US embassy cable - 05HOCHIMINHCITY924

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HO CHI MINH CITY 000924 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PINR, PREL, SOCI, KIRF, VM, RELFREE, HUMANR, CTERR 
SUBJECT:  MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY IN HCMC SEEKS POLITICAL 
DIALOGUE 
 
REF:  HCMC 878 and previous 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  PolOff (accompanied by RSO) was invited to a 
first-ever meeting at HCMC's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) 
headquarters at which officials made a pitch for greater 
cooperation between the MPS and ConGen on political issues.  The 
clear implication was that this cooperation was possible in the 
aftermath of the Prime Minister's visit to the United States.  The 
officials presented a detailed (and unsolicited) briefing on 
events surrounding the self-immolation of two Hoa Hao believers in 
the Mekong Delta earlier in August and pushed for the USG to take 
action against the U.S.-based Vietnamese activist Nguyen Huu 
Chanh.  We welcomed the opportunity for dialogue, but cautioned 
that there will be areas of disagreement, such as our strongly 
held view that democracy activists are not/not terrorists.  End 
Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) On August 31, at the invitation of the HCMC office of the 
Ministry of Public Security, PolOff joined HCMC RSO and visiting 
Hanoi RSO for a meeting at the regional MPS headquarters. 
Participating for the MPS were Senior Colonel Le Cong Hoang, 
Deputy Director, Anti-Terrorism Department; Colonel Nguyen Huu 
Nam, Deputy Director, Anti-Terrorism Department, Standing Office, 
HCMC Branch; and Nguyen Viet Cuong, Assistant, Standing Office, 
HCMC Branch. 
 
3. (SBU) Following a discussion on ConGen security issues 
(septel), Colonel Hoang gave a detailed briefing on the MPS 
version of events that led to the arrest of nine Hoa Hao activists 
earlier in August and the self-immolation of two of those 
individuals (reftels).  He emphasized that he was providing this 
information as a gesture of goodwill to address U.S. concerns and 
to underscore that none of these individuals were arrested for 
religious or political reasons but because they violated 
Vietnamese law.  He criticized Hoa Hao dissident leader Le Quang 
Liem for manipulating and misleading these individuals who had a 
"low level of education."  (See paragraph 8, below, for an 
informal translation of the MPS briefing paper on the Hoa Hao.) 
 
4. (SBU) Hoang raised the case of the "terrorist" Nguyen Huu 
Chanh, asking why the USG has not taken action against him even 
though the GVN had complained repeatedly about his anti-GVN 
activities in the United States.  He repeated MPS allegations that 
they "had evidence" that Chanh has hired people to funnel money 
and weapons to Vietnam and continues to encourage anti-GVN 
activity in the United States.  PolOff told Hoang that freedom of 
speech was strictly protected in the United States.  However, if 
the GVN had evidence that Chanh had been involved in activities 
that fomented violence, such as smuggling weapons into Vietnam, it 
was incumbent upon the GVN to pass that evidence for the USG to 
assess and to take appropriate action. 
 
MPS Charm Offensive? 
-------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) Hoang made a strong pitch for greater cooperation and 
exchange between the MPS and ConGen HCMC on political issues. 
This cooperation was in the interest of both sides, Hoang stated, 
and was another example of how our relationship had changed 
following the visit of PM Khai to the United States.  He went as 
far as to say that MPS HCMC had wanted to preview its action 
against the Hoa Hao in the Mekong Delta with us before it 
occurred, but that "circumstances" prevented such a meeting from 
taking place.  Hoang said that such interaction would allow us to 
better understand MPS concerns over "terrorists" such as Tran 
Khue, who use their contacts with ConGenOffs to protect themselves 
from the police.  (Along with Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, Tran Khue is a 
leading democracy activist living in Ho Chi Minh City.) 
 
Lots to Discuss 
--------------- 
 
6. (SBU) PolOff thanked the MPS for their briefing on the Hoa Hao 
and underscored that, while we believe that the reasons for the 
Hoa Hao protests are complex and do involve issues of religious 
freedom, the USG repudiates self-immolation as a form of protest. 
We emphasized that we try to ensure that our activities -- even 
our meetings with dissidents -- are transparent and that the USG 
respects Vietnam's security and stability.  Our goal was to obtain 
the most accurate picture possible of Vietnam.  A case in point is 
the Central Highlands, where we have been able to take advantage 
of improved access to report to policymakers in Washington that 
the situation there was more complex and nuanced than some might 
portray.  We offered to brief the MPS officials on the results of 
our upcoming visit to the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, 
scheduled for September 6-9.   While welcoming the opportunity to 
open a new channel of dialogue, PolOff cautioned that we should 
anticipate that there will continue to be areas where we disagree, 
such as on the definition of terrorism.  ConGenOffs would continue 
to meet with individuals such as Tran Khue or Dr. Nguyen Dan Que. 
 
