VIETNAM OBJECTS TO BASHIR INDICTMENT, STILL CONSIDERING

UNCLAS HANOI 000191 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR IO/UNP (FITZGERALD),EAP/MLS (BLACKSHAW) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC PHUM SU XA XW VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM OBJECTS TO BASHIR INDICTMENT, STILL CONSIDERING RESPONSE REF: STATE 19213 (SBU) In a March 2 meeting with the MFA's Director General for International Organizations, Le Hoai Trung, CDA discussed the International Criminal Court's imminent indictment of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir and urged Vietnam not to support an Article 16 deferral of prosecution. She urged Vietnam to be muted in its response to the indictment, noting that the United States does not believe that a UNSC statement is necessary unless there is significant violence or Khartoum reacts in an extreme fashion. DG Trung reiterated his government's strong opposition to the ICC indictment, but said that his government would take the U.S. position into consideration. He said that its general disapproval notwithstanding, Hanoi had not yet drafted instructions to its UN Mission on how specifically to respond to an indictment. PALMER