VIETNAM IN-COUNTRY PRIORITY ONE REFERRAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 HO CHI MINH CITY 001015

SIPDIS

NOFORN

SIPDIS

DHS/BCIS FOR OFFICE OF ASYLUM, REFUGEES, AND INTERNATIONAL
OPERATIONS
BANGKOK FOR REFCOORD
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/A AND EAP/MLS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/1/2017
TAGS: PREF PHUM SOCI KIRF PGOV PREL VM
SUBJECT: VIETNAM IN-COUNTRY PRIORITY ONE REFERRAL

CLASSIFIED BY: Kenneth Fairfax, Consul General, U.S. Consulate
General Ho Chi Minh City, Dept. of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C/NF) Summary: Mission's P-1 Referral Committee has
completed consideration of five possible Priority One (P-1)
applicants and is referring two to PRM for consideration.
Truong Van Duc is a long-time Hoa Hao leader and has spent
much of his life in detention. His outspoken, but non-
violent, opposition to the GVN has kept him in trouble with
authorities. Duc, his wife, and one daughter are referred.
Nguyen Thanh Minh Tri was a Protestant lay leader in the
Sikiew refugee camp, and he and his now wife have faced
intermittent police harassment that has risen sharply in
recent years. A third applicant, Do Minh Tuyen, does not
appear to have a claim that rises to the level of P-1
criteria. The fourth person, Thai Quoc Thanh, nominated by
NGO Boat People SOS (BPSOS),has not suffered
discrimination that rises to P-1 levels, but upon
interviewing him we found that he appears eligible for
Humanitarian Resettlement (HR). Earlier this year, the P-1
Committee found the claims of another BPSOS referral, Vo
Huu Phuoc, not credible. This was reported by e-mail
earlier. Duc, Tri and Tuyen were internal nominations. All
except Phuoc had applied for Humanitarian Resettlement. End
Summary.

TRUONG VAN DUC
--------------

2. (C/NF) Truong Van Duc became known to the Political Section
in HCMC in 2005/2006 through the P-1 applications of Ho Van
Trong and Bui Van Hue. He has been a Hoa Hao Buddhist
leader since before 1975 and a member of the pre-1975
governing body. His specific responsibility is for youth
education. He had a history of activism and had been in re-
education for anti-revolutionary activities, prior to 2000.
There is no indication that any of the activity for which
he was incarcerated was violent; rather it appears to have
been for political and/or religious reasons. In 2000, he
was arrested for "causing a public disturbance" and
"opposing the government." His arrest appears to have been
because he was involved in public demonstrations related to
Hoa Hao activism. He was sentenced to twelve years in
prison on February 8, 2001. He was released on February 1,
2005 after, he said, POTUS requested the GVN to release a
number of prisoners. His name appears in Department Human
Rights Reports at that time, and it appears that he was
imprisoned for peacefully (albeit vigorously) expressing a
call for greater religious freedom. Again, he does not
appear to have been involved in any violent activities.


3. (C/NF) After his release, he continued to attempt to carry
out his functions as a Hoa Hao lay leader. Before and after
his imprisonment, he organized youth education activities
in his home. Police and local officials would respond by
contacting the families of the youths, warning them not to
participate in Duc's classes. Thus, no one attended. Duc
also complained that since his release police have
dismantled the Hoa Hao altar inside his home and have taken
down Hoa Hao flags when he has attempted to fly them
outside his home.


4. (C/NF) On March 7, 2006, Duc was placed under
administrative surveillance (Decree 31/CP) for two years
because, 1) on May 3 and 4, 2005 he disturbed security in
Mnon My village by shouting "overthrow communism" about
fifteen times on May 19, 2005; 2) together with already
resettled P-1, Bui Van Hue, he sent a letter to the Prime
Minister and the Department that "caused division between
Hoa Hao Buddhism and the people's authorities;" and 3) on
November 8, 2005, with four others, he publicly criticized
local authorities for harming religion. Local authorities
demand that Duc and his wife report themselves to the local
police station almost monthly. (Note: Duc stated that he
ignores these summons and has never reported himself. This
is very unusual in our experience. End Note.) A central
government order rescinded the administrative surveillance
decree as of March 31, 2007, so the order against Duc was
no longer effective from that date, but police have not
changed their treatment of Duc and have not officially
placed him under any other known sanction. Police prevent
Duc and his wife from leaving their town on public

HO CHI MIN 00001015 002 OF 005


transportation, although Duc has been able to leave on his
own motorbike.


