US embassy cable - 05HANOI3185

UNCLAS HANOI 003185 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT PASS TO EAP/MLS; DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, VM, HUMANR 
SUBJECT:  ANGRY POPULAR REACTION TO DISSIDENT HOANG MINH 
CHINH'S RETURN TO HANOI 
 
1. (SBU) Dissident Hoang Minh Chinh returned to Hanoi from 
Ho Chi Minh City on December 1.  The 83-year-old Chinh 
informed us late that day that, when he arrived home at 
11:30 a.m., he was greeted by a crowd of about 150 men aged 
30-50 years old.  No one in Chinh's family recognized these 
men and, conversing with POL Assistant, Chinh's neighbors 
confirmed that none of them were from the surrounding 
neighborhood.  The men shouted epithets at Chinh and threw 
tomatoes and eggs at him as his family tried to protect him 
while he made his way into the narrows lane that leads to 
his home.  He was able to get into his house, but fifty men 
forced their way into the lane and a small courtyard in 
front of his home and proceeded to break his windows with 
sticks and rocks.  Once the windows were broken, the men 
threw eggs and tomatoes into the home. 
 
2. (SBU) At this point, Chinh told us, he called Pham 
Chuyen, the former director of the Hanoi Police and a member 
of the National Assembly, but Pham refused to intervene, 
allegedly because he had just relinquished his police 
duties.  Members of Chinh's family then tried to call the 
current director, but his staff said he was unavailable. 
Chinh's family members also called local police, some of 
whom showed up, but they refused to intervene because the 
"protesters have the right to express their anger against 
Chinh."  By 2:45 p.m. the situation deteriorated and, again 
according to Chinh, the crowd started "beating" members of 
his family, including his son-in-law, sister and cousin (NFI 
on the extent of injuries).  At this point, some protesters 
started to try to break down the door.   A bystander wearing 
what Chinh described as a police uniform then shouted 
"that's enough!" and the crowd dispersed. 
 
3. (SBU) Embassy spoke again with Chinh December 2, and he 
said that there had been no further incidents at his 
residence.  Adding further details to his description of the 
previous day's events, Chinh said that at least four 
policemen, including a deputy chief, from the metropolitan 
"113" quick-deployment task force, were present.  However, 
they did not intervene, claiming that the protesters were 
acting out of frustration with Chinh's anti-GVN statements 
while traveling in the United States.  Chinh reported that 
his neighbors later told him that, before he arrived at 
home, uniformed policemen were in the area, in addition to 
cameramen who later filmed the protest. 
 
4. (SBU) Poloff discussed this incident at some length on 
December 2 with a sophisticated MFA officer who is also a 
staunch Communist Party member.  The MFA officer questioned 
the significance of the claimed violence and said that an 
"angry reaction" to Chinh's return was predictable.  Chinh, 
he stressed, had gone to extremes not just in his criticism 
of the Communist Party (which most Vietnamese take in 
stride) but also in what the Vietnamese public perceived as 
insults to relatively recent national heroes.  This had 
"embarrassed" the nation, which enraged patriotic 
Vietnamese.  (Note:  Our urbane, U.S.-educated MFA contact 
was quite emotional on this subject, saying that Chinh "spit 
on my father and grandfather."  This level of intensity was 
unprecedented in our long association with him.  End Note.) 
 
5. (SBU) Poloff noted that the GVN's forbearance in not 
arresting Chinh for having made anti-regime statements had 
been noticed in human rights communities around the world, 
and added that the Hanoi police had failed to carry out 
their duties when they allowed the mob to veer into 
violence.  How the GVN treats those who committed those 
illegal acts of violence would now be carefully watched, 
Poloff continued, as an indicator of whether the violence 
was supported by the Government.  The MFA officer conceded 
the point, but noted that the GVN's decision not to arrest 
or prosecute Chinh for his crimes would be tougher to 
sustain if it brought charges against those who were 
protesting his actions. 
 
6. (SBU) The Ambassador raised this incident with VFM Le Van 
Bang December 2 during the latter's meeting with Congressman 
Chris Smith (reported septel). 
 
MARINE