This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 001268 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV, DRL/IRF, PRM 
BANGKOK FOR REFCORD 
GENEVA FOR REFCORD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF PREL PGOV KIRF VM HUMANR ETMIN
SUBJECT: MISSION TEAM VISITS GIA LAI IN WAKE OF PROTESTS 
 
Ref: A. HCMC 573 B. STATE 86031 C. HANOI 1076 
     ¶D. HANOI 1006 
 
This is a joint Embassy/ConGen cable. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Officials in Gia Lai province April 27-29 
downplayed reports of violence connected to the April 10 
events in the province, telling Mission poloffs that 
protests had taken place in nine locations, had involved a 
total of no more 1000-3000 demonstrators, and were quickly 
contained.  They admitted three deaths, including one 
policeman.  Missionoffs were unable to talk freely with 
local residents to assess these claims.  There are some 
indications that the number of protesters and level of 
violence were greater than officials admit, but the 
demonstrations in Gia Lai seem to have been smaller than in 
neighboring Dak Lak province (ref a) and authorities 
appeared to have respond with relative restraint.  The role 
of outside agitators - a constant theme - seems credible. 
End Summary. 
 
Setting the stage with care 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Missionoffs were met by provincial officials at the 
border with Dak Lak province and soon were in the midst of 
an eight-car motorcade of press, police, and national and 
local officials, with extra motorcyclists apparently 
following the group from place to place.  Vietnamese 
journalists attended all meetings, with what appeared to be 
plainclothes police filming every moment.  "Impromptu" 
discussions with villagers who were described as having 
taken part in protests similarly took place with press 
cameras and microphones thrust into interviewees' faces, 
local officials providing translation between ethnic 
languages and Vietnamese - and often going so far as to 
prompt respondents' answers - and men who appeared to be 
undercover police pulling subjects aside for a quick word 
before they talked with missionoffs.  Even during the 
evenings, plainclothes officers appeared to be following 
missionoffs and FSNs. 
 
¶3. (U) Authorities nonetheless allowed visits to the three 
districts - Chu Se, Dak Doa, and A Yun Pa - where 
missionoffs had heard from both official and non-government 
sources that most of the demonstrations had taken place.  In 
each of these districts, missionoffs were able to travel to 
communes that had been the scene of protests, and talk with 
local officials and protest participants. 
 
The official line 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Chairman Nguyen Vy Ha of the Provincial People's 
Committee met officers on April 27.  According to Ha, the 
demonstrations took place in nine locations in three 
districts, involved people from 30 villages, and had a total 
of no more than 1000-3000 participants, Ha claimed.  They 
were confined to rural areas and commune headquarters, he 
said, never reaching even district capitals, and with only a 
minor disturbance near the provincial capital of Pleiku.  Ha 
claimed that about 100 people were detained on the day of 
the protests.  As of April 27, only 10 "ringleaders" were 
still being held and may face judicial action; all others 
were let go "within two days" of the protests.  He described 
the death toll as including one militiaman and two 
protesters killed (by rocks thrown by other protesters, Ha 
claimed), as well as injuries (none serious) involving 20 
protesters and 40-50 police, militia, and officials.  Ha 
admitted the presence of a government helicopter in the area 
on April 10 but claimed it was doing a land survey, not 
involved in stopping the protests. (Note: some organizations 
have alleged that an army helicopter was used to suppress 
the demonstrations.) 
 
¶5. (U) Chairman Ha alleged that the protests were all 
sparked by "outsiders," and that the demonstrators had even 
been told they would be picked up by planes and taken to the 
USA, or had been promised money for taking part.  He said 
that when local officials explained to the protesters that 
this was not the case, most dispersed, leaving only "a few" 
who then clashed with police and militia.  Ha said that a 
small number of the protesters had been armed, and that, 
while the demonstrations had been smaller than in 2001, they 
were more carefully prepared and "more bellicose," with some 
protesters clashing with officials and militia members 
immediately upon encounter. 
¶6. (U) As to what caused the demonstrations, Ha pointed 
solely to outside instigation by Kok Ksor, whom he depicted 
as leading "FULRO under the guise of the Montagnard 
Foundation."  Ha said he recognized that the USG did not 
support the Dega movement, but commented that "your actions 
do not match your words."  Ha cited the previously planned 
Mission trip to the Central Highlands on April 10, a Mission 
request to visit the Highlands "one hour" after the protests 
began in 2001, and the Mission's current visit as "brazen 
behavior" that raised "suspicions."  He said the US 
Administration had "taken Kok Ksor in," mused about "just 
how deeply involved you are," and declared that "you are 
impinging on our national security."  Ha also made negative 
reference to "a certain organization that I think you know" 
which was "giving grants" for people to return to Gia Lai to 
live. (Note: This may have been a reference to the UNHCR, 
although no officially resettled refugees have been brought 
to Gia Lai.  End Note) 
 