5. (C/NF) On June 15, 2006, Cong An Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (Ho
Chi Minh City Public Security) newspaper, a nationally
distributed tabloid, printed a full-page story about Duc
entitled "Born to be a Troublemaker." The article alleges
that Duc has committed numerous crimes and that his
aggressive nature makes his neighbors so fearful of him,
that they call him a "hobgoblin." Duc, who brought the
clipping to us, stated that none of the allegations in the
article are true. Perhaps the most incredible accusation is
that Duc poured gasoline on a policeman and then threw a
lit match at him. This did not lead to any police action
against Duc, although is completely out of character for
police in Vietnam.


6. (SBU) Duc has been able to obtain civil documents
recently. His birth certificate is dated April 19, 2007,
his national ID card April 23, 2007, and his family book in
May 2007. He applied for Humanitarian Resettlement in
January 2007, but is not qualified because he was in re-
education camp for anti-revolutionary activities, not for
association with the U.S.


7. (SBU) Duc's case would include him, his wife, and one
child:
Principal Applicant: TRUONG, Duc Van; DPOB: 02 FEB 1943, An
Giang, Vietnam; gender: male.
Spouse: DANG, Son Thi Kim; DPOB: 23 OCT 1959, An Giang;
gender: female.
Child: TRUONG, My Thi; DPOB: 18 June 1989, An Giang,
Vietnam; gender: female.
He has another, older child not included in this case.

NGUYEN THANH MINH TRI
--------------

8. (C/NF) Nguyen Thanh Minh Tri and his now-wife, Tran Thi Kim
Hoang, were repatriated to Vietnam from Sikiew Refugee Camp
in Thailand along with several hundred other Vietnamese in
October 2006 after troubles with Thai authorities.
Consequently, this group missed the deadline for
consideration under Return Opportunities for Vietnamese
Refugee (ROVR) for return to Vietnam. They met in the camp
and married after they returned to Vietnam. Like a number
of other Sikiew returnees, they came to our notice when
they applied for Humanitarian Resettlement. They had no
eligibility for HR, but when police pressure on them
increased again recently, they contacted us with a detailed
account of their lives since returning from Sikiew. While
most of this has no bearing on P-1 status, it shows a
pattern of increasingly severe treatment. Hoang's father
was a pastor in the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam
(SECV) before 1975, and Tri joined the SECV while he was in
Sikiew. Both played lay leadership roles in the SECV
community in Sikiew and continued in lay leadership roles
after their return to their home in Dong Thap province.


9. (C/NF) Tri was responsible for the church building and held
construction funds at his local church in An Phong, Dong
Thap. As such, he was the second highest lay leader (Deputy
Secretary) in that congregation. Soon after his return,

SIPDIS
police began pressuring him to inform for them on church
activities. They also intimated that they wanted him to
tell them about what was going on inside Sikiew and what
contacts Sikiew returnees maintained with those outside
Vietnam. In 2000, Tri reported this to UNHCR and to the
U.S. Consulate.


10. (C/NF) In January 2003, police told him that they
suspected him of using his position to raise funds for
counter-revolutionary activities and they again pressured
him to inform on church activities. (Note: The SECV became
recognized by the GVN in 2001. End Note.) This culminated
in a police visit to their home late one night in August
2003, that Hoang described in vivid and convincing detail.
They were living with other family members at that time who
were also facing elevated levels of police scrutiny. After
that visit their family members asked them to leave. Other
church leaders and the pastor in An Phong were not aware of
the pressure put on the family. Tri and Hoang complied with
their family's wish and departed. They simply told their
fellow parishioners that they were leaving to join a
different church.

