US embassy cable - 05HANOI1415

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001415 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR PRM AND EAP/BCLTV 
 
BANGKOK FOR REFCOORD 
 
E.O. 12358:  N/A 
TAGS: PREF, PREL, VM, ETMIN, HUMANR 
SUBJECT:  A/S DEWEY MEETINGS WITH GVN MFA OFFICIALS REFLECT 
PROGRESS ON RESETTLEMENT AND ISSUES AFFECTING ETHNIC 
MINORITIES 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  On June 10, PRM Assistant Secretary 
Dewey, Ambassador Marine and PRM/ANE Director McGann met 
with GVN Vice Foreign Minister Vu Dzung and officials of the 
Americas and Consular Departments.  A/S Dewey requested that 
the GVN act quickly on the start of the Humanitarian 
Resettlement (HR) process.  He urged the GVN to permit 
assignment of a UNHCR international staff person in Hanoi 
and to allow regular monitoring trips to the Central 
Highlands, including by international staff.  A/S Dewey also 
asked the GVN to expedite passport issuance to pending 
ethnic minority family reunification cases. 
 
2. (SBU) Summary, cont'd:  In the midst of preparations for 
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's Washington visit, VFM Vu 
Dzung emphasized that, the GVN is making efforts to meet USG 
concerns.  VFM Dzung said the GVN would respond quickly on 
the pending HR Public Information Outreach proposal, in the 
hope of announcing plans to commence the HR program by the 
end of the month.  Dzung and other GVN officials also 
promised a timely response to USG interest in expanding 
UNHCR's monitoring role.  Concerning family reunification 
cases, they agreed in principle to issuing passports for the 
cases and stressed that they believe the problem to be 
technical rather than political.  End Summary. 
 
3. (SBU) In separate meetings with Vice Foreign Minister Vu 
Dzung and with Deputy Director of the Consular Department 
Nguyen Minh Vu, A/S Dewey urged the GVN to move forward 
quickly with the next steps to implement the Humanitarian 
Resettlement (HR) process.  Both GVN officials noted that 
they had recently received the revised USG Public 
Information Outreach (PIO) proposal and were still reviewing 
it with relevant agencies.  They stated that they hoped to 
have comments from all concerned offices by the end of June 
and would then be ready to respond to the USG proposals. 
They noted that the already agreed upon documents from the 
December 2004 technical talks are a good start to 
implementing the HR process, which will help to resolve 
remaining resettlement issues from the war era.  Dewey said 
that the USG would follow up on the status of the PIO 
proposal by the end of June and would continue to push for 
an announcement of the program as soon as possible following 
the conclusion of the upcoming visit to the United States by 
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. 
 
4. (SBU) Regarding the situation facing ethnic minority 
persons from the Central Highlands who have fled to 
Cambodia, A/S Dewey said he believes that it is in the 
common interest of the USG and the GVN to work together to 
resolve the situation quickly.  The USG is currently working 
with the UNHCR to help resettle those persons in Cambodia 
who have opted for resettlement to a third country.  We are 
grateful that Hanoi-based UNHCR Officer in Charge Vu Anh Son 
was recently allowed to visit some of those who had opted to 
return to Vietnam.  It is important to have an international 
UNHCR presence in Vietnam as a way of strengthening the 
credibility of reporting on the condition of the returnees, 
A/S Dewey stressed.  The GVN officials responded that they 
are ready to facilitate the return of all those who want to 
come back to Vietnam.  The GVN is prepared to consider more 
and regular visits by UNHCR to the Central Highlands. 
Regional UNHCR representative, Hasim Utkan, has a multiple 
entry visa and can visit Vietnam at any time.  Regarding the 
issue of an expatriate UNHCR representative in Hanoi and 
international presence on trips to the Central Highlands, 
the GVN would take these requests into consideration. 
(Note:  At dinner that evening, Vu Anh Son said he had been 
told by GVN officials that an expatriate UNHCR person would 
be permitted to accompany him on a future trip "when the 
timing was right."  Mr. Son interpreted this to mean that 
they wanted him to take one or two more monitoring trips 
himself to build confidence, and then they would permit an 
expatriate to accompany him. End note.) 
 
5. (SBU) A/S Dewey urged the GVN to consider specific ways 
in which the international community could work with Vietnam 
to improve conditions for ethnic minority residents in the 
Central Highlands.  As a possible way to attract additional 
development assistance, he noted the recent work of the 
Afghan Conservation Corps in reforestation and employment 
creation projects and proposed that the GVN support a 
similar initiative in the Central Highlands.  VFM Dzung 
noted that the GVN has an ambitious reforestation project, 
but that such work needs adequate funding.  Furthermore, 
such programs need many years to achieve results, and may 
not solve the immediate needs of the residents.  A/S Dewey 
agreed that such programs are a long-term investment, but 
that we are seeing the payoff in places such as Kabul now. 
He emphasized that this is just one example of possible 
cooperation among the USG, GVN and possibly NGOs and U.N. 
organizations to improve conditions for the residents of the 
Central Highlands. 
 
6. (SBU) A/S Dewey also raised the issue of whether 
discrimination in land use practices, such as confiscation 
or certain land sale practices, may be a factor in 
disadvantaging ethnic minorities or causing people to flee 
to Cambodia.  VFM Dzung answered that the GVN has been 
conducting its own fact-finding on this issue and does not 
see its land policies as discriminatory.  In many cases, 
land has been given to ethnic minority individuals, but they 
sold their land to use the money for short-term benefits 
such as generators or motorcycles.  They think they can then 
move elsewhere and acquire more land in a more distant area, 
reflecting the traditionally migratory nature of ethnic 
minority settlement in the Central Highlands, VFM Dzung 
averred.  This is much more difficult now, however, as 
population growth has made available land more scarce.  He 
further emphasized that there is no government policy to 
deprive ethnic minority groups of their land.  A/S Dewey 
made clear that problems in land use practices may continue 
to be a significant factor in future determinations of 
possible refugee status. 
 
7. (SBU) A/S Dewey also raised concerns about the status of 
many ethnic minority families who have pending family 
reunification petitions with the USG, but who have been 
unable to obtain the necessary civil documents and passports 
to proceed with their applications.  He urged the GVN to act 
expeditiously to resolve these cases and permit them to go 
forward as quickly as possible.  Forward movement would have 
a positive effect on relations, as it is a high visibility 
humanitarian issue in the United States.  The GVN officials 
replied that, in principle, there should not be problems in 
passport issuance, and that they believe the problem to be 
technical rather than political.  Consular Department 
officials came to the meeting prepared with a diplomatic 
note responding to previous Embassy and ConGen inquiries on 
these cases, noting six cases in Gia Lai Province where 
families have recently received their passports.  They 
assured A/S Dewey they would continue look into all cases we 
raise with them and do anything possible to help.  The 
Ambassador noted that he would meet the Vice Minister of 
Public Security this week (septel), and that we would 
provide updated lists of all such pending cases for follow- 
up action by the MFA. 
 
8. (SBU) A/S Dewey and PRM/ANE Director McGann cleared this 
cable prior to their departure. 
 
MARINE