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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 HANOI 000284 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT PASS TO EAP/BCLTV; EAP/RSP; DRL; PRM; H; PM; T 
 
CA/OCS/ACS/EAP Liz Ryan 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR E. BRYAN 
 
SEOUL PLEASE PASS TO NSC SENIOR DIRECTOR MICHAEL J. GREEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PREF KIRF OTRA OVIP ETRD CASC VM KICC HUMANR RELFREE WTO HIV AIDS ETMIN
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH VFM LE VAN BANG: 
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WORK PLAN, WTO ACCESSION, AND MORE HIGH- 
LEVEL VISITS 
 
Ref: A. Hanoi 254; B. Hanoi 249; C. Hanoi 268; D. Hanoi 215; 
¶E. HCMC 04 1587 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  During a wide-ranging discussion February 
1, the Ambassador previewed for Vice Foreign Minister Le Van 
Bang a proposed "work plan" to advance our religious freedom 
goals and ultimately remove Vietnam from the religious 
freedom Country of Particular Concern list.  VFM Bang said 
that, in addition to the proposed June 20-30 visit to the 
United States of Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, President 
Tran Duc Luong and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An 
may also visit the United States to attend separate events 
in NYC in the September-October timeframe.  VFM Bang also 
said that a repeat of last year's Easter disturbances in the 
Central Highlands this year could cause the Prime Minister's 
visit to be cancelled and urged the United States not to 
allow "issues" to get in the way of advancing the bilateral 
relationship.  VFM Bang pressed the United States to 
complete its WTO negotiations with Vietnam before the PM's 
visit and before Vietnam completes its negotiations with 
China.  In addition, the Ambassador and VFM Bang discussed 
the Central Highlands, "Government of Free Vietnam" leader 
Nguyen Huu Chanh, Amcit detainee Bao Phat Thang, IMET and 
Article 98 agreements, the new Embassy compound land issue 
and U.S. HIV/AIDS assistance for Vietnam.  End Summary. 
 
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WORKPLAN PREVIEWED 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Vice Foreign Minister Le Van Bang invited the 
Ambassador, Pol/C and Poloff to lunch February 1 to 
celebrate the Lunar New Year and discuss several issues of 
mutual interest.  Assistant Foreign Minister and Director 
General of the Americas Department Nguyen Duc Hung and 
United States Affairs Section Chief Nguyen Hoanh Nam 
accompanied VFM Bang.  The Ambassador told VFM Bang that the 
United States appreciates the inclusion of five individuals 
of concern and two American citizens in the New Year's 
Amnesty announced January 31 (Ref A) and noted that there 
are other deserving individuals who should be considered for 
release as early as possible.  VFM Bang replied that he had 
done his best to secure release for prisoners of concern to 
the United States, as he had promised Ambassador-at-Large 
for Religious Freedom Hanford and DRL Deputy Assistant 
Secretary Elizabeth Dugan.  VFM Bang added that Ambassador 
 
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Hanford had also asked him to assist with the case of 
imprisoned Mennonite Le Thi Hong Lien.  The Ambassador 
underlined that Lien's case is humanitarian in nature and 
that she should be receiving mental health treatment rather 
than time in prison.  To that end, the Ambassador passed VFM 
Bang a nonpaper with information about Lien's case and a 
request for her early release on humanitarian grounds. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the deadline for action 
in response to Vietnam's designation as a Country of 
Particular Concern (CPC) is in early March.  However, the 
recent prisoner releases raise the possibility that the USG 
could extend that deadline 90 days while Vietnam and the 
United States work out the details of a work plan that would 
result, ultimately, in the lifting of Vietnam's CPC 
designation.  NSC Senior Director for Asia Michael Green 
will discuss this proposal in greater detail during his 
February 4 discussions.  In broad terms, however, the USG's 
thinking is that, during this 90-day period, the USG and the 
GVN would discuss the terms of this work plan and, for 
clarity's sake, exchange letters or notes to confirm the 
elements of the agreed plan.  The USG recognizes that 
certain actions, such as church openings, cannot take place 
overnight, so implementation of the plan would then take 
place over the course of a year.  In truth, many of the 
elements of a work plan are actions that the GVN has already 
said it would undertake, the Ambassador noted, so agreeing 
to a work plan should not be too difficult for Vietnam. 
 
