTER FOR SCIENCE OF BELIEF AND RELIGION" 
("TRUNG TAM KHOA HOC VE TIN NGUONG VA TON GIAO," SOMETIMES 
TRANSLATED IN OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS AS THE CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS 
STUDIES) OF THE HO CHI MINH NATIONAL POLITICAL ACADEMY 
DEMONSTRATES THE RECOGNITION OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF 
VIETNAM (CPV) THAT IT MUST FACE SENSITIVE ISSUES HEAD ON AND 
MUST ALSO TRAIN ITS "BEST AND BRIGHTEST" IN HOW TO IMPLEMENT 
OFFICIAL POLICY.  POL/C MET ON JUNE 28 WITH THE CENTER'S 
DIRECTOR, DR. NGUYEN DUC LU, IN THE EMBASSY'S FIRST CONTACT 
WITH THIS CENTER. 
 
3.  (U)  ACCORDING TO DR. LU, THE ACADEMY ESTABLISHED THE 
CENTER IN 1995, AND TASKED IT WITH UNDERTAKING BOTH RESEARCH 
AND TRAINING.  THE CENTER'S FOURTEEN RESEARCH STAFFERS 
CURRENTLY INCLUDE EIGHT WITH DOCTORATES.  NONE OF THEM IS A 
PRACTITIONER OF ANY MAJOR RELIGION, DR. LU ADMITTED, WHILE 
STRESSING THAT SOME OF THEM, LIKE MOST VIETNAMESE, HAVE 
"BELIEF" SYSTEMS SUCH AS ANCESTOR WORSHIP (WHICH HE STRESSED 
WAS NOT SUPERSTITIOUS).  DR. LU CLAIMED THAT CPV POLICY DID 
NOT AT ALL PROHIBIT PARTY MEMBERS FROM BEING RELIGIOUS, BUT 
AGREED THAT RELIGIOUS CPV MEMBERS WERE "VERY FEW." 
 
4.  (U)  DR. LU NOTED THAT CPV POLICY TOWARD RELIGION HAD 
BECOME MUCH MORE FAVORABLE IN 1990 WITH THE ISSUANCE OF 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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RESOLUTION 24, WHICH NOTED THAT RELIGION WAS A "LONG- 
STANDING PROBLEM" IN VIETNAM, ASSESSED THAT RELIGION COULD 
BE A "POSITIVE FORCE" IN BUILDING A "NEW SOCIETY,"  AND 
CONCLUDED THAT RELIGION WAS A "SPIRITUAL NEED" OF SOME 
VIETNAMESE CITIZENS.  SINCE THAT TIME, CPV POLICY HAS BEEN 
TO "RESPECT" RELIGION AND TO UNDERTAKE APPROPRIATE 
"MEASURES" TO ENSURE THAT RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS HAD THE 
NECESSARY FREEDOM TO WORSHIP.  DR. LU STRESSED THAT THE 
CPV'S POSITION WAS THAT --  "IF HANDLED WELL" -- RELIGION 
COULD BE GOOD FOR SOCIETY AND THE NATION. 
 
5.  (U)  DR. LU CONFIRMED REPORTS THAT THE CPV WAS TINKERING 
WITH ITS POLICY ON RELIGION, BUT DECLINED TO PROVIDE ANY 
DETAILS.  HE ADMITTED ONLY THAT THE UPDATED POLICY, WHICH 
WILL PROBABLY LEAD TO NEW REGULATIONS RATHER THAN A NEW LAW, 
WOULD BE "BETTER" AND "MORE CORRECT" THAN EXISTING 
LEGISLATION. 
 