¶7. (U) Ha played a video showing parts of a demonstration in 
G'Lar commune of Dak Doa district, including several scenes 
involving perhaps 300-500 demonstrators.  Several protesters 
wore masks, and some threw stones or held large sticks. 
There were some apparent civilian authorities visible, but 
no police.  In one scene, a fire truck hosed protesters with 
water.  The video also showed some government buildings and 
vehicles with broken glass or minor damage, some militia 
with minor scratches, and one badly cut and bruised man - 
identified as a militia member - in a hospital bed. 
(Comment: The clash depicted in this video appeared far less 
intense and less violent than in the video shown to 
missionoffs in Dak Lak. End comment) 
 
¶8. (U) The media was present for - and widely reported on - 
the meeting with Chairman Ha.  Missionoffs requested to hold 
the discussions without the press present, but Ha insisted 
that "there was nothing to hide."  After lengthy debate, he 
agreed, however, to reserve a final 20 minutes for 
discussion without the press.  During this private period, 
Ha scolded the US Mission for "acting differently" from 
other embassies and for frequently trying to "break away" 
from the schedule provincial authorities had prepared.  Ha 
also warned that many of the "deceived minorities" bore 
grudges against Americans.  He claimed it was up to the 
province to make sure missionoffs were always escorted by 
police and officials. 
 
No religious participation 
-------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Ha denied any religious angle to the demonstrations. 
Nguyen Thanh Cam, Deputy Chairman of the Gia Lai Department 
for Ethnic and Religious Affairs, reiterated this point. 
Cam said that he had personally made fact-finding trips 
after the protests, and found that Protestants and Catholics 
"had not taken part."  He added that religious services had 
taken place as normal on Easter Sunday. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In a meeting arranged by the province, Pastor Siu 
Y Kim (protect) of the Gia Lai board of the Southern 
Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) confirmed that local 
Protestants were not involved in the demonstrations, but 
predicted that "it is inevitable" that "some" provincial 
officials will connect the April 10 events and 
Protestantism.  Kim added that, while he believed the 
protests had been "arranged" from the outside, problems in 
the province had "deep roots," including "discrimination" 
against ethnic minorities and government-imposed 
restrictions on the ability of SECV to meet the spiritual 
needs of the province's Protestant believers (without giving 
specific examples). 
 
¶11. (SBU) Note: Provincial authorities appeared to be at 
pains to limit missionoffs' ability to speak with Pastor 
Kim.  Authorities rearranged the schedule at the last minute 
to cut the meeting to half an hour, but gave Kim a 
completely different time for the meeting.  Despite a 
request by missionoffs for a private session with Kim, Gia 
Lai authorities called Kim directly to urge that they be 
included.  Subsequently, press and officials repeatedly 
tried to enter the room and also photographed proceedings 
through the windows.  When the meeting went past its 
allotted time, authorities entered the room and tried to end 
the discussion.  Similar harassment has been experienced 
during officially-arranged meetings with the SECV in Gia Lai 
during visits before April 10, however.  End note 
In the Districts 
---------------- 
 
¶12. (U) Nguyen Dung, the chairman of Chu Se district in 
southern Gia Lai, said about 1500 people "had been incited" 
by about "200 troublemakers" to protest in several different 
parts of his district.  The largest protest included 150-170 
ethnic Jarai participants; other demonstrations numbered no 
more than 50 protesters.  The ringleaders told people that 
they would be taken to the USA, having been incited by Kok 
Ksor - who sent $15,000 to the district for the purpose. 
"Outsiders" coordinated the demonstrations by calling or 
sending written messages to "local toughs" telling them 
where to protest; Dung did not explain how he knew this. 
Dung said only three ringleaders from the clashes were still 
being held and would be tried.  He predicted, however, that 
their sentences would only be three months long. 
 
¶13. (U) Dung escorted Missionoffs (and press entourage) to a 
site in Ia Le district where a protest had taken place.  A 
Jarai demonstrator recounted how he had seen a group 
gathering on the morning of April 10, and had joined in 
after being told he would "benefit" from the protest, 
although he said he was not clear how.  The participant 
added that about 50 people demonstrated in that place, but 
they quickly dispersed without injuries.  He said "some" 
participants had been detained but none were still under 
arrest.  Two participants remained "in hiding," however. 
 
