EAP DAS JOHN MEETS HCMC DISSIDENT LEADERS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000407 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS; EAP/RSP; EAP/EP; DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SOCI PHUM KIRF PGOV OVIP PINR VM SUBJECT: EAP DAS JOHN MEETS HCMC DISSIDENT LEADERS REF: HANOI 636; B) HCMC 261; C) HCMC 365; D) 06 HCMC 808 HO CHI MIN 00000407 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) GVN officials in Hanoi and HCMC protested but did not prevent EAP DAS Eric John from holding meetings on April 9 with dissident leaders Thich Quang Do and Tran Khue. Meeting in his pagoda where he has been under house arrest since October 2003, Thich Quang Do, General Secretary of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam SIPDIS (UBCV) welcomed the opportunity to talk for two-hours about the need for political change in Vietnam and urged international pressure on Vietnam for its human rights violations. The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) will never willingly give up its monopoly on power, the monk said. The relatively open period of political openness in which dissidents could operate was only a CPV smoke screen to con the international community. He added that the notion that there are rival factions within the GVN ?- reformers on one side with pro-China hardliners on the other -? is another CPV fabrication. Thich Quang Do also was scathing in his condemnation of Buddhist Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who he termed a "communist agent" brought back to Vietnam to pretend that there is religious freedom for the Buddhist community and to undermine the UBCV. (Per ref B, the internationally-recognized Thich Nhat Hanh is in Vietnam to conduct a series of reconciliation ceremonies and to encourage a Buddhist revival.) ¶2. (SBU) Thich Quang Do strongly criticized the lack of linkage between trade and human rights during Vietnam's WTO membership drive and said that U.S. silence on human rights during the November 2006 APEC Summit in Hanoi left him and other dissidents "bitter and disappointed." Now that the CPV has everything it wants ?- PNTR with the U.S., WTO membership, and lifting of its designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) -- the Party feels free to crackdown on dissent. While Vietnamese had to lead the struggle, they needed U.S. and international support. Thich Quang Do called for reinstatement of CPC and the imposition of targeted sanctions against the CPV for its human rights violations. Lifting of CPC signals to the world that Vietnam does not violate religious freedom, which is not the case, Thich Quang Do concluded. ¶3. (SBU) DAS John noted that the USG has a firm political commitment to press for human rights in Vietnam and does so at all levels, from the President on down. The U.S. shares the monk's goal of a pluralistic society in Vietnam, but we must work step-by-step to reach that goal. CPC was "not a pre-APEC gift" to the GVN, but, as Do had asserted, a factual decision based on benchmarks, the DAS added. ¶4. (SBU) While equally critical of the CPV and eager for a multiparty system, Tran Khue, Deputy General Secretary of the Democratic Party of Vietnam (DPV),called the President's APEC visit and improved U.S. ties important for Vietnam and for Vietnamese reformers. The U.S. is key to balancing Chinese influence in South East Asia. Khue claimed that the DPV had the support of "millions of Vietnamese" and 150 people ready to contest the upcoming National Assembly elections but the DPV decided not to participate, knowing full well the results would be rigged. If individual DPV members want to contest, he will not object, however. Khue acknowledged the ongoing crackdown against him and other dissidents; he had been summoned to a "working session" with police immediately after our meeting. However, he viewed the pressure as a sign of weakness and nerve in the ?Maoist? faction of the CPV. In a phone call April 10, Khue told us that police questioned him about his meeting with DAS John. Khue said he told the police that he would not attend any future ?working sessions.? If the police wish to arrest him based on the indictment they already have issued (Ref C),he has packed and is ready to return to jail. (Ref D provides additional detail on Khue and the DPV.) ¶5. (SBU) Despite repeated threats that our "unauthorized" meetings with dissidents would lead the GVN to cancel its official meeting in HCMC, DAS John called on Nguyen Thanh Tai, Standing Vice Chairman of the HCMC People?s Committee. The discussion focused mainly on the city?s economic development. Although the Vice-Chairman noted repeatedly that "political and social stability" were key to economic growth in Vietnam, he did not raise directly human rights or the DAS? meetings with Thich Quang Do and Tran Khue. DAS John noted the real progress in church registrations in 2006 and urged the HCMC leadership to ensure that the positive trend continued in 2007. HO CHI MIN 00000407 002.2 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) Comment: Substantively, there was no major change in either dissident's presentation. The uncompromising Thich Quang Do continued to spit fire against the CPV and against anyone -- including his former Buddhist colleague - -- who would look for alternative approaches to achieve the same ends. A former member of the CPV himself, Tran Khue was more moderate and in favor of continued U.S. engagement to press for human rights improvements. WINNICK