6.  (U)  WHILE NOT OFFERING TO SHARE COPIES OF ANY RECENT 
RESEARCH, DR. LU RELUCTANTLY DESCRIBED SOME RECENT TOPICS: 
--  HO CHI MINH'S VIEWS ON RELIGION (GENERALLY FAVORABLE, 
DR. LU SAID); 
--  COMPARATIVE BUDDHISM (I.E., BETWEEN VIETNAM AND OTHER 
NATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA); 
--  PRACTICES OF ANCESTOR WORSHIP IN VIETNAM; 
--  THE NEXUS BETWEEN BUDDHISM AND CULTURE IN VIETNAMESE 
HISTORY (HE NOTED THAT THIS LINK WAS NOWADAYS NOT VERY 
STRONG); 
--  ORGANIZATION AND PRECEPTS OF THE SIX MAJOR RELIGIOUS 
GROUPS IN VIETNAM; 
--  MARXIST/LENINIST ASSESSMENTS OF THE ROLE OF RELIGION; 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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--  THE "HUMANITARIAN VALUE" OF RELIGION; 
--  RELIGIOUS PRACTICES OF ETHNIC MINORITIES (DR. LU 
ADMITTED THAT THERE HAS BEEN VERY LITTLE DONE SO FAR ON THIS 
ISSUE, CLAIMING THAT SUCH RESEARCH WAS "DIFFICULT"). 
 
7.  (U)  MOST OF THE TRAINING GIVEN BY THE CENTER FOR 
STUDENTS (MID- TO SENIOR-LEVEL PARTY AND GOVERNMENT 
OFFICIALS) WAS "PRETTY BASIC," DR. LU SAID.  STAFF FROM THE 
CENTER USUALLY ONLY LECTURED AS PART OF OTHER, BROADER 
COURSES, RATHER THAN OFFERING SPECIALIZED COURSES OF STUDY. 
THEIR FOCUS IS ON EXPLAINING THE HISTORY OF CPV VIEWS ON 
RELIGION AND THE CURRENT IMPLEMENTATION OF RELIGIOUS POLICY. 
HE ADMITTED THAT IT WAS "VERY NECESSARY" FOR ALL CADRES TO 
HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE "PROBLEM" OF RELIGION, 
AND THAT MANY DID NOT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT CPV POLICY.  (ONE 
BUDDHIST MONK AFFILIATED WITH THE CENTRAL BUDDHIST SANGHA IN 
HANOI PREVIOUSLY NOTED TO POL/C THAT HE IS OCCASIONALLY 
INVITED TO SPEAK TO STUDENTS AT THE ACADEMY ON THE HISTORY 
AND ROLE OF BUDDHISM IN VIETNAM; EMBASSY IS NOT CERTAIN IF 
OTHER RELIGIOUS LEADERS ALSO LECTURE OCCASIONALLY.) 
 
8.  (U)  WHEN ASKED WHETHER HE AND HIS STAFF HAD EVER READ 
THE STATE DEPARTMENT'S REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS 
FREEDOM, DR. LU PULLED OUT A WELL MARKED-UP COPY IN 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
                           UNCLASSIFIED     PTQ4050 
 
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ACTION EAP-00 
 
INFO  LOG-00   NP-00    AID-00   ACQ-00   CIAE-00  DODE-00  DOEE-00 
      SRPP-00  DS-00    EB-00    FBIE-00  UTED-00  VC-00    H-01 
      TEDE-00  INR-00   IO-00    L-00     VCE-00   NSAE-00  NSCE-00 
      OIC-02   PRS-00   P-00     SP-00    IRM-00   STR-00   TEST-00 
      TRSE-00  USIE-00  DSCC-00  PRM-00   DRL-02   G-00     NFAT-00 
      SAS-00     /005W 
                  ------------------C4BF13  011004Z /38 
R 010946Z JUL 02 
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI 
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6892 
INFO AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 
AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 
AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE 
USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI 
 
UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 HANOI 001653 
 
SIPDIS 
 
VIETNAMESE.  NOTING TIME LIMITATIONS, HE DECLINED TO GO INTO 
DETAIL.  POL/C URGED HIM TO SHARE WITH EMBASSY HIS FEEDBACK, 
ESPECIALLY IF THERE ARE FACTUAL ERRORS IN OUR REPORT, AND 
DR. LU AGREED TO DO SO AFTER HE RETURNS FROM THE ACADEMY'S 
ANNUAL JULY HOLIDAYS. 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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BURGHARDT 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED