VZCZCXRO8354
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #0739/01 0900854
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 310854Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1309
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0843
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000739 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KIRF ETRD EINV ECON VM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES ETHNIC MINORITY ISSUES IN HOA 
BINH AND SON LA PROVINCES 
 
REF: 1) HANOI 697, 2) HANOI 715 
 
HANOI 00000739  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  On a March 13-15 visit, the Ambassador 
discussed ethnic minority issues with the leaders of Hoa 
Binh and Son La Provinces (reftels).  Son La has a much 
larger potential problem with ethnic tension arising from 
the massive displacement of ethnic minority Thai communities 
by the Son La dam reservoir.  Each resettled village will 
force the Provincial People's Committee (PPC) to make hard 
decisions to reduce inevitable disruptions.  A model 
resettled community demonstrates that these issues will take 
significant time to resolve.  Son La's focus on 
integrationist programs like an ethnic minority boarding 
school, however, may go far in helping reduce ethnic unrest 
in the province.  End Summary. 
 
HOA BINH 
-------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador met with Hoa Binh PPC Chairman Bui 
Van Tinh on March 13.  As part of a discussion on economic 
and religious freedom issues (reftels), Tinh noted that Hoa 
Binh's 800,000 people are divided between seven main ethnic 
groups.  Sixty-three percent of the population is ethnic 
Muong, as is the majority of the PPC staff including the 
Chairman.  All seven groups are "coming together in 
solidarity and unity" and "there are no flashpoints for 
protest in the province," he said.  This is helped by the 
fact that, though Muong people are technically a separate 
ethnicity from the Kinh (ethnic Vietnamese), they are 
considered a related branch of the majority ethnicity so 
there is less ethnic tension compared to other provinces. 
Most Muong take Kinh names and are not physically 
distinguishable from other Vietnamese.  (Note: We have not 
heard of any ethnic issues arising in this province to date, 
which tracks with the Chairman's comments.  End note.)  The 
Ambassador observed that this lack of ethnic tension puts 
Hoa Binh ahead of some other highland provinces in its plans 
for social and economic development, but warned that 
education demands particular attention in majority ethnic 
minority areas.  On a recent trip to Gia Lai province in the 
Central Highlands, for example, the Ambassador said he met 
an ethnic family which did not value education at all 
because it was not "traditional."  None of the children had 
been to school and were now too old to be given the 
opportunity of education.  "Their traditions had closed the 
door on their participation in development," he added. 
 
SON LA 
------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) As noted in reftels, Son La PPC Chairman Hoang Chi 
Thuc's approach to most issues was generally a stark 
contrast with the Hoa Binh Chairman's attitudes.  However, 
on ethnic minority issues, Chairman Thuc was much more 
attentive than his colleague.  During his laborious opening 
presentation to the Ambassador on March 14, Thuc noted that 
the Son La dam project is one of the main priorities for PPC 
policy in this province of 900,000 because the new reservoir 
will displace many thousands of ethnic "White" Thai 
residents to other communities.  (Note: The dam project 
management board originally estimated that at least 80,000 
people will have to be relocated by 2010, but the likely 
number is much higher. End Note).  The province has taken 
the lead to resettle 12,000 households in locations "better 
than their original villages."  Over dinner the following 
evening, Thuc elaborated that Son La benefits financially 
from the resettlement effort despite having to relocate so 
many people because the GVN has provided significant funding 
for new schools, new roads and new irrigation in resettled 
communities.  The GVN will also give subsidies directly to 
each person resettled so villagers will be able to invest in 
their new communities.  Son La will receive 100 million VND 
(USD 62,000) to move each household, a relatively small 
amount of which will actually go to the villagers in cash. 
(Note: This equates to roughly USD 744 Million for the total 
resettlement project.  End Note.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Thuc acknowledged that resettlement of the 
reservoir basin will be difficult for some people because 
they are "very familiar with their former places of 
residence" and will need to get used to a new community. 
However, Hoa Binh has developed a phased relocation strategy 
to reassure people that their new homes will be sustainable. 
The first step is for villagers to dismantle their homes and 
community buildings.  The province then transports the 
village to its new location.  Villagers reassemble their 
homes and community buildings.  Once the new community is 
 
HANOI 00000739  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
built, the PPC reclaims the surrounding land from previous 
"owners"; this land is then given to the villagers for 
farming.  The villagers receive rice and money for two years 
to tide them over while their new lands are brought under 
cultivation.  The final phase of the project will include 
new training for the farmers to increase productivity. 
 