¶4. (SBU) VFM Bang agreed that the United States would have 
to proceed "step by step" and could not "go directly to 
lifting CPC," but instead "would set that as a goal."  VFM 
Bang enumerated two significant steps Vietnam has already 
taken:  the prisoner release and the opening of new 
churches.  The MFA has a list of the new churches and 
dioceses opened and recognized in the Central Highlands and 
elsewhere, he said.  He promised to provide it to the 
Embassy "as soon as possible."  In addition to these two 
steps, VFM Bang continued, the GVN would soon issue its 
Religious Ordinance implementation guidelines, in which the 
GVN will "forbid anyone to force another person to renounce 
their beliefs, or to force someone to follow a belief or 
religion."  The Ambassador said that these are good steps, 
and recommended that they be supplemented with other 
gestures, such as further prisoner releases.  "This is quite 
difficult in our system," VFM Bang chuckled.  "I hope you 
know I could lose my head if nothing happens on your side." 
 
¶5. (SBU) "You should know we have no restrictions on 
religious freedom in Vietnam now," VFM Bang continued. 
"Things are much better than they were ten years ago. 
Religion is flourishing and there are Catholic and Buddhist 
universities."  VFM Bang contrasted Vietnam's religious 
situation with that of the United States, noting that 
churches in the United States play a civic role by 
administering marriages and funerals and acting as a social 
public gathering place and, occasionally, as a focal point 
for social activism.  Churches do not have the same function 
in Vietnam, VFM Bang said.  "We are improving," he added. 
"For example, Thich Nhat Hanh is here with 200 of his 
followers from abroad, teaching his meditation.  It is an 
extraordinarily positive phenomenon."  (Note: Thich Nhat 
Hanh is a Buddhist monk who has been in exile in France 
since 1966.  He was permitted to return to Vietnam for the 
first time in January 2005.  There has been heavy state-run 
media coverage of his return.  End note.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Ambassador agreed with VFM Bang that "the scope 
of religious activity in Vietnam is as great as it has ever 
been," but noted that not everyone enjoys religious freedom. 
For example, he said, Buddhist monks Thich Quang Do and 
Thich Huyen Quang remain under "pagoda arrest" and are not 
allowed to travel to see each other.  Their continued 
restrictions hurt Vietnam's reputation unnecessarily because 
the two old monks are no threat to the regime, the 
Ambassador added.  VFM Bang said he has asked "someone" 
about the possibility of relaxing the restrictions on the 
monks and was told "it might take some time." 
 
HIGH LEVEL EXCHANGES AND VISITS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) To commemorate the tenth anniversary this year of 
the normalization of bilateral relations, a number of high- 
level exchanges and visits are planned, VFM Bang said.  In 
addition to the visit of NSC Senior Director Green, VFM Bang 
said he will go to Texas and Washington, D.C., in March. 
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan may visit Washington in May 
to finalize the Prime Minister's visit arrangements.  VFM 
Bang reiterated the GVN's request for a visit by Prime 
Minister Phan Van Khai June 20-30, 2005, with stops in New 
York, Seattle and Washington, D.C.  PM Khai would like to 
visit the United Nations while in NYC and visit Boeing and 
the new governor of Washington State while in Seattle, he 
said. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Continuing, VFM Bang said that, in September, 
National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An plans to visit New 
York City to attend the second World Conference of Speakers 
of Parliament at the International Parliamentary Union 
meeting (September 7-9).  He may also want to "pass by" 
Washington for a "private visit," similar to the trip 
current Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh made 
to Washington when he was the Chairman of the National 
Assembly.  Chairman An would have "many" parliamentarians 
with him, VFM Bang said.  State President Tran Duc Luong may 
also visit New York City in October to attend the UN 
Millennium Review meeting.  The Ambassador "welcomed" the 
possibility and said it is important for legislators from 
both sides to visit regularly.  Returning to the proposed 
visit by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, the Ambassador 
stressed that both sides need to create the "right 
atmosphere" for the visit, and, in this respect, Senior 
Director Green's upcoming visit is very important. 
 
Nguyen Huu Chanh 
---------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Turning to an issue raised by AFM Hung during a 
meeting with the Ambassador January 28 (Ref B), the 
Ambassador said that Nguyen Huu Chanh -- the "leader" of the 
"Government of Free Vietnam" (GFVN) -- is the subject of an 
organized crime, violent crime and terrorism investigation 
in the United States.  Any information the GVN has on 
Chanh's alleged illegal activities might be useful, the 
Ambassador added.  Responding to AFM Hung's question about 
Chanh's reported plans to open a GFVN office in Washington, 
D.C. -- in front of which would fly the flag of the old 
South Vietnam -- the Ambassador said that we have to keep 
things in perspective:  the GFVN's convention in early in 
January in Anaheim, about which Vietnam had expressed grave 
concern, had been a "non-event."  Furthermore, it is not 
illegal to open an office.  VFM Bang said that, should Chanh 
"be allowed" to open an office, "it would be a disaster." 
That said, he continued, "it may be better to ignore Chanh 
than to draw attention to him." 
 
CENTRAL HIGHLANDS RECOVERY OPERATIONS 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Ambassador expressed his concern about U.S. 
MIA investigation and recovery teams' lack of access to the 
Central Highlands provinces of Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Nong 
and Dak Lak, an issue he raised with Deputy Prime Minister 
Nguyen Tan Dzung the day before (Ref C).  There is also the 
question of whether a U.S.-contracted medevac helicopter 
will be allowed to transport injured American and Vietnamese 
personnel from recovery sites.  That Vietnam had recently 
suffered the loss of 16 military personnel in a helicopter 
crash should bring home that accidents do happen and we need 
to be prepared to respond quickly to minimize injuries and 
loss of life, the Ambassador said. 
 
Article 98 
---------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Another issue in front of us that should be easy 
to resolve is that of an Article 98 Nonsurrender Agreement, 
the Ambassador continued.  VFM Bang said that, "in reality 
and legally," Vietnam agrees with the United States. 
Vietnam is not a Treaty of Rome signatory and, in practice, 
would "never send your people" to the International Criminal 
Court.  "We just need to come up with the right language," 
the Vice Foreign Minister said.  The Europeans are "so loud" 
on this issue.  "How can Vietnam please everyone?" he asked. 
Nearly 100 countries have signed Article 98 agreements, the 
Ambassador noted.  Our understanding is that the issue for 
Vietnam is one of timing, notably that Vietnam wants to hold 
off signing an Article 98 agreement until after it accedes 
to the WTO.  This could be more than a year away, and 
Vietnam's reaching an Article 98 agreement with the United 
States -- the sooner, the better -- would be well received 
in Washington, the Ambassador stressed. 
 
WTO and Tricore 
--------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) On WTO accession, VFM Le Van Bang said that the 
United States and China are "competing for Vietnam's favor" 
and added that Vietnam "hopes earnestly" that U.S.-Vietnam 
bilateral negotiations can be completed first.  Vietnam's 
preference is to complete its talks with the U.S. by May in 
time for the Prime Minister's visit.  Completing work on a 
bilateral agreement by May is possible but will not be easy, 
the Ambassador responded.  On the other hand, we are 
increasingly concerned that the National Assembly -- which 
will only have two one-month sessions between now and the 
end of the year -- may not be able to pass all the necessary 
legislation in time.  VFM Bang responded that, if the 
National Assembly "cannot go issue by issue," then perhaps 
it can pass an "umbrella law to supersede existing 
legislation."  The Ambassador urged that the GVN seriously 
pursue this option.  On Tricore matter -- which he also 
raised with DPM Dzung -- the Ambassador said that this is an 
issue that will not go away and that the GVN has to deal 
with this matter in earnest. 
 
OVERFLIGHT CLEARANCES, IMET 
--------------------------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) The Ambassador thanked the GVN for making the 
"right decision" by granting blanket overflight clearance to 
U.S. military planes involved in the tsunami relief effort. 
VFM Bang said that he had spoken about this issue with 
Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat, Deputy Chair of the 
General Staff, with whom he had traveled to Jakarta for the 
tsunami summit, and LTG Soat had agreed that "Vietnam will 
 
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do its part."  In response to the Ambassador's raising the 
need for International Military Education and Training 
(IMET) agreement between Vietnam and the United States, VFM 
Bang said that, while "Vietnam's military could really use 
the English language training -- the Ministry of National 
Defense is often unable to send people to international 
conferences and other events because of language 
deficiencies -- the human rights vetting clause is a deal- 
breaker."  This should not be a problem for Vietnam, the 
Ambassador stressed.  Human rights vetting is a worldwide 
requirement, and Vietnam has already signed other agreements 
that have human rights clauses, namely the bilateral 
counternarcotics agreement and the agreement to send 
officials to training courses at the International Law 
Enforcement Academy in Bangkok, the Ambassador noted. 
 