HO CHI MIN 00001015 003 OF 005




11. (C/NF) They moved to Ho Chi Minh City and now attend a
SECV church in HCMC. Police follow Tri to church and have
warned him not to take up any leadership or other extra
activity in the church. He said that he is not sure whether
the police who monitor the church are also watching other
persons because he is too afraid to raise the subject with
members of his current congregation.


12. (C/NF) HCMC authorities require Tri to present himself to
local authorities once or twice a month. Local police visit
his home at least once per month. Between March and October
2006, senior police officials put a good deal of pressure
on him, browbeating him to report his activities to the
local police. Tri and Hoang said that they cannot remember
how many times police have come to their home this year,
but that the number of visits escalated prior to the
National Assembly elections. He works in the informal
sector on construction sites.


13. (C/NF) On April 29 at 23:00, police came to their home and
threatened them with "national security violations." HCMC
police required Hoang to report to them on May 15 and they
required Tri to report to Dong Thap police on National
Election Day on May 20.


14. (C/NF) ConGen HCMC Political Section contacted members of
the SECV in An Phong and HCMC who corroborated the part of
the story Tri said they would know about -- that is that he
and his family abruptly departed An Phong where he was a
leader and are now in HCMC where he simply goes to church.


15. (C/NF) We found that Tri and his family appear to be
facing harsh and discriminatory treatment apparently on the
grounds of their particular background as Protestant
leaders in Sikiew. It also appears that Hoang was raped by
a Vietnamese police officer in 1990 before her family fled
Vietnam. Their case would include:
Principal Applicant: NGUYEN, Tri, Thanh Minh; DPOB: 30 Oct
1962, Dong Thap, Vietnam; gender: male.
Spouse: TRAN, Hoang, Thi Kim; DPOB: 01 Sep 1961, Vinh Long,
Vietnam; gender: female.
Child: NGUYEN, Tri, Tran Bao; DPOB: 09 Feb 2001, Dong Thap,
Vietnam; gender: male.

DO MINH TUYEN
--------------

16. (SBU) Do Minh Tuyen and his family applied for HR on
the basis of being Sikiew returnees and were consequently
screened out. They reported recent harassment, so we
interviewed them for possible P-1 consideration. Two of
Tuyen's children are unable to attend public school because
they do not have birth certificates. Both were born in
Sikiew. Otherwise the family has appropriate civil
documents, although they are registered in Tuyen's brother-
in-law's family book as they have had difficulty getting
one of their own. This is not a particularly unusual
problem. The family is Catholic; they report no problems of
a religious nature.


17. (C/NF) Tuyen kept in touch with one other Sikhew returnee,
Vu Hoan Hai, who started a construction/architecture
company after being repatriated. Tuyen said he signed
letters that Hai wrote to the USG about the treatment of
Sikiew inmates and they sometimes talked about non-
controversial matters. A few months ago Hai was arrested,
allegedly for involvement in the outlawed pro-democracy
group, Bloc 8406. Since then, police have questioned Tuyen
and his relatives about Hai and Bloc 8406 frequently,
although they had no involvement in Bloc 8406 and Hai
reportedly never discussed it with Tuyen. (Note: We are not
familiar with Hai, so cannot comment on the veracity of
Tuyen's account. End note.) Tuyen said that police follow
him now and that a letter he received from DHS in Bangkok
in December 2006 had been opened.


18. (SBU) Police are questioning many people who knew Bloc
8406 participants, but Tuyen is the only one who has come
forth with a request to be resettled. The reported
treatment of Tuyen does not appear exceptional. While we
will remain in touch with him, it does not appear that he
meets the criteria for a P-1 referral. We have checked with
UNHCR about documentation of his Sikiew-born sons. UNHCR
found the problem described unlikely.