7. (SBU) Comment:  The MPS overture was unanticipated.  HCMC had 
been seeking to meet with HCMC MPS officials on these issues for 
nearly a year, but our requests for meetings had gone unanswered. 
(We have had better luck in the Central Highlands and other 
provinces.)  The MPS officials made clear that Prime Minister 
Khai's visit to the United States made possible this development, 
to which we plan to respond positively.  The polite and 
professional tone of the discussion also was a pleasant surprise. 
The MPS official made no effort to dissuade, bluster or cajole us 
to stop meeting with "persons of mutual concern," and acknowledged 
that we were doing our jobs in doing so.  End Comment. 
 
8. (SBU) Begin Text of Unofficial Translation of MPS Paper on Hoa 
Hao: 
 
Ministry of Public Security 
Anti-Terrorism Bureau 
Ho Chi Minh City, August 30, 2005 
 
To:  Representative of the U.S. Consulate General in HCMC 
 
Recently, a number of people in Dong Thap and An Giang provinces 
have violated laws and been dealt with administratively or 
criminally by authorities. During the course of law enforcement, 
these people did not follow the laws (some even poured gasoline 
over themselves and were burned, causing injuries and death), 
therefore negatively affecting local security and the political 
situation.  Without sufficient information, there have been many 
mistaken opinions about the nature of the incident. The incident 
happened as follows: 
 
-    On the morning of June 3, 2005, on the inter-village road No. 
1, Long Dinh hamlet, Cho Moi district, An Giang province, Tran Van 
Ut (born 1972, resided in Dong Thap) was found driving a motorbike 
without the motorbike registration certificate (he was carrying 
Nguyen Do Hung, born 1964, resided in Dong Thap); Vo Van Buu (born 
1969, resided in An Giang) was found driving a motorbike without a 
driving license and helmet (he was carrying Nguyen Van Hung, born 
1978, resided in An Giang); To Van Manh (born 1950, resided in 
Dong Thap) was found driving a motorbike carrying bulky stuff. 
For these violations, the traffic control team of Cho Moi district 
Police administratively fined these people.  However, Ut, Buu and 
Manh refused to sign the minutes of violations and later, together 
with Nguyen Van Hung, walked side by side in the middle of the 
road, drumming a box (which Manh carried with him), shouting and 
screaming, causing disorder. Buu bought gasoline and poured it 
over himself, sitting in the road and causing a traffic jam for 30 
minutes. 
 
-    In the afternoon, these elements went to Mrs. Gam's house, in 
group 15, Nhon Loi hamlet, Nhon My commune, Cho Moi district and 
continued the disturbance.  When authorities arrived, these people 
incited a number of other people to oppose officials on duty, 
breaking equipment, detaining vehicles of officials and willfully 
causing injuries to the officials.  Buu continued to pour gasoline 
over himself and was ready to self-immolate, inciting the public 
to gather and to scream, and causing disorder. Local forces and 
authorities patiently educated and convinced these people until 
they finally left the next afternoon. 
 
For these continued and organized violations, An Giang provincial 
investigation police started criminal investigations and 
temporarily detained the following 9 defendants: 
 
-    Tran Van Ut, To Van Manh, Nguyen Van Dien (resided in Dong 
Thap), Vo Van Buu, Mai Thi Dung (resided in An Giang) for causing 
public disorder, violating Article 245 of the Criminal Code of 
Vietnam; 
 
-    Nguyen Thanh Phong, Nguyen Thi Ha, Vo Van Thanh Long (resided 
in An Giang) for opposing officials on duty, violating Article 257 
of the Criminal Code of Vietnam; 
 
-    Vo Van Thanh Liem (resided in An Giang) for willfully 
injuring others, violating Article 104 of the Criminal Code of 
Vietnam. 
 
While the investigation police were enforcing the arrest warrant, 
Tran Van Ut and Vo Van Buu poured gasoline over themselves to 
prevent the police from carrying out their duties.  These two 
defendants were taken to An Giang Hospital (the closest hospital 
capable of treatment).  However, due to excessively serious burns, 
Tran Van Ut died the night of August 5, 2005. 
 
Understanding that the U.S. Consulate General is interested in the 
above incident from the perspective of protecting religious 
freedom, we confirmed that these were normal activities of law- 
enforcement authorities in preventing crime and fighting 
criminals, and had no relation to religious activities. The GVN 
always guarantees the rights of belief and religious freedom for 
every citizen. At this moment, the local public strongly supports 
the above actions against these defendants. The violations 
committed by these defendants continue to be investigated by local 
law enforcement authorities and will be dealt with according to 
the laws of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 
 
End Text of Unofficial Translation of MPS Paper on Hoa Hao. 
 
WINNICK