Amcit Detention 
--------------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) The Ambassador raised the case of Amcit Bao Phat 
Tang's detention.  The problem is not one of consular access 
-- our consular officials have been able to see Tang -- but 
rather, the fact that none of his family members nor his 
attorney has been able to see him.  We understand that, 
under Vietnamese law, a suspect is not allowed to see family 
members or others during the pre-trial investigation period, 
which is normally four months.  However, in this case, 
because it involves Vietnam's recent textile quota scandal, 
the investigative period apparently may stretch to as long 
as one year, which would be far too long to not allow Tang 
to see his family or attorney.  The Ambassador urged the GVN 
to consider the possibility of a face-to-face visit.  AFM 
Hung explained that, because the quota scandal continues to 
grow, the length of time required to investigate Tang and 
others also continues to lengthen. 
 
"EASTER DISTURBANCE IN HIGHLANDS COULD CANCEL PM'S VISIT" 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶16. (SBU) Returning to the subject of the Prime Minister's 
proposed visit, the Vice Foreign Minister said he is 
"thinking deeply" and "worried" about the visit's 
atmosphere.  From now to the visit, he urged the USG to work 
with the GVN to "do the utmost" to "create the right 
atmosphere."  "There will be issues between our two 
countries," but we should not let them "slow down our 
efforts," VFM Bang added.  "A repeat of last year's Easter 
disturbances in the Central Highlands would surely cause the 
Prime Minister's visit to be cancelled," he predicted.  VFM 
Bang explained that he is often placed in a precarious 
position "lobbying for the United States," because there are 
some in the GVN who believe that groups in the United States 
with ties to separatist elements in the Central Highlands 
are under USG control. 
 
¶17. (SBU) The Vice Foreign Minister noted that, during his 
January 21 meeting with former Ambassadors Mort Abramowitz 
and Stephen Bosworth, they had agreed on many things, such 
as ongoing strategic developments in Asia and the role of 
the United States in Asia in general and Southeast Asia in 
particular.  The Ambassador noted that it is time for the 
United States and Vietnam to begin a strategic dialogue at a 
sufficiently high level to discuss regional and global 
issues of mutual interest. 
 
CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 
----------------- 
 
¶18. (SBU) The Ambassador applauded the recent signing of a 
Memorandum of Understanding among Vietnam, Cambodia and the 
UNHCR on the situation of the 750 Vietnamese Montagnards in 
Cambodia (Ref D), noting that this is an important step 
forward.  The United States and others will watch closely to 
see how the MOU is implemented.  On the subject of 
disturbances in the Central Highlands, the Ambassador said 
that no one has any interest in seeing a repeat of the April 
2004 incident.  For its part, the United States would try to 
get word to organizations in the United States with ties to 
the Montagnards that inciting disturbances benefits no one. 
Furthermore, the United States would, to the extent 
possible, try to share relevant information with the GVN, 
the Ambassador said. 
 
¶19. (SBU) Christmas services in the Central Highlands appear 
to have taken place without incident, the only exception 
being Dak Lak Province (Ref E), the Ambassador continued. 
Dak Lak Province has come to our attention in another 
matter:  we have had problems in this province with 
Montagnard families' not being able to apply for passports 
to begin the process of joining their relatives in the 
United States (under the "Visas-93" program).  It appears 
that the basic problem is with local authorities in Dak Lak, 
the Ambassador observed.  The Vice Foreign Minister noted 
that he is close to the Chairman of the Dak Lak People's 
Committee (they are both from Ninh Binh Province) and 
pledged to get in touch with him about these issues. 
 
FINAL ISSUES:  NEW EMBASSY COMPOUND, HIV/AIDS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶20. (SBU) Thanking the Vice Foreign Minister for the MFA's 
help with the ongoing new Embassy compound land issue, the 
Ambassador expressed his hope that the upcoming talks 
between Vietnam and Russia would yield an agreement to allow 
Vietnam and the United States to seal their own deal. 
Ideally, we would have an agreement in place by the time the 
Prime Minister visits Washington, the Ambassador said. 
 
¶21. (SBU) VFM Bang observed that international NGO project 
expenditures rose 40 percent in 2004, thanks in large part 
to U.S. funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and care projects. 
This increase in funding was an important gesture and sent a 
signal to others to step up their own contributions.  The 
Ambassador stressed that how well U.S. HIV/AIDS monies are 
spent in 2005 will guide how much assistance is available in 
¶2006.  Additionally, there are concerns about how Vietnam's 
Ministry of Health will handle the flood of new assistance. 
VFM Bang responded that Brazil has offered to assist Vietnam 
in its planning and other HIV/AIDS-related efforts.  Brazil 
has a "good story" to share regarding the distribution of 
medicines and other programs, he concluded. 
 
MARINE