MORE DISSIDENT ARRESTS

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001090

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SOCI CASC DO THANH CONG PREL VM
SUBJECT: MORE DISSIDENT ARRESTS

REF: HCMC 1012; B) HCMC 936 AND 925; C) HCMC 999 AND 998


1. (U) Following his expulsion from Vietnam on September 21,
American citizen political activist Do Cong Thanh gave an
interview on Radio Free Asia in which he gave more details on
his detention (ref C). In his interview, Do stated that the
only official charge made against him was "propagandizing
against Vietnam." Do said that his organization -- the People's
Democratic Party of Vietnam (PDP-VN) -- wants to eliminate
Article 4 of Vietnam's Constitution, which enshrines Communist
Party rule and a single Party state. Do said that the PDP is
"totally independent" of other organizations.


2. (U) Do repeated that two other PDP members were detained at
the same time he was arrested. Le Nguyen Sang, a 48-year-old
doctor, and Huynh Nguyen Dao, a 38-year-old graduate of
Marxist-Leninist studies. Do also stated that during his
incarceration he had been informed by the police that four more
PDP members based in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang had
been arrested. All of these arrestees are Vietnamese citizens.
Do has not been in contact with us since his return to the
United States.


3. (SBU) We have not been able to confirm independently any of
the arrests of Vietnamese-national members of the PDP. In some
cases, probable phone lines appear cut or go unanswered. In one
case -- that of PDP member Le Trung Hieu in the Mekong Delta --
it appeared that a policeman answered the phone claiming to be a
"friend" of the activist.

More 8406 Block Arrests
--------------


4. (U) Separately, contacts in the dissident community confirm
Internet reports that police continue their operations against
the pro-democracy "8406 Bloc." Over the past month, police
have detained three more members of the Bloc, all members of the
Bach Dang Giang Foundation (BDGF). (Per ref B, the BDGF was
attempting to organize student protests to coincide with the
November APEC Leaders' Summit.) Pham Ba Hai, the purported
leader of the BDGF, was picked up on September 7 on a visit to
the northern province of Thai Binh. Vu Hoang Hai was arrested
in his home in HCMC on September 5. BDFG "domestic coordinator"
Nguyen Ngoc Quang was detained on September 3 after he and Hai
visited political activist and 8406 Block founder Father Nguyen
Van Ly in the Hue.


5. (SBU) Tran Dinh Nguyen, an 8406 Block member resident in the
Central Highlands city of Dalat, was detained on September 4 in
the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai after he visited with
Mennonite religious leader Nguyen Cong Chinh. (Chinh is
affiliated with the controversial Mennonite Pastor Nguyen Hong
Quang.) Nguyen was released on September 8 after four days of
detention. He then had two more days of "working sessions" with
Dalat police. Dissident websites claim Nguyen was arrested
because he posted information on religious freedom incidents on
the Internet.


6. (SBU) Comment: Following months of increased dissident
activity in the south, the police are having their say. Over
the past two months, eight political activists operating in
HCMC's consular district have been arrested. These include
three of the four known members of the BGDF and six colleagues
of Do Cong Thanh. Other political activists face a range of
stepped up pressure, including intensified police surveillance,
frequent "working sessions," fines, and the threat of arrest.
End Comment.

WINNICK