US embassy cable - 05HOCHIMINHCITY886

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000886 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV, DRL/IRF, DS/IP/EAP, DS/IP/ITA, 
DS/CC 
 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, SOCI, PREL, PGOV, KIRF, ASEC, VM, Human Rights, Religious Freedom 
SUBJECT:  HCMC POLICE RELEASE ATTEMPTED SELF-IMMOLATION 
PERPETRATOR 
 
REF:  A) HCMC 878 and previous; B) HANOI 1389 and previous 
 
1.  (SBU) HCMC police contacts told RSO on August 23 that they had 
just released from custody the individual who attempted self- 
immolation in front of the Consulate on August 19 (ref A).  They 
refused to divulge any details on the individual, other than 
reiterating that he was "mentally unstable."  However, a Hoa Hao 
religious dissident website claimed the person to be Le Van Duong, 
approximately 54 years old, from Chau Thanh District, Tien Giang 
Province.  (Note:  Tien Giang is one of the centers of Hoa Haoism 
in the Mekong Delta.  End Note.)  According to the website, Duong 
attempted self-immolation to protest the State's seizure of his 
land and home.  Separately, on August 20, Hoa Hao dissident leader 
Le Quang Liem gave a phone interview to Radio Free Asia, asserting 
that the individual must have attempted self-immolation to protest 
"GVN oppression against religious groups." 
 
2. (SBU) Comment:  Our local guard force remains on heightened 
alert should Duong or other Hoa Hao activists attempt self- 
immolation in front of the Consulate.  We also quietly have 
briefed other foreign missions on the August 19 incident. 
 
3. (SBU) Comment Continued:  The HCMC authorities' release of the 
perpetrator -- a person who they acknowledge is mentally unstable 
-- after four days in custody stands in sharp contrast to the 
continued involuntary commitment in a mental institution of 
Baptist Pastor Than Van Truong in neighboring Dong Nai Province 
(ref B).  In the Truong case, police and medical staff have told 
us that he poses no threat to himself, his family, or his 
community.  End Comment. 
 
WINNICK