"VIETNAMESE PEOPLE MORE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 001462 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL/AWH E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/14/2017 TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PINR PREL ELAB VM SUBJECT: "VIETNAMESE PEOPLE MORE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR FREEDOM," LEADING CYBER-DISSIDENT TELLS AMBASSADOR REF: A. HANOI 1276 ¶B. HCMC 805 ¶C. HCMC 766 HANOI 00001462 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Ambassador Michael W. Marine for Reasons 1.4 (b),(c),a nd (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Ambassador Marine met with prominent cyber-dissident and former political prisoner Dr. Pham Hong Son, who is under house arrest, and his wife, Vu Thuy Ha, at their Hanoi home on August 9. Son, best known for his 2002 arrest and imprisonment for his translation and dissemination of a democracy article on the State Department website, appeared healthy and said he continues his democracy activities both publicly online and clandestinely. Son told the Ambassador that, despite the recent crackdown on dissidents, pressure from the USG had led to some progress on human rights in Vietnam and the USG "should not relent." He said more and more Vietnamese were now "willing to fight for freedom" and criticized the GVN for lack of freedom of the press, worker rights, and diffuse social injustices. Son said the pro-democracy community is concerned about the GVN's "close relationship" with China, citing China's past record of "hegemony" in the region. Noting the Ambassador's concern about his potential re-arrest, Son told the Ambassador that the underground democracy movement just wants a "free political system where it can fairly compete," and that the majority of his colleagues are not calling for "regime change," as is often reported in the state-run Vietnamese press. Son told the Ambassador there are sympathetic pro-democracy forces within the government, and that the USG and international community should encourage them. Despite efforts by the GVN security services to discourage the meeting, there was no interference in the Ambassador,s visit and Son reported no additional police harassment afterwards. End Summary. BACKGROUND -------------- ¶2. (C) Dr. Pham Hong Son is a prominent Vietnamese political dissident with a history of calling for greater human rights and democracy in Vietnam. A medical doctor, Son was director of a pharmaceutical company before being arrested by GVN authorities on March 27, 2002 for distributing and translating essays calling for democracy in Vietnam, including an article from the State Department website entitled "What is Democracy?" Prior to his arrest Son had written other articles which were shared on Vietnamese Internet forums. On June 17, 2003, he was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for "espionage," which was reduced on appeal in August 2003, to five years imprisonment and three years under house arrest. During his incarceration Son was detained in solitary confinement and denied access to appropriate medical treatment. After intense pressure from Washington and Embassy Hanoi, Son was released to house arrest on August 30, 2006. DRL Assistant Secretary Lowenkron and Ambassador Marine met with Son after his release in October 2006. Son told us the Swiss Ambassador also visited him at his home in Hanoi in December 2006. CONDITIONS OF HOUSE ARREST -------------- ¶3. (C) Son, who remains under house arrest until August 2009, appeared in good health when the Ambassador visited him in his Hanoi home on August 9. Son, who is in his late 30s, told the Ambassador that, while his health had deteriorated in prison, it had improved significantly since his release a year earlier. After his release, he had some abdominal surgery "for an intestinal disease," but now feels much better and is exercising regularly. Under the terms of his house arrest, he is only permitted to travel certain fixed routes in the city. He noted that security authorities have recently been more lax, and he has been able to travel almost anywhere he wants within the city confines, but added that he never knows when he could be re-arrested. His wife, Vu Thuy Ha, told us their house is still under surveillance and has, at times, been bugged by the authorities. Dr. Son told us HANOI 00001462 002.2 OF 003 that he is "blacklisted" and unable to find work so they live off his wife's salary (Note: Ms. Ha works for a French cultural organization in Hanoi and is well-known to the French Embassy. End note.). Son described his two young sons as "fine." STILL "DISSENTING" ONLINE -------------- ¶4. (C) Son praised the Ambassador for his humanitarian work and support for democracy during his term in Vietnam. He told the Ambassador that USG support for democracy activists must continue and "now is the time to lean on the GVN and be strong." Son said he is involved with an underground network of democracy activists in Vietnam. He has internet access and continues to write and post articles online; however, when he writes under his own name, he writes more diplomatically with "suggestions" to the Hanoi regime rather than inflammatory calls for regime change. Nevertheless, Son uses many aliases online and, as with other democracy activists not incarcerated, maintains several different e-mail addresses under different names. He also uses multiple cellular phones and changes his cellular phone number regularly. (Note: Post communicates with Son thru a variety of anonymous e-mail addresses. End note.) USG MUST NOT RELENT IN PRESSURING THE REGIME -------------- ¶5. (C) Son told us that, while it is up to the people of Vietnam to struggle for democracy, the USG's actions, including