GVN THREATENS BOYCOTT OF NATIONAL DAY OVER INVITEE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000623

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2019
TAGS: PHUM PREL VM
SUBJECT: GVN THREATENS BOYCOTT OF NATIONAL DAY OVER INVITEE

Classified by Ambassador Michael W. Michalak for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: The GVN threatened to boycott Embassy Hanoi's
National Day celebration at the last minute over the
inclusion on the guest list of prominent dissident Pham Hong
Son. The Ambassador strongly protested the incident and has
followed up with a letter to Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign
Minister Khiem (para 4). Ambassador has invited Dr. Son to a
separate meeting to discuss the issue, and post will continue
to meet with him as well as other dissidents to send a strong
signal to the GVN that such strong-arm tactics will not
result in fewer such contacts. End summary.

Background: Jailed for Article from Department Website
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2. (C) Dr. Son was director of a pharmaceutical company
before being arrested by the GVN authorities on March 27,
2002 for distributing and translating essays calling for
democracy in Vietnam, including an article from the State
Department website entitled "What is Democracy?" On June 17,
2003, he was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for
espionage, which was reduced on appeal in August 2003 to five
years imprisonment and three years under house arrest. Son
was detained in solitary confinement and denied access to
appropriate medical treatment during his incarceration.
After intense pressure from Washington and around the world,
Dr. Son was released on August 30, 2006.


3. (C) Many senior U.S. officials including Members of
Congress have since visited Dr. Son, and post remains in
regular contact with him and his wife, Vu Thuy Ha. He has
been invited to participate in an NED Fellowship when his
house arrest status ends in August, but it is unclear whether
the GVN authorities would allow him to do so although we have
received a promise via diplomatic note from the MFA that once
his administrative probation ends in August he would be free
to obtain a passport and travel abroad. Dr. Son,s
Vietnamese translation of &What is Democracy8 remains
posted on the Embassy,s website and is regularly distributed
in hard copy by the Embassy's PAS and Political Sections.

Last-Minute Threat
--------------


4. (C) DCM was asked about Dr. Son's attendance at the July 2
national day celebration that afternoon by MFA Americas
Director General Nguyen Ba Hung. She confirmed that Son
would attend, noting that he had attended other official
events including Sweden's reception in honor of forty years
of relations with Vietnam. Hung responded that if Son
attended then all GVN attendees - including the guest of
honor - would boycott the event. "There are important
political meetings going on now," Hung said darkly, referring
to the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee meetings
then underway. Ambassador protested to Vice Foreign Minister
Pham Binh Minh, who confirmed that if Son was present there
would be no attendees from the GVN. Less than an hour before
the start of the event, post contacted Dr. Son and asked if
he would accept an invitation to the Ambassadors house the
next day instead to avoid a confrontation. Son said he had
been visited by police that morning and they had told him to
stay away so he would. The Ambassador invited Son to meet
with him at his earliest convenience. The Ambassador took
note of Son's situation in his remarks at the reception,
thanking not only those who attended but also those who were
not able to attend for their "courage and service." (Note:
Many Vietnamese guests read the remarks with approval as
applying to jailed HCMC lawyer Le Cong Dinh. End note.)


5. (C) Text of Ambassador's July 6 letter to Deputy Prime
Minister/Foreign Minister Khiem:

I am writing to express my shock and outrage over your
government's last-minute threat to boycott our national day
celebration in Hanoi over our invitation to this event of one
individual: Mr. Pham Hong Son. Mr. Son is a Vietnamese
pharmacist who was jailed for translating a document from our
Embassy Hanoi website into Vietnamese, but is currently under
probation at his home. This status does not legally prohibit
him from accepting invitations such as ours, and he has met
with senior officials including Members of Congress and
attended official gatherings hosted by other foreign missions
in Hanoi.

We hear often from the government of Vietnam that our
government pays too much attention to a small group of
individuals whose views do not always reflect those of the
government. By elevating the invitation of Mr. Pham Hong Son
to our national day to the level of an international
incident, the government of Vietnam has by definition raised

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the level of attention to his case.

I firmly believe your government is strong enough to tolerate
those among its citizens who do not agree with everything the
government says. At a minimum, I expect those citizens - not
prohibited from doing so under Vietnamese law - to be allowed
to accept our mission's invitations to functions.

With a new administration in Washington, I look forward to
new opportunities for constructive engagement with Vietnam.
At the same time, an incident such as your government's
last-minute interference with our national day guest list
certainly signals a limit to the level of that engagement.
Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

End text

Comment: Countering New Level of GVN Interference
-------------- --------------


6. (C) The GVN regularly protests Mission meetings with
"lawbreakers" and occasionally prevents them from taking
place. Last-minute blackmail to keep an individual out of
our national day celebration takes this interference to a new
level, perhaps the worst since Son's wife Vu Thuy Ha was
detained and manhandled by GVN authorities while attempting
to meet with then-Ambassador Marine and visiting
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez in 2007. Mission Vietnam plans
to push back by seeking more regular meetings with Dr. Son
and others, signaling that such heavy-handed tactics will not
discourage Mission contacts with these individuals. End
comment
MICHALAK