MEETING WITH AMNESTIED UBCV ACTIVIST THICH THIEN MINH

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000379

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL PGOV KIRF VM RELFREE HUMANR
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH AMNESTIED UBCV ACTIVIST THICH THIEN MINH

REF: A) HCMC 364; B) HCMC 142; C) 04 HCMC 190; D) 03 HCMC 836


1. (SBU) On April 9, we met with Unified Buddhist Church of
Vietnam (UBCV) monk Thich Thien Minh (aka Huynh Van Ba) who had
been released from prison February 2 as part of the GVN's 2005 Tet
amnesty (ref B). Thich Thien Minh was arrested and tried in 1979
for protesting the GVN confiscation of his pagoda, located in the
Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu. He was sentenced for
"activities aimed at overthrowing the people's government" and
"propagandizing against the regime." The sentence was extended in
1987 after a failed escape attempt from Xuan Loc Prison, in Dong
Nai province, where he was held.


2. (SBU) Minh told us that since his release he has spent most of
his time in Bac Lieu with his brother's family. He petitioned the
government to return his pagoda, but as the property is now a
public school, he has no realistic expectation of its return.
Minh told us that representatives of the GVN-recognized Vietnam
Buddhist Sangha (VBS) had offered him his own pagoda if he would
agree to "defect" from the UBCV to VBS, but that he declined.
Minh has problems with local police over renewal of his residency
registration, as is required by law. Presently, his registration
still shows the former pagoda as his place of residence. He fears
that if he registers using his brother's house, as local
authorities have encouraged, legally he will lose the right to be
called a monk.


3. (SBU) While he appeared physically fit, Minh claimed to have a
brain tumor and lung problems from beatings in prison. When we
asked for clarification about physical abuse, he said that the
last time he was beaten in prison was over 20 years ago. Minh
fears to seek treatment for his maladies at a State-run hospital,
but he has yet to visit a private doctor. Since his release, Minh
said he has received three threatening phone calls from at least
two different people. The most recent was in late March. The
callers threatened him and his brother's family with physical harm
and loss of employment should economic sanctions be imposed on
Vietnam due to religious freedom concerns. (Note: On February 3,
Thich Thien Minh gave a phone interview with the International
Buddhist Information Bureau (IBIB),based in Paris, in which he
called for "true freedom, democracy and human rights in Vietnam."
End Note.)


4. (SBU) Minh claimed that, since his release, all of his mail and
correspondence is monitored and that at least three policemen keep
him under constant surveillance. He said that his cell phone
often is jammed, and that he is unable to reproduce printed
materials of any kind without police monitoring. During our visit
with Minh at the Giac Hao pagoda in HCMC we saw two policemen in
static surveillance outside the pagoda, the same number as when we
visited pagoda in January (ref C). Despite the police
surveillance, Minh has been in contact with the Maryland-based
"Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam," the IBIB, Radio Free
Asia and Que Huong radio, a California-based broadcaster. (Note:
Nguyen Thi Hoa and Nguyen Vu Viet, the niece and nephew
respectively of activist priest Nguyen Van Ly, were imprisoned
after contacts with the Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam
and Que Huong Radio, see Ref D. End Note.) Since his release, Minh
has been able to visit UBCV General Secretary Thich Quang Do
twice. He also traveled to Binh Dinh Province to visit Thich
Huyen Quang without interference from police. Minh said he was
unable to see Quang because the UBCV patriarch was in seclusion at
the time.

SANCTIONS, POLITICS AND RELIGION
--------------


5. (SBU) In our discussion, Minh emphasized that the goals of the
UBCV were "not political in nature," but "to have true religious
freedom in Vietnam, political change is necessary." He explained
that because at its core Communism is atheistic, the UBCV believed
that the Party could never permit true religious freedom.
Therefore, the United States needs to press the GVN to change.
That said, Minh opposed sanctions to force the GVN to improve
religious freedom and human rights conditions. He argued that
religious freedom advocates and political dissidents become no
more than "bargaining chips" for the GVN to trade for economic
gain.


6. (SBU) Minh said that he and "many others" were unhappy with
recent statements attributed to Ambassador Marine on police in
Vietnam. Minh said that police in Vietnam and police in the
United States are different; "one protecting a democratic regime,
the other defending a dictatorship." We clarified the
Ambassador's statement and made it clear that the USG strongly
supports Vietnamese activists in their efforts to obtain greater
civil and religious rights. However, we cannot stand beside
activists if their actions cross beyond the boundaries of accepted
norms of basic public order and behavior. (Note: A Viet Kieu
newspaper in California erroneously quoted the Ambassador as
saying in mid-March speech in San Francisco that "in America,

people who oppose the police would be arrested." The Ambassador
actually said that "if an American strikes a police officer, then
that American would be arrested and subject to possible
prosecution." End Note.)

WINNICK


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