VIETNAM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002612

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL DAS CARPENTER AND EAP DAS DALEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/12
TAGS: PHUM PINS PREL SOCI VM HUMANR
SUBJECT: VIETNAM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

REF: HANOI 2345


1. (U) CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RAYMOND BURGHARDT,
CONFIDENTIAL

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REASON: 1.5 (D)


2. (C) THE NOVEMBER 8 HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE WITH
VIETNAM WILL BE ANOTHER IMPORTANT STEP IN OUR EFFORTS
TO DEEPEN OUR BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP AND TO REITERATE
THE GENUINE CONCERN FELT IN THE U.S. -- WITHIN THE
ADMINISTRATION, CONGRESS, AND THE PUBLIC -- ABOUT HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSES AND SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS IN VIETNAM.
EMBASSY APPRECIATES THE ONGOING PREPARATION BY DRL AND
EAP AND WELCOMES THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEND HUMAN RIGHTS
OFFICER TIM SWANSON TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SESSION, AS
WELL AS THE SUBSEQUENT POLITICAL DIALOGUE ON NOVEMBER

15. THE US-VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE OPERATES IN
PARALLEL WITH SIMILAR REGULAR OR SEMI-REGULAR EXCHANGES
(USUALLY NOT LABELED AS SPECIFIC "HUMAN RIGHTS"
DIALOGUES) WITH THE EU, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, SWEDEN,
NORWAY, AND SWITZERLAND.


3. (C) THERE SHOULD BE NO ILLUSIONS, HOWEVER, THAT WE
SHOULD EXPECT ANY MEETING OF THE MINDS BETWEEN THE TWO
DELEGATIONS ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE
EXTENT OF PROBLEMS IN VIETNAM. GVN OFFICIALS REMAIN
OFFICIALLY WEDDED TO THE PROPAGANDA THAT THE CPV HAS
BEEN THE SAVIOR OF THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE FROM CENTURIES
OF WHAT THEY SEE AS TYRANNY BY OUTSIDE FORCES,
INCLUDING THE U.S. AS SUCH, THEY VIEW THE CPV (AND,
THROUGH IT, THE GVN ITSELF) AS THE CREATOR (NOT EVEN
RESTORER) OF THOSE RIGHTS NOW ENJOYED BY THE PEOPLE OF
VIETNAM, PRIMARILY THAT OF NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE BUT
ALSO OF THE LARGER SOCIETAL "RIGHTS" OF STABILITY,
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND EQUALITY. TO GVN OFFICIALS,
CONFIDENTIAL

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THE BOTTOM LINE QUESTIONS WHEN TALKING ABOUT HUMAN
RIGHTS IN VIETNAM REMAIN "ARE THE LIVES OF THE
VIETNAMESE PEOPLE BETTER NOW THAN BEFORE 1986 (WHEN THE
POLICY OF DOI MOI BEGAN)? THAN BEFORE 1975? THAN
BEFORE 1954?" THE CPV CLAIM THAT THE ANSWER IN ALL
THREE CASES IS "YES" IS PROBABLY MOSTLY CORRECT, EXCEPT
FOR THE GREATER CIVIL LIBERTIES, E.G., PRESS AND
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, ENJOYED IN THE SOUTH BEFORE 1975.
(REFTEL DESCRIBED SOME OF THE IMPORTANT EXPANSIONS IN
PERSONAL FREEDOMS AT LEAST SINCE 1986.)


4. (C) SUSPICIONS REMAIN DEEP AND REAL THAT THE U.S.
HAS SOME SINISTER AGENDA -- CALL IT PEACEFUL EVOLUTION,
OR GLOBALIZATION, OR HEGEMONY, OR WHATEVER -- IN
RAISING HUMAN RIGHTS WITH VIETNAM AND OTHER LIKE
COUNTRIES. GVN AND CPV OFFICIALS DO NOT BELIEVE THAT
OUR INTEREST IS BENIGN AND THAT WE GENUINELY CARE ABOUT
THE PEOPLE OF VIETNAM. MANY OF THEM STILL BELIEVE THAT
OUR REAL GOAL REMAINS TO DEFEAT GLOBAL COMMUNISM AND
ENSURE THAT THESE REGIMES TURN INTO AMERICAN-STYLE
DEMOCRACIES. THEY SEE THE U.S. AS A WORLD-CLASS BULLY
INTENT ON IMPOSING ITS OWN VALUES ON COUNTRIES --
INCLUDING VIETNAM -- THAT, BECAUSE THEY NEED ACCESS TO
OUR MARKETS, ARE OBLIGED TO LISTEN TO US COMPLAINTS AND
CRITICISMS, WHILE PUBLICLY REJECTING THE US' RIGHT TO
"INTERFERE IN INTERNAL AFFAIRS." EVEN THE MEMBERS OF
THE DELEGATION WHO ARE MOST SAVVY ABOUT THE US SYSTEM
AND IDEALS LIKELY BELIEVE THAT AT THE VERY LEAST THESE
US CONCERNS ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM ARE NO MORE
THAN NITPICKING ABOUT ISSUES AND SITUATIONS THAT WE DO
NOT TRULY UNDERSTAND.
CONFIDENTIAL

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5. (C) BUT THE VIETNAMESE INSISTENCE -- BOTH IN THE
CONSTITUTION AS WELL AS IN SECTIONS OF THE PENAL CODE
APPLIED TO FATHER NGUYEN VAN LY AND A MORE RECENT CASE
INVOLVING LE CHI QUANG --ON THE ENSHRINED PRIORITY OF
NATIONAL SOLIDARITY, AS WELL AS THE FREQUENT REFERENCES
TO THREATS TO INTERNAL STABILITY, MAY REFLECT AN
UNACKNOWLEDGED ANXIETY THAT LONGER TERM TRENDS FOR
VIETNAM DO INDEED NOT FAVOR THE CONTINUED MONOPOLY