VZCZCXRO0980
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0535/01 0800901
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210901Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4943
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 2778
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000535 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ETRD EINV ECON ENRG VM
 
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CONVENES SPRING SESSION 
 
REF: A) HANOI 129; B) 06 HANOI 3012 
 
HANOI 00000535  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) The 11th and final session of the 11th National Assembly 
(2002-2007) convened on March 20.  With its elections in the offing 
(May 20), the National Assembly's (NA) shortened spring session will 
continue the legislature's focus on corruption, waste and 
mismanagement, and will include a review of major infrastructure 
projects.  The Assembly will also discuss procedures and timing 
related to national amnesties.  What this session will not do is 
hold debates on some of Vietnam's more sensitive draft laws, 
including the Law on Associations and the Law on Domestic Violence. 
End Summary. 
 
Focus on Corruption... 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The final session of the 11th National Assembly (2002-2007) 
convened March 20 and will run until April 6, concluding earlier 
than normal due to the May 20 elections for the next National 
Assembly.  Among the laws scheduled for passage during this session 
is an amended Law on the Organization of the National Assembly.  In 
addition to addressing a number of procedural issues, this amended 
law is designed to facilitate greater NA input into anti-corruption 
efforts and bolster the legislature's monitoring and supervision of 
the 2006 Anti-Corruption Law's implementation.  In particular, GVN 
representatives will provide progress reports on the implementation 
of Anti-Corruption Law and the Law on Thrift Practices and 
Anti-Wastefulness. 
 
...as well as Waste and Mismanagement 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Keenly aware of public interest in and concern about waste 
and mismanagement at large infrastructure projects, the NA will call 
in for questioning the Minister of Industry to discuss several 
ongoing projects, including the Son La Hydropower project in the 
Northwest Highlands (Ref A), the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Project off 
the coast of Central Vietnam, the Ca Mau Gas-Electricity-Fertilizer 
Project at the southern tip of Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh National 
Highway Project.  The NA will also review the Government's Proposal 
for the Gas-Electricity-Fertilizer Project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau 
Province, as well as plans for construction of a new National 
Assembly Hall in Hanoi. 
 
Future Amnesties 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Assembly is also scheduled to review the Law on Special 
Amnesties and will discuss setting the dates for future general 
amnesties and reductions in prison sentences, as well as 
extradition-related issues.  According to Office of the National 
Assembly Chairman Bui Ngoc Thanh, the GVN is considering 
Independence Day (September 2, 2007) and Reunification Day (April 
30, 2008) for the next large amnesties. 
 
Happy Hung Vuong Day 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The NA action that will likely garner the most attention is 
its expected passage of an amendment to the Labor Law that will 
establish an additional Vietnamese national holiday.  This will make 
a total of nine official annual public holidays in Vietnam, and this 
newest holiday will fall on March 10 of the lunar calendar year. 
(Note:  The new holiday will be celebrated on April 26th this year 
and will change every year due to fluctuations in the lunar 
calendar.  End note.)  The holiday will honor the death of King Hung 
Vuong, who is widely viewed as the Founder of the Vietnamese 
nation. 
 
What's not on the Agenda 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) According to our contacts, the Assembly will hold off 
discussion of more sensitive draft laws, such as the Law on 
Association and the Law on Domestic Violence, until the next 
National Assembly is formed (Ref B).  These contacts quickly add 
that it is not clear when during the next Assembly's tenure, which 
runs until 2012; these laws will be put in the docket. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The NA's focus on corruption, waste and mismanagement is in 
line with the legislature's ongoing efforts to carve an oversight 
and ombudsman role for itself.  The examination of large energy 
 
HANOI 00000535  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
infrastructure projects is particularly timely as Vietnam's booming 
economy, coupled with a drought that has dented hydropower 
generation capacity, has left it with energy shortages across the 
country and the situation only getting worse (septel).  Ongoing 
shortages and periodic blackouts in northern Vietnam have put the 
country in a position of having to purchase significant amounts of 
energy from China.  End Comment. 
 
MARINE