AMBASSADOR HANFORD MEETS VIETNAM MPS VICE MINISTER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000395 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR DRL AND EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV VM SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR HANFORD MEETS VIETNAM MPS VICE MINISTER HANOI 00000395 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom John V. Hanford told Vice Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Huong that he is encouraged by developments in Vietnam related to religious freedom, but remains concerned about the slow pace of church registration and recognition in the north and a few specific cases of individuals in prison or facing restrictions caused by their religious activities. General Huong echoed earlier GVN statements that the pace of implementation of the legal framework on religion will pick up after the GVN concentrates its efforts to "educate" local authorities in the Northwest Highlands, but cautioned that some incidents of religious freedom abuse reported in the Northwest Highlands are deeply rooted conflicts within communities and sometimes even within families, and may thus be difficult to eradicate completely. VM Huong provided information on a number of our cases of concern; of 15 total cases of individuals facing travel or other restrictions, he pronounced 13 "free without any restriction" and provided an explanation why some continued restriction would be necessary on the remaining three. He made a stern pitch for Vietnam's swift removal from the list of Countries of Particular Concern for religious freedom violation. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom John V. Hanford, accompanied by Ambassador Marine, met February 21 with Vice Minister of Public Security (and Police Lieutenant General) Nguyen Van Huong. Ambassador Hanford told General Huong that after participating in the U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue (HRD) (septels),he is encouraged by developments in the area of religious freedom in Vietnam. All religious groups he has met with report that conditions have improved, and there is a "significant degree of freedom" for the large majority of Vietnamese seeking to practice their faith. ¶3. (SBU) The United States has seen Vietnam enact significant new laws and regulations protecting freedom of religion, and the GVN has dealt with the issue of forced renunciations of faith in a positive way, Ambassador Hanford continued. Most of the individuals on the United States' list of prisoners of concern had been quickly released, with one exception: Ma Van Bay. The United States also had a list of 15 individuals subject to varying degrees of administrative restriction that it had passed to the GVN at the HRD with the request that these individuals be given freedom to move about and carry out their lives. The GVN's positive actions on prisoners of concern are of great interest to the American people and the Congress, and the CPC issue is of high-level importance. In May 2005, the exchange of letters on religious freedom issues helped to make the conditions for Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's historic visit to the United States as positive as possible. In November 2005, the Secretary discussed religious freedom issues with Foreign Minister Nguyen Dzy Nien in Busan and promised to send Ambassador Hanford back to Vietnam for another review of the religious freedom situation. Now, he said, he is back in Vietnam with the intention of working as hard as possible to remove religious freedom as a bilateral irritant. ¶4. (SBU) The most challenging remaining issue is the reopening of closed churches and the registration of peaceful places of worship in the north, Ambassador Hanford explained. There have been significant achievements in this area in the Central Highlands, but the Northwest Highlands in particular remain an area of concern. It is impossible for the GVN to simultaneously train officials from every part of Vietnam; with this in mind, the statement by the GVN's Committee on Religious Affairs that it will concentrate its next effort on the Northwest Highlands is welcome. The stories coming out of the Northwest Highlands, however, have been worrisome. The Evangelical Church of Vietnam-North (ECVN) reported that it has had more than 300 of its affiliated churches submit the paperwork for registration, but not a single application has been accepted. Worse, some of the local authorities have used the applications to target the individuals named, and leaders have been told to renounce their faith. In some cases, beatings have been reported. The GVN has demonstrated its good intentions in the Central Highlands and now must work in the Northwest Highlands to instruct local officials on the law, Ambassador Hanford urged. ¶5. (SBU) General Huong thanked Ambassador Hanford for his positive assessment and recognition of the difficulty of moving so quickly in the Central Highlands. Success in the Central Highlands was a result of the new law coming HANOI 00000395 002.2 OF 003 simultaneously with the successful implementation of a plan of social and economic development that allowed people to move beyond their physical needs and concentrate on their spiritual needs. With the improvement of living standards in the Central Highlands, more attention can be paid to the development of the people's spiritual lives. One year ago, General Huong recalled, Ambassador Hanford and he had discussed improvements in the Central Highlands. Now most churches have been reopened and registered, and even those that have not yet registered have enjoyed full official support. One example was the provision of resources to host successful Christmas celebrations in 2005, a benefit extended to both registered and unregistered churches. The Vice Minister predicted that the pace of rebuilding and registration will accelerate in coming months and years as living standards improve even more. More than 100 new pastors have been trained, with even more in the pipeline. Those religious workers have various freedoms, including permission to go abroad. One of the important factors in the development of religion in the Central Highlands was Ambassador Marine's statement making it clear that the United States does not support individuals or groups with a separatist agenda. That helped to stabilize the region. ¶6. (SBU) The GVN still sees problems in the Northwest