Ambassador, VFM Minh Discuss Human Rights, Nuclear MOU,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000889

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/03
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KNNP KIRF UNSC ECON CVIS ASEAN BM IR
VM
SUBJECT: Ambassador, VFM Minh Discuss Human Rights, Nuclear MOU,
Burma, and Iran

REF: HANOI 1084, HANOI 827, HANOI 873, HANOI 861 AND 859

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CLASSIFIED BY: Virginia Palmer, Charge D'Affaires; REASON: 1.4(B),
(D)


1. (U) This cable contains an action request. Please see
paragraph eight.




2. (C) SUMMARY: On October 30, the Ambassador met with Vice
Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh to reiterate U.S. concerns about
the conviction of political dissidents and the forced expulsion of
Lang Mai followers from the Bat Nha Pagoda, highlighting the
November Human Rights Dialogue as an opportunity to make concrete
progress. The Ambassador also stressed the need to work together
on tough international issues such as Iran and Burma, and pressed
Vietnam to finalize preparations for the signing of a civilian
nuclear MOU. VFM Minh said that Vietnam recognized that Bat Nha
had become a sensitive, high-profile issue and had appointed a
Deputy Prime Minister to coordinate the government's response.
Minh expressed relief that any likely action on Iran at the UN
Security Council would come after Vietnam completed its October
Presidency, but acknowledged that reports that Tehran had moved
away from the agreements it made in Vienna appeared troublesome.
Minh declined to offer specifics on the recent visit to Vietnam of
Burma's third-ranking military official, though he insisted that
Rangoon was displaying signs of increased flexibility. Relaxed
throughout, Minh only brought up one issue: a visa case involving
his former boss, retired MFA official Pham Ngac (see action request
in paragraph seven). END SUMMARY.



Human Rights and Religious Freedom

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3. (SBU) Over lunch at his residence October 30, the Ambassador
urged Vice Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh to take advantage of the
upcoming Human Rights Dialogue to make concrete progress. The
Ambassador noted in particular our desire to move forward with
governance projects, including cooperative efforts at the National
Assembly and in the rule of law. Turning to specific cases, the
Ambassador emphasized that the recent convictions of political
dissidents (ref A),a controversial Prime Ministerial decree
("Decision 97") limiting the ability of independent research
institutions to criticize the government/Party (ref B),and
violence associated with the forced removal of monks and nuns
associated with the Lang Mai ("Plum Village") Order from the Bat
Nha Pagoda (ref. C) had made it much more difficult to argue that
Vietnam was making progress. The Ambassador passed Minh a copy of
an op-ed written a prominent U.S. adherent of Thich Nhat Hanh that
appeared in the October 29 Asian Wall Street Journal, highlighting
in particular a) the need to ensure that there was no more
violence, and b) the recommendation that the GVN put out a public
statement underscoring that the Plum Village followers enjoy
freedom of worship.




4. (C) VFM Minh repeated the GVN's standard line that the Bat Nha
dispute was an "intra-Buddhist" conflict; however, he assured the
Ambassador that the GVN recognized the seriousness of the issue,
and had designated DPM (and Politburo Member) Truong Vinh Trong to
take the lead in coordinating the government's approach to the Lang
Mai/Bat Nha issue. Minh suggested that the Department reach out to
DPM Trong on the issue when he travels to the United States
November 5-13. (Note: DPM Trong will be in Washington November 9
for meetings connected with his HHS-funded visit to investigate
methadone treatment practices. End note.) Minh agreed that the
Human Rights Dialogue offered useful opportunities to exchange
views, and noted that he had instructed the MFA to provide, through
its embassy in Washington, a complete accounting of the 69 cases
raised in a recent joint letter from Congress. On Decision 97,
Minh said the matter was "complicated" and "misunderstood" and that
the Minister of Science and Technology would be briefing interested
ambassadors November 6.



Civilian-Nuclear MOU

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5. (SBU) The Ambassador pressed VFM Minh to work with the Ministry
of Science and Technology to push for a prompt clearance of the
Media Note on Civil Nuclear Power an Nuclear Security, in order to
be able to sign the already agreed-upon MOU on the margins of the
APEC meeting in Singapore. (He also passed Minh a letter to DPM/FM
Pham Gia Khiem making the same points.) Minh agreed that the
nuclear MOU was an extremely worthwhile initiative and promised to
pursue the matter. At the same time, he cautioned that it might
take some time for Vietnam's interagency process to clear the
language in the Media Note; if the signing couldn't take place at
APEC, it certainly could at the ASEAN ministerial in July. The
Ambassador pushed back, noting that July was too long to wait for
something that had already been agreed upon and was this important.
The GVN should not have any problems with the Media Statement which
contained nothing remotely controversial.



Iran and Burma

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6. (C) The Ambassador expressed concern over reports in the New
York Times and elsewhere indicating that Iran was pulling back from
the commitment it made in Vienna to send uranium to Russia for
reprocessing. If true, there will be a need for strong, unified
action at the UN Security Council. He also urged Vietnam to work
closely with the United States and others to ensure that Burma's
2010 elections were free and fair, something that would be
extremely difficult if Aung San Suu Kyi were unable to participate
meaningfully. Minh voiced surprise and disappointment at Tehran's
decision to repudiate the agreement its negotiators had made in
Vienna, saying that things had looked hopeful. On Burma, Minh
claimed not to have much information about the recent visit of that
country's third-ranking general, Thura Shwe Mann, but sought to
characterize the trip as a sign that Burma was more willing to
listen to Vietnam's suggestions on how to open up to the world
(ref. D). (Note: We understand that Vietnam's Ministry of Defense
took the lead in organizing the visit, which was long-scheduled.
VFM Minh did not elaborate further what suggestions Vietnam may
have offered Burma. End note.) He said that he understood the
need for elections to be seen as credible, and, laughing, said that
it could be a real headache for Vietnam if Burma's elections
coincided with the ASEAN summit.



Staffing

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7. (C) Reminded that DPM/FM Pham Gia Khiem had assured the
Secretary during their meeting in Washington, DC in early October
that Mission staffing "would not be a problem," Minh promised to
continue to press the Vietnamese interagency to have Embassy Hanoi
and ConGen HCMC's outstanding position requests approved. He noted
that the Embassy received approval for one position (in which the
Ministry of Public Security had a special interest) on October 30,
adding that he was optimistic more would come through. At the same
time, Minh fell back on the well-worn arguments about the need for
inter-ministerial clearance.



Visa for former high-ranking MFA official

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8. (C) For the most part, Minh appeared content to respond to the
Ambassador's agenda. The one issue that Minh stressed, strongly,

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was the outstanding visa request for Minh's previous boss, former
MFA International Organizations Director General Ngac Pham. Minh
said that many in the Central Committee were upset that Pham, a
distinguished former diplomat who had traveled to the United States
several times in the past, was not able to obtain a visa, and that
he did not understand what was the obstacle. ACTION REQUEST: Pham
has a "00" Category 1 name-check hit. Our understanding is that
CA/VO/L/C has received the information it required from the
clearing agency, but the case is still pending in the system. We
request that CA move to resolve the issue, which has been raised
several times and is becoming an unnecessary irritant in the
overall relationship.
Palmer