HO CHI MIN 00001015 004 OF 005



THAI QUOC THANH
--------------

19. (SBU) Thai Quoc Thanh applied under HR-HO, but was
screened out because he had apparently had an application
under the Orderly Departure Program . BPSOS forwarded a P-1
referral for him in May 2007 through State PRM. We
interviewed him for possible P-1 consideration and to learn
why he had not applied under ODP. His P-1 claim is that he
and his family have not been able to obtain some civil
documents. Although this is deplorable, it is so widespread
in Vietnam and happens for so many reasons, it is difficult
to consider it harsh or discriminatory. However, shortly
before ODP attempted to contact Thanh and his family they
were involuntarily ejected from their home. Thus, they did
not have a fixed address and were having sufficient
difficulties that it is credible that their failure to
respond to ODP was for reasons beyond their control.
Therefore, at the suggestion of the P-1 Committee, HRS
screened him in as an HR-HO. He does not have a P-1 claim.

VO HUU PHUOC
--------------

20. (SBU) BPSOS referred Vo Huu Phuoc for P-1 consideration
in October 2006. He lives in Sadec, An Giang province and
his referral came to BPSOS through now imprisoned Attorney
Nguyen Van Dai. The referral claims that Phuoc's wife, Tran
Kim Tien, and son were involved in land rights
demonstrations that lead to their arrest and beating in

2001. In 2002, Tien fled Vietnam and was later joined by
the son and still later by her daughter. They have been
living illegally in Thailand since then. Another son left
Vietnam as an overseas contract worker for Japan around the
same time. In early 2003, local authorities required him to
turn over the family home so that it could be razed to make
room for a new market. Phuoc was summoned by police in 2002
and 2004 frequently about the whereabouts of his wife. He
has reportedly been summoned over thirty times since then
about his wife's whereabouts and her activities in
Thailand. Truong Vinh Chau reportedly recruited Phuoc's
wife into the land rights movement. Chau was resettled as a
refugee in 2005. She also reportedly joined the People's
Action Party after she reached Thailand. The People's
Action Party is a small, US-based organization headed by
Dr. Nguyen Xuan Ngai. Dr. Ngai met Vice President Cheney in
mid-2007. The party sponsored Hanoi dissident Hoang Minh
Chinh's 2005 trip to the United States for medical
treatment.


21. (C/NF) We have been able to confirm very few of the
specifics of this case that are not matters of public
record. Truong Vinh Chau's interview notes make no mention
of Tien. People's Action Party sources who should know of
Tien are not aware of her or of anyone whose circumstances
match Tien's. The harsh treatment Tien alleges because of
her participation in land rights protests in 2001 was not
typical. UNHCR has repeatedly denied refugee status to Tien
and her son in Thailand because it has not found that their
troubles are due to political activity. Tien herself has
stated through BPSOS that she did not mention Chau in her
interviews for refugee status because she was afraid that
it would endanger him. It is not clear why she thought
this. We were able to confirm through Embassy Tokyo's Fraud
Prevention Unit that Phuoc's son in Japan was to appear
before an immigration judge in 2004, but that he did not.
He is apparently still in Japan (illegally) and in contact
with his father. We are not aware that this son has
attempted to obtain protection from UNHCR.


22. (C/NF) In his interview with us in HCMC, Phuoc said that
local police extort food and gifts from him on a regular
basis. He said that he has been beaten by police during
questioning about his wife, Tien. Phuoc recounted his
treatment by police calmly and only became emotional when
speaking about his family.


23. (C/NF) The P-1 Committee considered this case for several
months while gathering more information. In the end, we
concluded that the claims that the family's problems are
political are not credible. We have not been able to
corroborate any of the claims of a political nature in this
case. It is difficult to know whether the abuse described
by Phuoc really happened. It is believable that the family
home was condemned to build a new public market in Sadec

HO CHI MIN 00001015 005 OF 005


and that they were not well compensated. Based on the
available and credible information, we do not conclude that
Phuoc's case meets P-1 criteria.


24. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi.
FAIRFAX