pressure from the U.S. Administration and work by the U.S. Mission, has brought some progress, and we must not relent in "pressuring Vietnam" on democracy and human rights. He also expressed his appreciation for members of the U.S. Congress who have recently pressured Vietnam. The Ambassador commended Son for remaining in Vietnam, but advised him to be very careful regarding potential re-arrest in the current security crackdown environment. The Ambassador reminded Son that the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) knew of their meeting and does not like it when the Ambassador visits dissidents because MPS believes the Ambassador "encourages" dissidents to act out. He told Son that GVN authorities are particularly sensitive to Vietnam-based activists having relationships with overseas Vietnamese organizations, which they consider "hostile," and to any kind of foreign financial support. He told Son that the democracy struggle needed to continue but will likely be a "long one" as the international community has a different baseline for human rights from the GVN, and we must clearly "change a mind set." The Ambassador explained that one strategy we are using is to "strengthen the rule of law" in Vietnam, which supports both economic development as well as political rights. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, CLOSENESS TO CHINA -------------- ¶6. (C) Echoing the views of many other activists, Son was highly critical of the GVN,s approach to freedom of the press. Son said Vietnam,s government-controlled newspapers are "biased," and typically "slant negative" in reporting on the United States, particularly U.S. policy on the issue of Agent Orange. On China, Son said that democracy activists are very concerned about "Chinese hegemony" and the GVN's "close relationship" to China, citing the GVN,s "keeping secret" from the public recent clashes in the South China SIPDIS Sea. The Ambassador told Son that we discuss relations with China with the GVN frankly and openly, as we seek prosperity and stability for both nations and the region. SOCIAL INJUSTICE AND WORKER RIGHTS -------------- ¶7. (C) Discussing the recent land rights protests in HCMC (reftels),Son said social injustice still permeates Vietnam diffusely, and increased abuses have accompanied Vietnam's economic rise. Son believes the international community should focus more on the lack of worker rights in Vietnam, and the Ambassador said it also clearly needs a stronger HANOI 00001462 003.2 OF 003 judiciary. Son criticized GVN authorities for breaking up the recent protests in HCMC - and doing so "violently," according to phone calls he received from protesters. The Ambassador told Son that our own investigation had found that the GVN had used minimal force in ending the recent HCMC protests, but there had been extensive misinformation and exaggeration on the events in HCMC due to Vietnam,s lack of a strong and independent media. He also noted that overseas organizations, with their own interests, sometimes slant the truth. UNDERGROUND DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT WANTS FAIR CHANCE TO COMPETE -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Son emphasized to the Ambassador that the Vietnamese people are now less fearful and "more willing to fight for freedom." Son declared that "we must maintain our struggle and ask for our rights," and that now "more businessmen and intellectuals" are joining the underground democracy movement. He cited specifically the illegal People's Democratic Party of Vietnam (PDP) and the many "good people" who have been arrested or jailed, noting that the Hanoi regime tends to target lawyers in particular, citing the cases of the jailed Nguyen Van Dai and recently released Le Quoc Quan. He told the Ambassador that most Vietnamese democracy activists simply want a "free political system where they can compete," not "regime change," as most of the Vietnamese media reports. PRO-DEMOCRACY FORCES WITHIN THE GVN? -------------- ¶9. (C) Son told the Ambassador that "we know there are pro-democracy and pro-reform forces that exist within the government." Son said the USG should "encourage the pro-reformists" within the GVN; this is much harder for the democracy activists to do from the outside, whereas the international community has government channels. The Ambassador agreed that such individuals should be encouraged to voice their opinions. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) As is our policy for meetings with activists involving the Ambassador, we notified the MPS of this meeting in advance. At the last minute, MPS told us the Ambassador should not meet with Son in his home, as planned, but could meet him in a public location, such as a hotel lobby. When we told our MPS interlocutors that Son was under house arrest and technically not allowed to leave his home, they admitted this was true and that they could not guarantee that he would be allowed to go to the hotel to meet with the Ambassador or that Son would not be re-arrested for attempting to do so. Because of these concerns, the Ambassador went to Dr. Son,s residence rather than a hotel, and MPS did not intervene. We followed up with Son afterwards, and he reported no additional police harassment. ¶11. (C) Forcibly unemployed, Dr. Son remains passionately committed to the underground democracy movement in Vietnam. Though Vietnam's democracy movement was badly bruised in the post-Tet crackdown, it clearly is not broken. Son is one of several activists who continue the struggle and are exploiting the power of the internet. The GVN's close relationship with China continues to be an area of concern for many democracy activists as well as other reform-minded individuals. End comment. MARINE