VIETNAM PROTESTS U.S. STATEMENT ON JAILED LAWYER,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000570 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2019 TAGS: PHUM PREL VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM PROTESTS U.S. STATEMENT ON JAILED LAWYER, ARRESTS ASSOCIATES REF: A. A) HCMC 473 ¶B. B) HCMC 480 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Virginia E. Palmer, reasons 1.5 (b) an d (d) ¶1. (U) Please see action request para 10. 2.(C) Summary: Charge met with Major General To Lam of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on June 18 to discuss the recent arrest of lawyer Le Cong Dinh (reftels). Lam protested at length the State Department statement on Dinh as "U.S. interference in Vietnam's internal affairs." Charge pushed back, noting importance of freedom of expression, long-standing U.S. concerns about the use of catch-all security legislation to jail anyone expressing political opposition, and the chilling effect the arrest will have on journalists and lawyers. Lam also noted that the Ambassador's press statements in the U.S. were "generally positive and accurate8 but had been misconstrued by Viet Tan. He asked us to correct the record and promised to provide a transcript. Charge took advantage of the meeting to press for an update on Vu Hung and others associated with the opposition Bloc 8406 arrested last fall and awaiting trial ever since. Lam promised to provide an update on their status. On June 19, the GVN announced it had arrested four more individuals associated with Dinh. End summary. Department Statement "Groundless," "Interference" -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Lam began by saying the GVN found the State Department's statement on Din's arrest "groundless" and that it constituted "interference in Vietnam's internal affairs." Posting it on the Embassy website was "abnormal" because many in Vietnam have seen it. Lam said that to prove the statement was groundless he would share the written confession made by Le Cong Dinh on June 17 (Note: translation of Dinh's confession is in para 11 - a video of Dinh reading the confession is also on YouTube. End note.). Lam noted that among other things Dinh confirmed that he had met with members of the opposition Viet Tan in Thailand and that Viet Tan was a "terrorist organization." Dinh also confessed to writing the charter for a new political party and to drafting a new constitution, acts which Dinh said in his statement violated Vietnamese law under Article 88 and which he regretted. ¶4. (C) Charge responded that perception matters and in this case it appears that an attorney is being punished in part because of the clients he defended, a perception that can only damage the image of Vietnam and negatively impact its economy. This case could have a chilling effect on Vietnam's nascent legal profession just as the jailing of journalists in connection with their exposure of corruption in the PMU-18 scandal had on journalism in Vietnam. All of the charges against Dinh are related to the peaceful expression of political views, Charge said - none suggested any violence at all. She pointed out that we have no information suggesting that Viet Tan is a terrorist organization despite our requests to the GVN for information on illegal conduct. Lam responded that the GVN is collecting documents which it would share on another occasion. ¶5. (C) Charge noted the U.S. has for many years called for the repeal of catch-all national security legislation such as Article 88 and its use to silence political dissent; Vietnam is a strong country that can tolerate and benefit from the diverse views of its citizens. Lam replied that Article 88 is the law and every citizen must comply - to make exceptions would create chaos. Vietnam is a country that fully respects opinions that are not in line with those of the government, as can be seen in recent debates at the National Assembly, Lam said. But Vietnam differentiates between constructive expressions of opinion and those designed to harm the government, Lam said, and those who take advantage of their rights to attack the government will be dealt with. ¶6. (C) Lam reiterated that the GVN requests the U.S. to discontinue making statements that constitute interference in Vietnam's internal affairs. Vietnam recognizes the U.S. interest in Dinh's case and will continue to keep the Embassy informed. At the same time, Vietnam remains concerned by the Mission's continuing meetings with individuals who are against the government and "don't represent anyone." Charge responded that we meet with a broad variety of individuals with a variety of viewpoints not only in Vietnam but around the world to ensure that our policies are well-informed. She stressed that Vietnam was strong enough to tolerate the HANOI 00000570 002 OF 003 peaceful expression of views of its citizens. Viet Tan Putting Out Misquotes of Ambassador? -------------- ¶7. (C) Lam then raised concerns that Viet Tan was putting on its website transcripts of Ambassador Michalak's recent comments in the United States that were not accurate. Charge noted that the Ambassador's remarks are publicly available on the internet so it is easy for anyone to verify what he said. Lam responded