Phieng Bung Village 
------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) On March 14, the Ambassador visited one of the 
first resettled communities, the ethnic "White" Thai village 
of Phieng Bung.  The village is located off the main road 
between the Son La dam location and Son La town.  It is 
reached by a new road, still under construction, that cuts 
across three or four miles of cultivated rice paddies and 
orchards.  Phien Bung was built in the middle of a mango 
orchard with regular rows of mango trees interspersed with 
well-ordered, reassembled homes.  The effect was somewhat 
incongruous.  A one-room kindergarten and one-room 
elementary school are currently under construction in the 
village square.  The village elder told the Ambassador that 
Phieng Bung's 246 people began disassembling their sixty- 
five households in October 2005.  Each person received 3 
million VND (USD 188) directly from the province for the 
move.  Son La provided trucks for the movement.  All houses 
in the new location have electricity. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The headman noted that the province has not yet 
provided land for the villagers to farm.  They are surviving 
only on the rice and other foodstuffs they have been given 
by the province.  People are generally happy in their new 
community, but worried about the land issue.  There is also 
some difficulty arising from the fact that the original 
owner of the mango trees planted throughout their community 
still owns and works the trees.  Compensation and access 
issues have still to be worked out with the farmer. 
Provincial officials reassured him that all of these 
problems will be resolved by the end of March. 
 
Ethnic Minority Boarding School 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Following the visit to the resettled village, the 
Ambassador visited the Son La Ethnic Minority Boarding 
School in Son La town.  School Director Cam Van Nghiep 
explained that the school was established in 1956 as an 
institution to prepare select ethnic minority students for 
university or vocational training colleges.  In its fifty 
year history, more than two thousand students have graduated 
from the school of whom forty percent attended university. 
There are currently 450 students enrolled in the school's 
three classes: grades 10-12.  Six of the twenty-three 
teachers are "considered excellent by provincial standards" 
(i.e., hold high university degrees) and another four are 
"excellent by local standards" (i.e., attended university). 
The school was renovated in 1994. It is situated on an 
island in the middle of a lake reached by a paved causeway. 
There are fifteen classrooms and fifty-two dormitory 
bedrooms that house eight students each.  The school also 
boasts a science laboratory and a computer lab.  The 
language of instruction is Vietnamese.  The only foreign 
language taught in the school is English, but the faculty 
hopes to add Chinese and Russian.  The annual school budget 
is about USD 150,000 or six million VND per student. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Nghiep noted that the province covers all expenses 
for students.  They are selected out of the best students 
from a number of ethnic minority middle schools across the 
province.  Average age is fifteen years at selection but in 
a few cases, students as old as twenty have joined Grade 10. 
These are usually special exceptions allowed for students 
drawn from smaller ethnic minority groups in more remote 
regions.  Upon admission, students are required to sign a 
written agreement that they will obey the law and "avoid 
social evils" while enrolled.  Students are drawn from all 
twelve of the major ethnic minority groups in the province, 
but the school tries to encourage each individual to 
maintain their own ethnic identities. The school tends to 
favor admission of students from other groups besides the 
province's majority minority ethnic Thai.  Nearly half of 
the student body is female, but this is a relatively recent 
trend.  In 1990, less than two percent of the students were 
girls.  None of the students profess any religion.  The 
Ambassador encouraged the director to recruit some of the 
ethnic minority children from among the approximately 5,000 
Christians in the province.  They deserve access to 
education as well non-believers and their identity is also 
 
HANOI 00000739  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
important, he said. 
 
¶9. (SBU) At the dinner with Chairman Thuc, the Ambassador 
applauded Son La's efforts to educate ethnic minority 
students for positions of responsibility in the province. 
He was especially pleased to see so many girls attending the 
boarding school, he said.  However, the Ambassador 
emphasized the importance of recruiting students from ethnic 
minority Christian communities so that all students share in 
the advanced opportunities the school offers. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Hoa Binh's ethnic minority majority population 
seems far better integrated than the Son La's people, but 
Hoa Binh does not face the huge potential problems created 
in Son La by the displacement of nearly one ninth of its 
residents by the Son La dam.  The model resettled village 
was impressive, but if it truly represents the size and make- 
up of the average displaced community, Son La will have to 
repeat this effort at least 184 more times.  Even in this 
pilot village, after six months the PPC has not begun to 
address the hard problems created by its reestablishment. 
Each resettled community will force the PPC to decide who 
owns the land they live on, how much compensation is due to 
previous owners, whose land should be allocated to the new 
village, etc.  Given the huge amount of money provided by 
the GVN to resettle these people, the tensions caused by 
their displacement will almost assuredly be exacerbated by 
the corruption of officials charged with supervising their 
move.  The PPC's focus on integrationist programs like the 
ethnic minority boarding school seems to reflect growing 
concerns about ethnic tension in the province.  If they are 
able to expand the franchise of such programs beyond an 
elite set of ethnic minority individuals, they may go far in 
helping reduce ethnic unrest in Son La.  End Comment. 
 
MARINE