Highlands, General Huong acknowledged. The Protestant church is a relatively new arrival in the Northwest Highlands, and in many cases is arriving in traditional ethnic minority communities that have been following their own religion and customs for a long time. The new religion, especially when practiced by young people, can seem disruptive and challenging by the elders. This change in religious practices and faith generates divisions and conflicts in communities and even families; when the adults and elders who are resisting change are also local authorities or police, then their reactions can easily be misunderstood as officially sanctioned forced renunciation of faith. Reports of problems like this in the Northwest Highlands can be traced to this kind of phenomenon; "police beatings of believers" might be one brother fighting another over a family dispute about religion, or a (local official) father striking a (Protestant believer) disobedient son, Vice Minister Huong explained. ¶7. (SBU) Freedom of religion is important to the GVN, but so is the maintenance of harmony and stability in communities, he continued. Religious conflicts worldwide have the reputation of being particularly bloody, and Vietnam has no desire to precipitate that kind of unrest in its own territory; the situation gets even more complicated when you consider that it is an area with many ethnicities. "We believe we can solve the problem peacefully without the conflict seen in the rest of the world, but we do not believe we can do it quickly," General Huong warned. It could take several years before the Northwest Highlands shows progress similar to the Central Highlands. The GVN will act to protect religious freedom in the Northwest Highlands, he pledged, and congregations there will be recognized, but the GVN does not want to hurry the process for fear of causing conflicts among groups in those areas. ¶8. (SBU) Regarding the USG's prisoners of concern, General Huong had case-by-case information on each of the names Ambassador Hanford presented. He started with Ma Van Bay, the last "religious prisoner" still in prison. Bay, he said, is an ordinary criminal. He was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing property, and then attempted to escape; for that, he received three more years. Because Bay has just begun the second part of the sentence, General Huong explained, he is not yet eligible for an amnesty. However, knowing of the USG's interest in the case, he said he would "see what he can do" for Bay before President Bush's visit. ¶9. (SBU) General Huong stated categorically that, of the 15 persons on the list of individuals subject to travel and other restrictions, only Thich Quang Do and Father Nguyen Van Ly are under any type of restriction. The other 13 are free and "completely without restrictions." Father Ly, released after serving only three years of his 15-year sentence, is on supervised probation for the next three years. Despite this, the GVN has allowed him to travel, and even to meet with other "dissidents" such as Nguyen Dan Que and Tran Khue, in addition to U.S. Consulate General staff in Ho Chi Minh City. "Father Ly does not seem to be in a normal condition, and we do not view him as a threat to national security," General Huong said. However, he warned, if Ly crosses the line and calls for his religious followers to rise up against the Government, he will be "punished HANOI 00000395 003.2 OF 003 again." ¶10. (SBU) Regarding the ongoing restrictions on Thich Quang Do, General Huong said this is related to a specific incident in which Do was found in possession of a secret GVN document. He refused to cooperate in the investigation of the circumstances of how he came to possess the document, and so the investigators restrict his freedom. They are not restricting his religion, allowing him to stay in his pagoda and engage in religious activities. He wants to see Buddhist patriarch Thich Huyen Quang to coordinate stories on the secret document; investigators cannot permit this, and so have prevented this meeting until they get the explanation they are seeking and can conclude the matter. The GVN acknowledges that Do is old and not in good health, which is why "harsh restrictions" have not been imposed. News of Do's arrest was untrue, General Huong stated, adding that expatriate Buddhist activist Vo Van Hai counseled Do to try to provoke a reaction by GVN authorities in advance of Ambassador Hanford's visit. It is important that Ambassador Hanford understand how some people are manipulating his visit. ¶11. (SBU) General Huong went on to praise the capability of faith-based organizations to provide charitable and social services. "Religious followers are good at charity," he observed, "and the areas where religious organizations operate enjoy positive social circumstances and people are well taken care of." HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases are examples of issues that religious groups deal with well, and religious groups help to reduce "the presence of social evils." The Vice Minister pointedly declared that the GVN's view is that religious acts and religious persons "make a contribution to society." ¶12. (SBU) In light of the substantial developments in religious activity in Vietnam, General Huong said, it is appropriate to remove Vietnam's CPC designation. No country can be completely free of religious freedom problems, but the assessment of Vietnam should be positive. Ambassador Hanford said he agreed that many positive developments have been recorded in Vietnam, and that the principal issue that remains is that of registration and recognition of churches and congregations in the north, not all of which needs to happen in the sensitive Northwest Highlands. The GVN should work with the ECVN to make an effort to accommodate the thousands of people who are currently illegally practicing a legal religion in the north. Further effort and instruction by the GVN of local authorities should go far in demonstrating Vietnam's successful implementation of the new legal framework, and that will make it much easier to explain to U.S. constituencies why Vietnam should be removed from the CPC list. "I am sure you will see improvement," General Huong concluded, "because people in the north are now implementing the new law. Vietnam has a unified policy, and no local official who is educated about the policy will act against it. If he does, he will be punished." MARINE