that many in Vietnam would not know this and Charge agreed to look into the matter. Charge Raises Other Prisoners of Concern -------------- ¶8. (C) Charge also raised the cases of teacher Vu Hung and a dozen other people associated with the opposition Bloc 8406 arrested last fall and in detention without trial ever since. She noted that we had received no reply to a March 3 letter to Vice Foreign Minister Minh signed by Ambassador Michalak, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic on behalf of the EU and the Ambassador of Norway on behalf of the Group of Four (Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland). Lam promised to look into their status. Four More Jailed -------------- ¶9. (SBU) On June 19, the GVN announced it had arrested four more individuals for colluding with Le Cong Dinh, naming two of them as Le Thang Long and Tran Huynh Duy Thuc. Mr. Long is the director of a Hanoi-based company called Innotech who came to attention in February when he represented a bogus investor in a hospital project. He is also the president of the "Revive Vietnam Movement," which he claims includes many well-respected Vietnamese businessmen. Tran Huynh Duy Truc is the General Director of a company called OCI, and Ms. Le Thi Thu Thu, Director of Strategic Relations for OCI, is reportedly among the others arrested, along with Ms. Tran Thi Thu (possibly one of the original signatories of the Bloc 8406 Manifesto). Action Request: High-Level Attention Can Be Effective -------------- -------------- 10.(C) The statement on Le Cong Dinh's case by the Department spokesman has clearly gotten the attention of the GVN and continued high-level attention is needed in a case that represents a significant step backwards for human rights and the rule of law in Vietnam. Our interventions can be effective: in 1997 when former Fulbrighter (and Dinh associate) Le Quoc Quan was arrested, National Democratic Institute's Madeleine Albright, International Republican Institute's Senator John McCain and National Endowment for Democracy's Vin Weber jointly signed a letter (e-mailed to Desk) calling for his release; Quan is the only individual in the past several years to be released without charges being filed. A similar high-level expression of interest, from either the Administration and/or members of Congress with a record of constructive engagement with Vietnam such as Senators McCain, Webb, Kerry, Leahy or others could be effective in this case as well. While this may not lead to an outright release for Dinh, such attention would certainly lead to second thoughts by the GVN on imposing a harsh sentence on him. Statement by Le Cong Dinh -------------- 11.(U) Unofficial translation of statement by Le Conh Dinh provided by MPS: Report to MPS Investigation Agency My name is Le Cong Dinh, born on October 1, 1968. Permanent registered address is 163/8 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh. Temporary residence is BB 3-4, My Khang Building, Local Area 4, District 7, HCMC. My profession is lawyer. I would like to state my legal violations, pursuant to Article 88 of the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as follows: ¶1. I participated in a training course on non-violence organized by Viet Tan from March 1-3, 2009 in Pattaya, Thailand, presented by two Serbians. One of them is Blado, I don't remember the name of the other. I know Viet Tan is a terrorist organization, which has HANOI 00000570 003 OF 003 trained a number of Vietnamese on non-violent struggle in Vietnam. ¶2. As introduced by Nguyen Tien Trung, I took part in the Vietnam Democracy Party led by Mr. Nguyen Sy Binh, President of the People's Actions Party. Mr. Binh invited me to take part in the standing board of the Democracy Party. On March 26, 2009, I traveled to Phuket, Thailand, to meet with Mr. Nguyen Sy Binh and Mr. Tran Huynh Duy Thuc to discuss Vietnam's economic and political situation, and guidelines for founding two more parties named Vietnam Labor Party and Vietnam Socialist Party in order to attract more members. For the immediate future, we agreed to set up blogs named "Vietnam Labor Party", managed by me, and "Vietnam Socialist Party", managed by Mr. Thuc. Also in Phuket, we discussed co-writing a book titled "Vietnam's Path" in order to look for solutions to reform Vietnam's socio-economic and legal situations. Based on the critical socio-economic situation, we also realized that there would be an opportunity for change in late 2010. Upon return to Vietnam, I set up a blog and wrote the announcement of the Vietnam Labor Party Foundation, but due to technical problems, I have not finished and published it. Then I got arrested. Since joining the Vietnam Democratic Party, I have helped to correct the writing style and terms in the Party's Charter. I was also given by Nguyen Sy Binh a draft of a "New Constitution" to study and used it as a reference to draft a Constitution for the Vietnam Democratic Party. I realize that what I have done violated the law of Vietnam. I feel deeply regretful for my wrongdoings. I hope to receive tolerance from the State. June 17, 2009 Reporter Le Cong Dinh (Signed) End unofficial translation. ¶12. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Ho Chi Minh City. PALMER