DJ@ VU ALL OVER AGAIN: HANOI CATHOLICS RENEW PROTESTS OVER

UNCLAS HANOI 000980 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIRF PREL PHUM PGOV VM SUBJECT: DJ@ VU ALL OVER AGAIN: HANOI CATHOLICS RENEW PROTESTS OVER PROPERTY REF: A) HANOI 446, B) HANOI 160 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Catholic demonstrators this week renewed their claims to land near the Thai Ha parish in Hanoi. Predictably, State-controlled press praised local authorities for their reasonable reaction to the demonstrations and accused the Catholics of unlawful acts. A source in the Vietnamese Episcopal Council told us that local Party authorities asked that the Hanoi Episcopal Council intervene to end the protests, but that the Council refused because its members believe the parish priests and lay followers involved in the protest are in the right. Neither side seems willing at this point to compromise on the issue of who owns the land near the parish. End Summary. Protests Resume -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On August 14, approximately 150 Catholics associated with Hanoi's Thai Ha Parish renewed demonstrations over land they claim was wrongfully taken in the early 1960's. The land in the capital's Dong Da District is occupied by three State-owned companies and a hospital. The demonstrators also reportedly knocked down a wall surrounding the property and have erected a statue of the Virgin Mary and have been holding vigils there over the past week. Two tents the Catholics put up last June, the last time demonstrations took place at the site, remain pitched on the disputed land. ¶3. (SBU) Vietnam's State-controlled press has accused demonstrators of "unlawful" acts of assembling, tearing down a brick wall surrounding the property and holding vigils in an attempt to arouse "social disorder." Press accounts also reported that local officials intervened to try to persuade the demonstrators to disband, but to no avail. In refusing to consider Catholic claims to the land, the Government has cited a 2003 National Assembly resolution stating the State will not reconsider the implementation of policies on housing and land management, as well as socialist reform policies on housing and land, issued before July 1, 1991. Nor will it accept claims for land and houses the State managed during the implementation of those policies. ¶4. (SBU) Leaders of the Thai Ha diocese and monastery, however, continue to insist that they have acted in line with legal procedures to reclaim their land-use rights. They reportedly have told local authorities that they will mobilize more followers if Hanoi authorities continue to refuse to give back the land. Reaction from a Respected Catholic Figure -------------- ¶5. (SBU) A close aide to the Hanoi Archbishop on August 22 told us that members of the Vietnamese Episcopal Council, including the Archbishop, have received a formal request from Hanoi authorities to advise priests from Thai Ha parish to cease their current activities. The Council, however, refuses to intervene, the aide said, because Council members have concluded that the demonstrators "are doing the right thing." The contact characterized the new chief priest of Thai Ha Parish as "an intellectual person," with a "clear view" on what it takes to reclaim the disputed land. In June and July, Hanoi authorities formally decided to take back the disputed land, the aide explained. Because they have no intention of returning the land to the Church, local priests staged the activities on August 14, he said. Comment: No End in Sight -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The situation near the Thai Ha Church has cooled down a bit over the past two days, with less activity at the disputed property site. However, the rhetoric in the State-run press and the comments from the Catholic insider, as well as sympathetic reports from the California-based "VietCatholic News," suggest that no resolution is close. Neither side seems ready to compromise on this thorny issue, and protests are expected to continue. MICHALAK