Vietnam Objects to Senate Letter on Father Ly

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SUBJECT: Vietnam Objects to Senate Letter on Father Ly


1. (SBU) Summary: A letter from 37 U.S. Senators to President Triet
asking for the early release of Father Nguyen Van Ly drew sharply
opposing responses from the Vietnamese Communist Party and the
opposition Bloc 8406. The Party newspaper Nhan Dan ran a highly
critical editorial condemning the Senate letter as an "incorrect
act" based on "misinformation" that would "harm bilateral
relations." This editorial marks an uptick in critical comments
from Party mouthpiece Nhan Dan against U.S. policies in general and
the U.S. Congress in particular. Leaders of Bloc 8406 released a
public letter on July 6 heralding the Senate letter and its support
for Father Ly as a co-founder of Bloc 8406 and pleading with the
U.S. Senate to do more to assist prisoners of conscience in Vietnam.
End Summary.

Nhan Dan Speaks Out Against U.S. Senate
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2. (SBU) In response to the July 1 letter from 37 U.S. Senators
asking for the release of imprisoned dissident Father Nguyen Van Ly,
the official newspaper of the Communist Party, Nhan Dan, published a
highly critical editorial criticizing the Senate for interfering in
Vietnam's internal affairs. The editorial claimed the Senators were
clearly "misinformed" about the case of Father Ly and said that the
letter would harm bilateral relations. The editorial went on to
criticize Father Ly directly, asking rhetorically "do the U.S.
senators have enough information about actions against the State of
Vietnam that Nguyen Van Ly carried out for decades? Do they know
that during the court trial on Mar. 30, 2007 in Hue, Nguyen Van Ly
had behaviors that seriously offended the court?" It continued on,
saying that "it is hard to understand why some U.S. senators want to
protect and defend him." The editorial proceeded to call on the
Senate to be more "objective" when dealing with human rights issues
in Vietnam and praised former Ambassador Peterson for saying "There
is no perfect country in terms of human rights. We need to look at
Vietnam's progress in the past 10, 20 years."


3. (SBU) This editorial follows earlier editorials criticizing U.S.
and EU public statements opposing the arrest of attorney Le Cong
Dinh. Additionally at the end of May, Nhan Dan ran another
editorial attacking Congressman Ed Royce for attaching a rider to
the House State Foreign Operations appropriations legislation that
recommended Vietnam be returned to the Country of Particular Concern
list on religious freedom.

Bloc 8406 Thanks Senate for Letter
--------------


4. (SBU) In an open letter to thank the U.S. Senate for its support
of Father Ly, Bloc 8406 leaders Do Nam Hai, Father Phan Van Loi,
Nguyen Chinh Ket and Tran Anh Kim (who was arrested on July 7)
praised the Senate action on behalf of "their friend, a peaceful
fighter" who has spent 17 years in Vietnamese prisons. They
concluded their letter with the plea that the Senate "please
continue to campaign for the liberation of Reverend Nguyen Van Ly
and other prisoners of conscience in Vietnam, among who are 30
members of our Bloc 8406, and especially to campaign for our Vietnam
to have all the human rights as defined in the International
Conventions that Vietnam has signed to participate in."

Michalak