¶14. (U) In Dak Doa district, just north of the provincial 
capital of Pleiku, District Chairman Pham Ngoc Chien said 
about 300 people participated in three of the district's 
communes.  Chien said that the protesters made no political 
claims, but came carrying "rice, rocks, and alcohol."  He 
confirmed that there had been no serious injuries in his 
district, that all detainees have been released, and that 
"life had returned to normal."  In Ko Dang commune of Dak 
Doa, the commune chairman - an ethnic Ba'na - recounted that 
about 100 protesters - many of them drunk - had set upon the 
commune headquarters by throwing rocks, breaking windows, 
smashing equipment, and chasing and attempting to strangle 
him.  He said that there were only about ten militia 
protecting the building as the local authorities tried to 
defuse the situation. 
 
¶15. (U) The Ko Dang commune chairman said nine local people 
had been arrested and all had been transferred to Dak Doa 
district; he admitted two were still being held.  An ethnic 
Ba'na participant in those demonstrations said that "masked 
men" came to his house on April 10 at three in the morning, 
saying they were going to have a "coup d'etat."  The 
demonstrator professed to poloff - and surrounding police 
and press - that his reason for protesting was that "the 
commune was not doing enough to implement the great national 
unity policy."  He estimated the number of participants at 
about 100, and said all had been released and no one was 
still in hiding.  (Note: It appeared that a local official 
serving as a translator prompted some of these answers. End 
note) 
 
¶16. (U) In G'Lar commune of Dak Doa district, the commune 
chairman said 300 people had demonstrated in front of the 
commune headquarters, and that only 10-12 "extremists" had 
thrown rocks.  The chairman said that only local militia and 
officials - all of them ethnic Ba'na - countered the 
demonstrators, and that nobody had been arrested.  A 
participant in the demonstrations said that "bad elements" 
came promising him money to take part in the demonstrations, 
but claimed that nobody had been injured or remained in 
hiding. 
 
¶17. (U) In A Yun Pa district, in southeastern Gia Lai, 
district chairman Le Vinh recounted how the local Jarai 
minorities had been "deceived" by outsiders, and added that 
most of the estimated 200 protesters in his district were 
stopped en route to an old USAF airstrip, where they 
believed airplanes would meet them.  He said that the 
protesters had mostly been unarmed, but many carried 
household belongings and food for their trip abroad.  Vinh 
said that there had been no violence and that demonstrators 
had dispersed quickly when they understood that they had 
been deceived.  A local Protestant church leader in A Yun Pa 
separately echoed that the protests had been limited, and 
said there was no religious element to them.  One protester 
claimed he and his wife joined 15 other families traveling 
to the airport simply because other people had told him to 
do so.  He said he had believed the demonstrations were to 
request the release of people detained after the 2001 
unrest. 
 
¶18. (U) In P'Rel commune (also spelled Rbol), near A Yun Pa 
district, a village headman and an individual who had 
observed the protests said that about 300-400 individuals - 
most from other villages - had been traveling to the old 
airstrip and were blocked at a bridge by local authorities 
and militia members.  They said most of the people had 
returned home, but some had become upset and thrown rocks 
and fought with militia members.  The observer said most of 
the groups traveling to the airstrip were families, and many 
seemed to have no idea where they were going or why.  Both 
claimed no one had been seriously injured, and said they did 
not know of anyone arrested or in hiding. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶19. (SBU) Despite the tightly controlled nature of this 
visit, it appears clear that numbers of participants, 
arrests, injuries, and perhaps deaths are likely higher than 
officials admit but dramatically less than claimed by 
overseas groups.  It is notable that the province allowed 
Missionoffs access to all sites requested - albeit under 
strict observation.  The GVN seems to be following a similar 
"openness" (relatively speaking) track with other groups, 
admitting three international wire service journalists (but 
excluding AFP) to the Highlands April 25 to 28, as well as 
Vatican Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Pietro Parolin 
on April 30 and an expected delegation from the Canadian, 
New Zealand, Norwegian, and Swiss Embassies May 9-13.  The 
most alarmist reports from the region seem false; there were 
no burned out buildings; plenty of young men were hanging 
around the villages watching the visiting foreigners; no 
grief-stricken widows or parents blurted out accounts of 
murdered relatives.  The greatly outnumbered police and 
militia on April 10 and 11 appear to have responded with 
relative restraint.  During this visit, however, the 
constant police and official presence gave no opportunity 
for missionoffs candidly to canvass local residents.  The 
hand of outsiders - a constant them of local and provincial 
authorities - appears credible, as do long-standing 
complaints about discrimination, land disputes, restrictions 
on religious practice, etc. 
BURGHARDT